ScriptAssist: Conversation with Bob Befus

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Loading...

  Bob Befus is an entrepreneur, presentation technology innovator, and recognized expert in regulatory presentations. For most of his career, he has focused on helping medical and pharmaceutical organizations communicate complex information clearly and persuasively in high-stakes settings. He works with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies preparing for critical presentations, including FDA Advisory Committee meetings.

Bob supported his first FDA Advisory Committee presentation in July 1996 for a meeting of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee. As part of that engagement, he developed the first interactive digital display system designed specifically for an FDA Advisory Committee presentation. This technology helped the sponsor manage hundreds or even thousands of data visuals, enabling presenters to rapidly identify the information needed and display it in real time in response to questions from committee members.

Since then, Bob has continued to develop presentation technologies that improve how organizations create, manage, and deliver important scientific and business communications.

In this conversation, Bob discusses ScriptAssist, a PowerPoint teleprompter that lets presenters hold eye contact on video calls while still reading their script.

Geetesh: ScriptAssist is a new addition to the PowerPoint ecosystem. Before we talk about how it came to be, could you briefly introduce ScriptAssist for our readers? Was there a specific turning point that motivated you to create it, and how easy is it for someone to get started once they decide to try it?

Bob: ScriptAssist is a Windows application that works alongside Microsoft PowerPoint, transforming your existing speaker notes into a professional presentation script. It provides multiple script presentation modes for different speaking situations, including an on-camera mode that keeps your script near the webcam for virtual presentations, an invisible overlay mode that lets you control both your script and PowerPoint from a single screen, traditional teleprompter-style modes, AI-assisted script drafting, and a unique Microsoft Word review workflow for collaborative editing.

The inspiration came from nearly four decades of helping organizations prepare for some of their most important presentations. At SlideSource, we’ve supported everything from executive board meetings and investor presentations to scientific conferences and FDA Advisory Committee meetings. Regardless of the audience or venue, we kept seeing the same challenge.

Presenters weren’t struggling because they didn’t know their material. They were struggling because they had to choose between maintaining eye contact with their audience and remembering exactly what they wanted to say. They were also spending far too much time copying scripts between PowerPoint, Word, and other tools just to prepare for a presentation.

Eventually we asked ourselves a simple question, Why hasn’t anyone solved this properly?

ScriptAssist grew from that question. Our goal was never to build another teleprompter. We believe presenters should be thinking about their audience… not their notes. Everything we’ve built into ScriptAssist is designed around that simple idea.

Because ScriptAssist works directly with the PowerPoint presentations and speaker notes people already have, getting started is surprisingly easy. Simply download the application, sign in, open your presentation, and you’re ready to present, usually within just a few minutes.

Geetesh: ScriptAssist seems to have grown out of SlideSource’s experience supporting high-stakes presentations. How much of the product was shaped by real presenters, and how has user feedback influenced its development?

Bob: Almost every major feature in ScriptAssist has its roots in a real presentation challenge.

For years, we developed custom tools and workflows to support high-stakes meetings where accuracy, timing, and confidence were absolutely critical. As we worked with presenters, communications teams, and reviewers, we began noticing recurring problems that weren’t being solved by existing presentation software.

Presenter Script mode evolved from helping speakers who weren’t trained to use traditional teleprompters. Our Microsoft Word review workflow came from working with teams that wanted to review scripts using Word and Track Changes rather than editing directly in PowerPoint. Presentation Timing was developed because presenters constantly asked, “How long is this presentation really going to take?” VoiceSync grew from the desire to let presenters focus entirely on their audience instead of manually scrolling a script.

In many ways, ScriptAssist represents years of lessons learned rather than a single software project.

That feedback loop continues today. Every time we watch someone prepare, rehearse, or deliver a presentation, we learn something. Our philosophy is that new features should solve real presentation problems—not simply add more buttons to the interface.

A recent example involves our AI capabilities. During an early enterprise evaluation, we were asked if ScriptAssist could use an organization’s own approved AI environment rather than a shared AI service. We thought it was an excellent suggestion because it reflects how AI is evolving inside many organizations. As a result, we’re expanding ScriptAssist to support Bring Your Own Model (BYOM), allowing organizations to connect ScriptAssist to their own approved AI environment while continuing to work within their existing governance and security policies. That’s exactly the kind of customer feedback we want to act on.

Geetesh: Can readers try ScriptAssist before purchasing? And if they decide to continue using it, what does it cost?

Bob: Absolutely. We want people to experience ScriptAssist using their own presentations before making a purchasing decision, so we offer a 7-day free trial with full access to the product.

After the trial, users can choose between two subscription plans:

• Standard – $12 per month or $144 annually, including the core presentation, scripting, rehearsal, and delivery features.
• Pro – $19 per month or $228 annually, adding AI Script Assistant, VoiceSync hands-free presentation control, and other advanced capabilities.

We’re also actively expanding ScriptAssist’s enterprise capabilities as we work with larger organizations.

Our goal from the beginning has been simple: make ScriptAssist affordable enough for individual presenters while building a platform that can grow with the needs of larger organizations.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog post or content are those of the authors or the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.