Obama and the Teleprompter
Peter Baker of the New York Times has written an article about President Obama’s use of the teleprompter. Some critics say Obama risks his credibility by being so scripted and tied to the machine. Others say he’s very precise with his words and why fool around with the success he’s had.
I’ve had clients ask about using a teleprompter and my response is a based on the event, the speaker, and the audience. Using a prompter sets a tone of formality and it can be misinterpreted as a sign of pretentiousness in the wrong setting. And if a speaker has an informal approach in most circumstances, I would stick with what works with their personality. That said, it’s not a bad idea to know how to use a teleprompter, especially if you plan on doing a lot of public speaking. You never when you might be asked to address a stadium full of people!
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I’ve heard his teleprompter shows up in odd places – like the factory floor or gov’t department meetings. It just goes to show — do what works for you!
Exactly. However, I have noticed that he moves very quickly between the two prompter screens and it does make him seem more distant to the audience. It can undermine his reputation as a speaker over time if that’s all he uses. It will be interesting to watch as his presidency develops. He may just need to adjust his teleprompter skills and slow down his screen switching and make his remarks more conversational.
One more thing to consider…Mr. Obama is speaking to the public just about every day, and it’s a new speech at each event. So I think giving him some slack in the teleprompter department is in order.