Most people write cue cards the night before by copying their speech onto cards in tiny handwriting. The result is a script you end up reading. A better set takes a little more thought but much less text, and it is far easier to use when you are nervous.
Step by step
- Finish the full draft first Write the speech out in full and read it aloud once. Cue cards come from a finished speech; trying to write both at the same time leads to cards that do not match what you say.
- Mark the sections Split the draft into its parts: opening, each main point, examples, and the conclusion. Each part will become one card, or two if it is long.
- Pick the key words For each section, underline the words that bring the whole sentence back to mind. Usually that is a noun or a short phrase: "landfill", "canteen bottles", "2400".
- Keep one idea per card Give each card a short heading and two to four prompts. If you need more, start a new card. Card breaks become your natural pauses.
- Write the exact words where they matter Copy quotes, statistics, dates and names in full. Write out your first and last sentences too, so you start and finish confidently.
- Add cue markers and numbers Put delivery reminders in brackets and number every card in the same corner.
Before and after
Here is one paragraph from a speech, as it was drafted:
Every week our school throws away hundreds of plastic drink bottles from the canteen. Most of them end up in landfill, where they take hundreds of years to break down, and some get into the creek behind the oval. If we switched to refill stations and asked the canteen to stop selling bottled water, we could cut that waste almost completely.
And here is the same paragraph as a cue card:
Canteen bottles
- Hundreds a week
- Landfill, hundreds of years; creek behind oval
- Fix: refill stations + no bottled water [SLIDE 3]
The card is short enough to read in a second, but each line brings back a full sentence. If you want a quick first pass, the cue card generator has a key points mode that takes the first sentence of each paragraph as a bullet. Trim those bullets down to key words and you have a draft set.
Cue markers to use
Short bracketed notes remind you how to deliver a line, not just what to say. Keep the set small so you recognise them instantly:
| Marker | What it reminds you to do |
|---|---|
| [PAUSE] | Stop for a beat after a key line or question. |
| [SLIDE 4] | Change to the named slide at this point. |
| [SLOW DOWN] | Take the next part more slowly, often the ending. |
| [LOOK UP] | Make eye contact before the next sentence. |
| [SHOW] | Hold up a prop, handout or object. |
Make markers stand out by putting them in bold or a different colour, so they never get mixed up with words you are meant to say.
Formatting for readability
- Use large text. You should be able to read the card at arm's length. Print one test page before the full set.
- Leave white space. A half-empty card is easier to scan than a full one.
- Bold the heading and key numbers. Your eye goes to them first.
- Write on one side only. Flipping cards over is an easy way to lose your place.
- Pick a size you can hold. See cue card sizes for standard measurements and how many fit on A4 or US Letter.
Check your timing
Once the cards are written, run the speech aloud from them, not from the draft, and time it. Speaking from prompts usually takes a different amount of time than reading a script, because you rephrase and add small asides.
For an estimate before you rehearse, paste the draft into the speech timer calculator. If you are over time, cut a whole card rather than squeezing every card, which keeps the remaining points clear. In EasyPalmCards you can then rehearse one card at a time with a timer and mark the cards that need more practice.