ShmoopTube

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[Dino and Coop singing]

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It's not always easy to remember everything you're supposed to... [Guy wearing dog glasses holding a lunchbox]

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Whether it's your lunchbox... [The lunchbox disappears]

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Your glasses...

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Or even your pants...

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Sometimes we can't help but be a bit forgetful. [Teacher points at the student who has no pants on]

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…speaking of which…anyone seen a pair of jeans…? ….asking for a friend… not me... [Student turns into screaming painting as he realises 100 page essay is due in]

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Anyway, that's why we often use tips and tricks to keep track of everything... [Cue tips and a witch appears]

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And when it comes to delivering a speech, there's nothing more useful for remembering

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what we need to say than cue cards. [Cue card]

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In fact, that's how a bunch of TV hosts keep remember what they have to say on the [Dino and Coop news show]

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air... so they clearly work! [Woman holding up Dino and Coop's cue cards]

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Unfortunately for you, you probably don't have a whole team of assistants to prepare [Monkey using a typewriter]

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your cue cards for you like Jimmy Fallon does, so you're going to have to do it yourself.

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And if you do have a team of assistants, then…that's weird. [Two monkeys working]

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Okay, for starters, you only want to have one main idea per card.

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That's because as you're speaking, you'll be flipping through the cards to keep you

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on track.

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If you have a million lines of text per card, you'll probably get lost and confused pretty [Cue card full of small writing]

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quickly, so it helps to keep things simple by only having one point per card. [A needle through some thread]

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Just as importantly, you'll want the cards to be easy to read and understand.

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You want to be able to quickly glance down at the card and know exactly what point you [Person looking confused at a messy cue card]

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should be talking about.

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In order to ensure they're easy to read, you'll want to use bold writing and leave plenty [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

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of space, so that your eyes go right to the words.

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If you're discussing a list of things, make sure to use bullets or numbers, so that you [Items from a messy room are put into bullet points]

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remember to introduce the information as a list.

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Oh, and don't be afraid to use bright colors or different text features on your cards.

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For example, you might want to underline an especially emotional point in red so you remember ['Disco changed lives' is underlined]

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to build up to it.

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If you follow these points, you'll have the slickest cue cards on the block!

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Of course, you'll want to practice plenty ahead of time so that the whole speech comes [Man talking to himself in the mirror]

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automatically to you.

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However, if you're interested in giving yourself an extra challenge... [Girl climbing a rock]

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Stick this picture to one cue card and shuffle it into your stack of cards. [Llama wind surfing with dolphins]

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The challenge is to keep yourself from laughing in the middle of your presentation when you

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get it.

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…Actually, on second thought, don't do it…because let's be honest – it's impossible not to [Student laughing during his presentation]

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laugh when you see that picture. [Teacher looks angry then laughs when he sees the picture]

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