4.3 Cues
When you are preparing a talk, you don’t need to write out everything that you are going to say. You can use cue cards. These are small pieces of card about the size of a postcard. They are called cue cards because they help you to remember what to say by giving you a ‘cue’ or prompt.
You need one cue card for each of your main points. The heading of the main point goes at the top of the card and then short notes expanding on it under the heading.
Figure 13 is an example of a cue card from a talk about giving up smoking.
Activity 17 Making cue cards
Read the information below about a community centre. Plan some cue cards for a talk on the community centre. Decide on your main points and write a heading for each. Then write brief notes under each heading.
The centre is in Queen Street near the library and supermarket. The centre is open every day, Monday to Friday 7.00 am to 10.00 pm. On Saturdays and Sundays it is open 10.00 am to 4.00 pm. It has a varied programme of events for all ages. There is plenty for everyone to do and enjoy. You can start a new hobby or brush up an old one. For parents we have pre-school and toddler groups. For youngsters there are after school clubs, a drop-in centre and sound studio. Pensioners can enjoy our friendly luncheon club and coach trips out and about. We are now fully staffed with a professional team of people here to help you. There is a centre manager, two team workers, admin assistant, cook and caretaker. We look forward to seeing you soon in the centre.
Discussion
There is quite a lot of information for your listeners to take in. But the information is in three sections, so you could organise your cue cards as follows:
- Cue card 1: Whereabouts of the centre and opening times
- Cue card 2: Programme of events and activities
- Cue card 3: Staff at the centre.