PromptSmart: a sweet utility for speeches and more

Public speaking is not only a part of our curricula, it’s a huge part of our lives.

For some of us, it a serious fear.

Founded by a Communications Fellow at Wharton Business School, PromptSmart, turns your device into a teleprompter.  It is a seriously handy tool I wish we had years ago,

While I generally use slides from various presentation platforms to prompt my conference talks, every once in a while, I want to really deliver my thoughts with greater precision.  This is the case with our students who present arguments and quotes in their debates, engage in TED-like events, broadcast the morning news, or share their carefully crafted poems in a slam.

You don’t really want to carry your desktop up to the podium.  What you really want is a discreet little teleprompter, a teleprompter that waits for you, a teleprompter that understands your personal speaking style.

PromptSmart allows you to simply import a script or write directly in the application.  Hit the start button and the application will scroll automatically as you read.  Using its proprietary VoiceTrack technology, it hears you and follows your voice, scrolling at your pace and knowing when you pause.  You may elect to use this technology in settings, set the scroll speed or choose to do a manual scroll.

You may upload content from Box, Dropbox, Gmail, Google Drive or OneDrive.

In addition to its Script library, the application offers a Notecard library for capturing presentation outlines.  A Recording library allows you to practice by recording and listening to your speeches.

PromptSmart comes in both Pro ($9.99) and Lite ($1.99) versions as both iPhone and iPad apps.  While the Lite version is very functional, the Pro version offers a timer, 14 fonts, background colors, a reading guide and line indicator,  video recording, the ability to mirror text for use with teleprompter glass rigs, and more.

Any teacher who engages his or her class in speaking activities and video production would welcome this much-need and affordable utility.  Consider it also for keynotes, commencement addresses, practicing lines for drama productions and, perhaps, wedding toasts!

iPhone

Filed under: apps, public speaking, speeches, technology, teleprompter