How to Sound Natural While Using a Teleprompter

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If you need to record a lot of video - maybe you're creating training videos for work or are creating a whole pile of resources for your clients or staff - a teleprompter might come in handy. Many companies also like to use teleprompters during their live events to make sure people stay on message. Every time you record the video or do the live session, though, you end up sounding unnatural, even robotic. So how do you go about using a teleprompter while still sounding like yourself?
Today's question is from Fatima, who asks "Hello Lauren - my company has been doing a lot of virtual and pre-recorded sessions for our advisors and clients. I’m usually brought in to Emcee, to introduce other speakers, and to give updates.
We use teleprompters for both our recorded and live sessions. My company likes to keep the messaging very tight and we record so many of these that we really can’t memorize everything in advance. I find I come across as very stiff and unnatural when using the teleprompter. It comes across as though I'm reading from a screen, which isn't the image I want to cast. Can you advise me on how to seem more natural when using these teleprompters? Thank you very much, I really enjoy your videos, Fatima."
As it turns out, there's a few important techniques to using a teleprompter while retaining some semblance of a personality, and that's what we dig into in this Communication Q&A!