In Australia, almost every student gives an oral with palm cards at some point, from a Year 7 persuasive speech to a Year 12 English or Drama assessment. Outside Australia, the same cards are usually called cue cards. EasyPalmCards started as a palm card maker for Australian students, and the editor is still built around the way palm cards are actually used in class.
New to palm cards? Start with what palm cards are and the step-by-step palm card guide. This page is about getting your set made and printed.
Make palm cards in minutes
- Paste or import your speech Copy it from Word, Google Docs or OneNote, or import the file directly.
- Set your card limit If your teacher allows a set number of palm cards, choose a layout that gives you that many, then check the whole speech still fits.
- Cut down to key words Keep the hook, quotes and last line in full. Turn the rest into dot points.
- Print and rehearse Print on A4, cut along the lines, and rehearse with the speech timer.
Palm cards from Year 7 to Year 12
Years 7 to 9
Early high school orals are usually two to four minutes: persuasive speeches, book talks, science explanations and history presentations. Four to six palm cards is typical. The biggest mark-earner at this level is eye contact, so practise looking up at the end of every dot point.
Years 10 to 12
Senior orals are longer and marked more closely on structure and language. Teachers often limit the number of cards or the words per card to stop students reading a script. Use a heading on every card that names its job, such as “Thesis”, “Evidence 2” or “Link to question”, so you can see the shape of the speech in your hand. The oral presentation guide has a structure that works for most assessments.
Rehearsing for an oral
Most oral marking criteria reward eye contact, pace and voice as much as the content itself. Rehearse with the same palm cards you will hold in class, out loud and standing up, at least three times. Time each run with the speech timer. If you are over the limit, cut a sentence from each card rather than talking faster; if you are well under, you probably skipped an explanation that the marker is looking for. Mark any card where you stumbled and fix it straight away.
Debating palm cards
Debating is the other big use for palm cards in Australian schools. First speakers need a card for the definition and team line, second speakers need cards for their arguments, and third speakers need blank cards they can fill during the debate. Keep your team line on the top card for every speaker so nobody drifts off message. Colour-code rebuttal cards so you can find them quickly. More detail is on the debate cards page, and the debate template sets the cards up for you.
School captain and leadership speeches
School captain, prefect and SRC speeches are short, high-stakes and delivered to the whole school, often in an assembly hall with a microphone. Two or three palm cards in large print is usually enough: who you are, what you will do, and a memorable close. The school captain speech guide and its template walk through it.
Printing on A4
Palm cards print on ordinary A4 paper. Choose how many cards you want per page and EasyPalmCards fits them inside the printer margin, with cut lines between them. Four per page gives you cards close to A6 size, which is comfortable to hold. Printing on light card, around 160 to 200 gsm, stops the cards bending or shaking in your hands. If you are printing at school, save the cards as a PDF from the print dialogue and print it from the library computer.
Number every palm card in the corner. If you drop them walking to the front of the class, you can put them back in order in seconds.