How to format a script for a teleprompter
Updated October 29, 2026 · Anthony Delmotte
Short answer. Use short paragraphs of one idea each, a large sans-serif font, five to eight words per line, normal capitalisation (not all caps), and write numbers, names and cues the way you will say them. Leave a blank line wherever you want to breathe.
One idea per paragraph
A paragraph on a prompter is a breath. Keep each one to one or two short sentences, with a blank line between them. When you lose your place, your eyes find the start of a paragraph much faster than the middle of a block.
Short lines, big text
Five to eight words per line is the sweet spot: your eyes take in the line without sweeping across it. On a phone, that means a large text size; SmoothCue shows the script as narrow cue cards for the same reason.
Normal case, not all caps
Old broadcast prompters used capitals. Mixed case is easier to read quickly, because each word keeps its shape. Keep capitals for the one word you want to stress.
Write it the way you say it
- Numbers: “about two thousand” rather than “~2,000”.
- Abbreviations: spell out anything you would not say letter by letter.
- Names: add the pronunciation in brackets the first time, if it is tricky.
Cues in brackets
Directions such as [smile], [show product] or [pause] remind you what to do. Keep them short and in brackets so you never read them aloud by mistake.
Punctuation is for breathing
A full stop is a pause, a comma a half pause, a dash a change of tone. If a sentence needs a semicolon, it is probably two sentences.
Before recording, paste the script into our speech time calculator to check its length, or print it as cards with the cue card maker.