Help with your speech.

Bring your words

Choose New speech. Paste your speech, choose Type for a blank page, Dictate to say it out loud, Scan pages to photograph a printed or handwritten speech, or Import a file. Dictation and scanning happen on your phone.

The three-page introduction explains editing, emphasis, written reminders, practice and delivery controls. You can replay it from App options.

Lectern accepts plain text, RTF and PDFs with readable text. A scanned image or password-protected PDF may need opening in its original app. You can copy and paste the words instead.

To replace an existing speech, open Speech options using the ellipsis button. Choose Paste a replacement or Import a document, then review the words before accepting them. Choose Close before accepting to leave your existing speech unchanged.

Write a first draft with Speechwriter

Choose New speech, then Speechwriter. Pick the occasion and how long you want to speak, then answer a few questions out loud or by typing. Speechwriter turns your answers into a first draft in your own words. It does not invent facts, so the more you tell it, the more it has to work with.

Speechwriter is the one part of Lectern that sends words off your phone, and only after you agree on its consent screen. The privacy policy explains what is sent and who handles it.

To add more stories later, open the speech and choose Add more.

Add reminders and emphasis

Place your cursor, choose Add action, then select a reminder or write your own. Action lines such as <Pause> and <Look up> appear with your speech.

These are reminders for you. They do not pause the scrolling automatically.

Select words in the editor to mark emphasis. Emphasized words use heavier teal type. Written actions use a different type style, warm text and a tinted background, keeping their <angle brackets>.

To move a named part of your speech, open Speech options, choose Arrange and use the section controls.

Practice your speech

Open Practice and choose Start. From the beginning, the first line starts about halfway up the screen and scrolls upward. Adjust the pace as you read. Choose Done to see the time practiced.

In Practice, the sliders button near the top opens Reading options. In the editor, tap the pace value beside the sliders symbol.

Change text size there, or expand Line spacing to adjust the space between lines. The timer measures the practice run; Lectern does not listen to or record your voice.

Control the reading pace

Deliver opens with your words still. From the beginning, the first line sits about halfway up the screen. You choose when it scrolls upward.

• Tap the words to start or pause scrolling.
• Tap the top of the screen, over the words you have already said, to step back one line. If the words were moving, they carry on.
• Drag to find your place. Reading stays paused when you lift your finger.
• Hold to open Reading paused.
• Choose the visible Exit button to return directly to the editor.

Once the words first move, a small clock in the top corner shows how long you have been speaking, pauses included.

Resume returns to the words without starting the scroll. Tap when you are ready to continue. Back to speech returns to the editor.

Resume delivery opens your saved reading place. When a saved place exists, open Speech options and choose Deliver from beginning to begin again.

Copy or share your words

Open Speech options, then Copy and share.

• Copy speech includes your words and action lines.
• Copy words only leaves out complete action lines.
• Share a copy opens the iPhone share sheet and includes action lines.

Separate document notes stay in Lectern. These actions share a text copy, rather than the editor’s formatting.

What is free and what to buy

Preparing a speech is free, and so is practicing and delivering its first 2 minutes. To practice and deliver all of a longer speech, buy Lectern once, which includes one Speechwriter speech, or Lectern Plus, a yearly subscription with 6 Speechwriter speeches a year. You can also buy an extra Speechwriter speech on its own.

Lectern Plus renews each year until you cancel it. To cancel, open the Settings app, tap your name, then Subscriptions.

On a new phone, open App options in the library and choose Restore purchase. For a refund, ask Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com.

Your saved speeches

Lectern saves your library on your phone. Editing, practice and delivery work offline once your words are in the app. Importing a file from a cloud provider may need a connection.

If a saving error appears, keep the app open and choose Try saving again. You can also copy your speech to keep a separate copy.

To delete a speech, open Speech options, choose Delete speech, then confirm. This removes the speech and its notes from the local library. Shared copies and earlier device backups are separate.

To see the introduction again, open App options in the library, expand Privacy and help and choose Show the introduction.

Contact us

Email support@lecternspeech.com. Include your iPhone model, iOS version and what happened. Check screenshots for personal words before sending them.

During beta testing you can also open TestFlight, select Lectern and choose Send Beta Feedback.

For information about local storage, sharing and beta feedback, read the Lectern privacy policy.