Guides · 4 min read · September 18, 2026
Confidence monitor vs teleprompter: which do you need?
One is for the camera, one is for the room. Many events use both.
A teleprompter puts text in front of the camera lens with beam splitter glass, so you make eye contact with the viewer through the camera. A confidence monitor is a screen that faces the speaker, on the stage floor, a lectern or the back wall, showing notes, slides or the script.
When to use each
- Recorded video, livestreams, broadcast: teleprompter.
- Live keynotes, conferences, lectures: confidence monitor.
- Hybrid events: both. The camera operator keeps a prompter on the lens, the stage has monitors.
The iPad option
An iPad running a teleprompter app works as either: in a beam splitter rig for camera, or flat on the lectern as a confidence monitor. Drive it from your Apple Watch or a pedal so you never touch it on stage.
Read your script hands-free on iPhone, iPad and Mac. The teleprompter follows your voice.