Fill in your details
The script updates automatically as you type, click Play in ScriptScroller when you're ready
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Script text
What you'll need to fill in
This script has 8 details to fill in before you read it. Have these to hand — the customizer above updates the script as you type:
- Project Name
- Phase/Stage
- milestone 1
- milestone 2
- Positive update
- Honest update
- milestone
- date
It also contains 1 stage direction in grey. Those are instructions to you, not lines to say out loud — they mark where to pause, listen, or wait for a response.
That timing assumes about 130 words a minute, which is a normal conversational pace. If you are presenting to a room you will likely go slower; if you are nervous you will go faster. Read it aloud once and time yourself before it matters.
When to use this script
Use this on calls where the first ninety seconds decide how the rest goes. Video meetings have almost no margin for a slow start — people are half-reading email, the audio is a fraction behind, and there is no room energy to carry a vague opening. A script that lands the purpose, the agenda, and the ask in the first minute earns you the attention you need for the other fifty-nine.
It is less useful for genuinely conversational calls. If the meeting is a discussion between people who already know each other, a scripted opening will read as stiff. Prompt the parts that must land — the framing, the numbers, the specific ask — and stay unscripted for the rest.
Making it sound like you
- Name the outcome in the first two sentences. On video, people decide whether to pay attention before you reach your third point.
- Cut the pleasantries down to one line. Written warm-ups read as padding when spoken over a laggy connection.
- Replace every generic reference with something specific to this meeting — the project name, last week's number, the decision actually on the table.
- Put your ask in plain words near the start as well as the end. On a call, people leave early.
Reading it out loud
Keep the script directly beneath your webcam so your eyes stay near the lens, and narrow the reading column so they barely move sideways — that is what separates prompted delivery from visible reading. If you are also sharing slides, put the script on the screen your camera sits on and the slides on the other.
More on the setup side: Teleprompter for Webcam, Teleprompter for Dual-Monitor Setups, Teleprompter Script Scroll for Zoom, Teams & Webinars.
Questions about this script
How long does this project status update script take to read?
The script runs to about 132 words, which is roughly 1 min at a normal speaking pace of around 130 words a minute. Your own pace will vary, so time one read-through before you rely on the number.
What do I need to prepare before using this script?
There are 8 details to fill in: Project Name, Phase/Stage, milestone 1, milestone 2, Positive update, Honest update, and a few more. Enter them in the customizer and the script updates as you type, then opens straight in the teleprompter.
Will people be able to tell I am reading on a Zoom call?
Not if the script sits close to your webcam and the reading column is narrow. What gives reading away is horizontal eye movement, not the fact that a script exists. A narrow column just below the lens keeps your eyes nearly still.
Should I script a whole meeting?
No. Script the parts that have to land exactly — the opening frame, any numbers, and the ask — and leave the discussion unscripted. A fully scripted meeting stops sounding like a meeting.
