13.3 Take Note! Do Not Speak Without Notes/Learn to Use Them Effectively
Rosemary Martinelli
Learning Objectives
- Know how to use notecards to free you from your manuscript
- Know how to use notecards to stay organized while you make audience contact
- Understand how to develop effective notecards for a speech
It’s a great deal of work to prepare a good speech or other presentation, and you want to present it effectively and memorably so that your audience will benefit as much as possible from your knowledge and expertise. We’ve already said that extemporaneous speaking provides the best opportunity for speaker-audience contact and that speaking extemporaneously means you do not have your full manuscript or outline with you. Instead, you will use notecards. The cards should have notes/keywords/bullet points that help you remember what is to follow. The notes do not contain the full text of your speech. If you practice your presentation, the keywords on notecards help to “jog your memory” so you recall what you need to say next.
Do not forget to number your notecards. If, for some reason, you drop them on the floor, trying to remember their order can be problematic if you are up against the starting time of the speech.
You can select the best way to use your notes during a presentation. Sometimes people use five or six notecards with the key points and subpoints noted on each card. Avoid the temptation of typing out a full manuscript and then “cutting and pasting” the sentences on the notecards. Guaranteed, you will READ what you have included and that will disengage you from your audience, drop your voice because you have to look down to read the notecards, and, in short, this will detract from your professionalism and credibility around your topic.
Under no circumstances should you ever attempt to put your entire speech on cards in little tiny writing. You will end up reading words to your audience instead of telling them your meaning, and the visual aspect of your speech will be spoiled by your need to squint to read your cards.
For many people, this does not sound like nearly enough note cards. Again, practice and preparation are what will give you the speaking ease for which you have been requested to present.
Another tip to help with notes is to color code the notecards for each section of your speech. Since most well-prepared speeches require three to five key points of content, perhaps each notecard is a different color so you know when the points change in the content of your speech.
One caveat about the use of notecards: do not hold them in your hands so that they become part of your nonverbals and so that they distract the audience. In other words, lay them on the lectern or podium and slide them across or stack them once you complete the points on each card. The notecards are never meant to be part of your nonverbals of any speech or presentation. What then, is their true purpose, besides making more work for you? Read on!
The Purpose of Speaker Notes
Using notes adds to your credibility (that ethos term you read about earlier) as a speaker. If you depend on a full manuscript to convey the content of your speech, your listeners might believe you don’t know the content of your speech. Second, the temptation to read the entire speech directly from a manuscript, even if you’re only carrying it as a safety net, is nearly overwhelming. It can distract you, too, from really presenting the content and your own passion and enthusiasm for the topic. Third, well-prepared, brief notecards are more gracefully handled than sheets of paper, and they don’t rattle and shake if your hands tremble from nervousness.
Finally, cards look better than sheets of paper which can distract the audience. Five or six carefully prepared cards, together with practice, will help you more than you might think as you navigate throughout your presentation. Notecards are small and will not distract the audience from your important speech message!
Key Tips for Using Notes
Plan on using just five cards, written on one side only. Get 4 × 6 cards. Larger cards can be unwieldy. If you think you can include more information on a larger card, do not be mistaken! Larger cards, like full sheets of paper as noted above, can be distracting to you and your audience. Use one card for the introduction, one card for each of your three to five main points, and one card for the conclusion.
Include Only Key Words to Help Your Memory
Your cards should include key words and phrases, not full sentences. The words and phrases should be arranged in order so that you can stay organized and avoid forgetting important points.
One exception to the key word guideline would be an extended or highly technical quotation from an authoritative source. If it is critically important to present an exact quotation, you may add one additional card that will contain the direct quotation, word-for-word, together with its citation (i.e., “According to research from the American Medical Association…”) If you plan to use such a quotation, make sure it has central importance in your speech. Quotations used in presentations for the sake of using quotations and because you may think they make you sound authoritative, are just a waste of time and add nothing substantive to your speech.
Hold Your Notes Naturally, Not Like a Prop
Notes are a normal part of giving a presentation. You do not need to conceal them from the audience. In fact, trying to hide and use your notes at the same time tends to be very awkward and distracting. Some speakers recommend that you avoid gesturing with your notes on the grounds that nervous shaking is more noticeable if you are holding your notes in your hand. If this is the case for you, practice gesturing with your free hand, or put your cards down on the lectern/podium if you need to use both hands. Other professional speakers recommend treating notecards as a natural extension of your hand, as they believe it is distracting to put your notes down and pick them up multiple times. Whichever “rule” you follow, remember that the goal is for your use of notecards to contribute to your overall appearance of confidence and credibility. They are to enhance your presentation, not detract from it.
Just one more note about using notes: if there is no lectern/podium for your use during your presentation, then hold your notecards at waist-level. You can still gesture but the notecards will not detract from what you have to say.
Prepare Notecards to Trigger Recall
The “trick” to selecting the words to write on your cards is to identify the keywords that will trigger a recall sequence from your original speech preparation and detail. For instance, if the word “Fukushima” brings to mind the nuclear power plant meltdown that followed the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 2011, then that one word on your notecard should propel you through a sizable sequence of points and details. Once you have delivered that material, perhaps you’ll glance at your card again to remind yourself of the key word or phrase that comes next.
You must discover what works for you and then select those words that tend to “jog your recall.” Remember, you are not memorizing all of the content from a speech manuscript. The notecards and brief keywords are words you have chosen that help you in your delivery. Having identified what works for you, start to make a preliminary set of five or six cards, written on one side only. Number the cards, and practice with them. Revise and refine them the way you would an outline for an English essay or term paper. If you must, rewrite an entire card to make it work better, and then test it the next time you practice.
Because your presentation has a set time, you can write time cues on your notecards, as well as pictures and Emojis that remind you to smile, look at the entire audience, remember to gesture to reinforce your content. Consider your notecards like “cue cards” in a stage production. The key words and images will help you along the way to including all that you want to share with the audience.
Always practice with your notecards—and with any visuals and props you plan to use. Practicing is also the best way to find out what kinds of things might go wrong with your notes in the presented speech and what steps you should take to make things go smoothly.
Write in Large Letters
You should be able to read something on your card by glancing, not peering at it. A few key words and phrases, written in large, bold print with plenty of white space between them, will help you. If the lighting in your speech location is likely to have glare, be sure to write your notes in ink, as pencil can be hard to read in poor lighting. If you are using a podium or lectern, ask someone if there is a built-in light and make sure it is turned on so that your notecards are easy for you to see during your presentation.
Practice Using Notecards Effectively
If you use as much care in developing your notecards as you do your speech, they should serve you well. If you lose your place or go blank during the speech, you will only need a few seconds to find where you were, based on the keywords on your notecards, and then you can get going again. For instance, if you know that you presented the introduction and the first main point, which centers on the Emancipation Proclamation, you can readily go to your second card and remind yourself that your next main point is about the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution.
In addition, the use of your notecards allows you to depart from the exact prepared wordings in a manuscript. In your recovery from losing your place, you can transpose a word or phrase to make your recovery graceful. It allows you to avoid feeling pressured to say every single word exactly as it may have been written in a detailed manuscript. Again, this comes from also having a well-planned, well-rehearsed speech. DO NOT sacrifice the need to practice by just thinking that your notecards will give you all you need. You need to be the professional and be prepared before, during and after your presentation.
You Try It: AI Note-Card Tune-Up
Activity Introduction: Notecards work best when they contain brief keywords rather than full sentences. In this quick activity, you’ll practice converting ideas into keywords and use AI to make them even clearer.
Wrap up: By quickly refining your keywords with AI, you strengthen your ability to create effective delivery notes while practicing the AI literacy skill of evaluating small improvements.
You Try It: Rate That Feedback
Activity Introduction: AI feedback tools can help speakers strengthen their delivery, but only when used thoughtfully. In this activity, you’ll examine examples of AI-generated comments to practice identifying accurate, biased, and misleading pieces of feedback.
Activity Instructions: Student Instructions: You will read short pieces of AI-generated feedback about hypothetical student speeches. For each item, decide whether the AI feedback is accurate, useful, and ethically appropriate. Select the best answer for each prompt. Your goal is to practice evaluating automated feedback before using AI tools for your own delivery improvement.
Wrap up: Being able to evaluate automated feedback prepares you to use AI ethically and effectively as you refine your own delivery skills and improve your confidence through intentional use of tools.
