The term confidence monitor refers to a television monitor placed downstage of a speaker used to display speaker notes, powerpoint presentations, or speaker timers. They are a useful tool for corporate events, and allow speakers to stay on track with their presentations and see what content is being displayed in the venue without turning their back to the audience.
A confidence monitor can also be used as a teleprompter, and allow Audio Visual staff to type messages to a presenter onstage. Confidence monitors are also referred to as downstage monitors or DSMs.
If you intend on using a confidence monitor to display Powerpoint in Presenter View please take a look at these tips:
- Be sure to notify our AV staff ahead of time. They may need to arrange extra equipment to display your presentation.
- Make sure your notes are in a large enough font that they can be read from 20’ away.
- Your notes should be brief and concise enough to fit one one slide…Don’t add a script!
When planning your event be sure to discuss venue and stage dimensions with your audio visual provider. This will help determine the appropriate size confidence monitor for your production. Most DSMs range in size from 42” – 55”, but larger monitors can be used if necessary.