In UK and Irish schools, colleges and workplaces, the small cards you hold while presenting are often called prompt cards. The name describes the job well: each card prompts you with the next point rather than giving you a script to read. Used properly, they let you sound prepared and natural at the same time.
Prompt cards or cue cards?
You will hear both. Prompt cards is the phrase many teachers use for spoken assessments, while cue cards is common in media, business and everyday speech. Australians call them palm cards, and Americans usually say note cards or index cards. The format is the same everywhere: a small card, one idea, a few words.
GCSE and A-level presentations
Spoken presentations in English Language, modern languages and some A-level and EPQ assessments are usually short, formal and followed by questions. Examiners are looking for clear structure, appropriate language and the ability to respond to questions, so prompt cards should help you with all three.
- Plan around a clear structure. An introduction that states your view, two or three supported points, and a conclusion that pulls them together.
- Keep prompts brief. Most assessments do not allow a full script, and reading one would cost you marks for delivery anyway. Use headings and key phrases.
- Add a card for questions. List the two or three questions you are most likely to be asked, with a one-line answer to each.
- Check the rules. Exam boards update their guidance, so confirm with your teacher what notes are permitted this year.
For language orals, write tricky vocabulary or verb forms in full on the card. Those are the words that slip away under pressure.
Interviews and assessments
Prompt cards are excellent for interview preparation. Put each competency question on its own card with a short Situation, Task, Action and Result, and rehearse until you can tell the story without looking. On the day, a single card with your own questions for the panel is usually acceptable and shows you have prepared. The STAR interview answers page has a template.
Weddings and occasions
Best man, maid of honour and father of the bride speeches are where prompt cards earn their keep. Reception rooms are noisy, the lighting is dim, and you may be holding a microphone. A few stiff A6 cards in large print are far easier than a folded sheet of A4. See the best man speech guide for a card-by-card structure.
Making and printing them
- Paste your notes or import a file Copy from Word or Google Docs, or import the document directly.
- Choose the card size Four cards on A4 gives cards close to A6. Choose more per page for smaller cards.
- Edit the prompts Cut sentences down to key words and add [PAUSE] or [SLIDE] markers where you need them.
- Print on card if you can 160 to 250 gsm card goes through most home printers and stays stiff in your hand.
Rehearsal mode shows your prompt cards one at a time with a timer, so you can check the presentation fits the time limit before you print.
A good test: hand your cards to a friend and ask them to read only the headings aloud. If the headings alone tell the story of your presentation in the right order, the structure is sound. If they do not, rearrange the cards before you worry about the wording on them.
After each rehearsal, look at which cards made you stop or stumble. Those are the cards to change: add a missing word, move a long example onto its own card, or replace a sentence you keep tripping over with a phrase you can say naturally. Two or three rounds of this is usually enough to go from notes that you read to prompts that you glance at, which is exactly what examiners, interview panels and wedding guests want to see.