Journal · Video Planning
Does Your Event Speaker Need a Confidence Monitor?
If your speaker needs to see a slide without turning toward the audience screens, we'd plan a confidence monitor. It's a screen facing the speaker, often near the front of the stage. But before adding one to the equipment list, ask what they actually need on it. The current slide, their notes and a countdown are different requests.
For a Phoenix conference or corporate event, that conversation belongs in planning, while the stage layout and presentation setup are still easy to adjust. A screen can be useful. A screen showing the wrong thing is just another distraction.
Start with the speaker's view. Ask: “What do you need to see while you're speaking?” Then have production confirm the feed, screen placement and how it will be tested with that speaker.
When an extra screen helps
Think about where the presenter stands and where the audience screens sit. If they're behind the presenter, seeing a chart or checking the next talking point may mean turning away from the room. A screen in front can give them a place to check without that turn.
It may be worth planning when a speaker refers closely to slides, walks away from the lectern or needs to keep track of a timed session. For a short welcome with no slides, a monitor may add little. We'd decide from the actual speaking style and program rather than make it an automatic item for every stage.
Ask the speaker first. Someone who wants a full script needs a different discussion from someone who just wants to confirm they're on slide seven.
Choose what's on the screen
A confidence monitor describes the job the screen does. It doesn't tell production which picture to send there. Put that detail in the brief:
- Current slide: the speaker sees the same presentation slide as the audience.
- Presenter view: the speaker needs a private view with notes or the next slide, if the chosen presentation system supports it.
- Timer: the speaker needs a clear timing display. Agree on who starts, pauses and resets it.
Those views may need different outputs or a combined layout. Ask production what the planned system can deliver and what it would add to the scope. Don't assume that connecting another screen automatically creates a separate notes feed.
Microsoft's PowerPoint guidance for multiple monitors describes using Presenter View for private speaker notes while another display shows the slides. It also calls for a device that supports multiple monitors. That's a software starting point; production still needs to check the complete routing on your event system.
Keep notes out of the audience picture
Tell the crew which view is private and which belongs on the audience screens. If you're recording or sending a feed to another room, include that destination too. Walk through each one in rehearsal rather than judge the setup only from the speaker's monitor.
For example, a hypothetical keynote might need the clean slide on the audience screens and in the recording, with notes on the speaker's display. Write those destinations down. If the available setup only duplicates one output everywhere, that requirement hasn't been met yet.
Also check what appears before the presentation starts, during a video and after the deck ends. A clean opening slide doesn't tell you what guests will see when someone exits the slideshow.
Try the position from the stage
Screen size on a quote doesn't tell you whether the speaker can read it comfortably. Have them stand where they'll actually speak, look at their real slides or notes, then try the places they expect to move.
Ask production to account for the lectern, stage edge, lighting and camera framing. A monitor placed for one presenter may be awkward for a panel spread across the stage. The venue and crew should agree on the placement and cable route, with walking paths kept clear.
If the speaker needs notes, use a realistic notes page for the check. A large title slide can look readable while a dense paragraph is too small. Adjust the view or the content before guests arrive.
Rehearse the controls and the fallback
Give the presenter a chance to use the actual slide remote or cue process. Confirm who advances the deck, who manages the timer and how the speaker signals the operator if something is wrong. Put those responsibilities into the run of show.
Then agree on what they'll do if the monitor goes dark. Depending on the talk, printed notes, a simplified outline or continuing with operator cues may be workable. Choose a fallback the speaker is comfortable with, and keep any earlier tested presentation available if a late change fails.
For files and revision handling, use our slides and video handoff checklist. This is the next conversation: what the presenter sees once those files reach the room.
A short FAQ
Is a confidence monitor the same as a teleprompter?
No. A screen showing slides or presenter notes isn't automatically a teleprompter setup. If the speaker wants a scrolling script, tell production that specifically and discuss how it will be operated.
Can one monitor show slides and a countdown?
Possibly, if the planned system supports that layout. Ask to see the proposed view and test whether both are readable from the speaking position.
Should every speaker get one?
No. Start with how they present and what they need to see. A short welcome may need none; a detailed presentation may benefit from a slide or notes view.
Tell us what your presenter needs to see
SPRK's audio and visual production brings screens and video systems into the event plan. Send us the stage layout and a note about whether your speaker needs slides, notes or timing. We'd love to help work out the screen plan before you finalize the equipment.
Back to the Journal for more practical event planning guides.
Free worksheet: the Show Moment Blueprint
Write down the moments that have to land (the opening, the big reveal, every handoff), then note who is on stage, what cue runs, who owns it and what happens if it doesn’t. Bring it to the planning call and everyone works from the same page.