Script Cues

Script Cues help Action Phrase follow a script during a live session. Instead of guessing where you are based on a whole paragraph, each script section can listen for a short, intentional phrase. When Voice Action hears that phrase, it can move the teleprompter to the matching section and run any actions attached to that section.

Cue Points

Cue Points are the recommended way to detect sections in Scripts. A Cue Point is created by giving a section a Magic Phrase.

For example:

• Section: “Intro”
• Magic Phrase: “welcome back”
• Result: When Voice Action hears “welcome back,” it recognizes the Intro section.

Cue Points make script behavior easier to understand because each section has a clear phrase to listen for. They are especially useful for live shows, recordings, presentations, and repeatable production workflows.

Magic Phrases

A Magic Phrase is the primary phrase Voice Action listens for in a script section.

Good Magic Phrases are:

• Short, usually 3 to 6 words
• Natural to say during the script
• Unique within the script
• Placed near the moment you want the section recognized
• Easy to remember and pronounce
• Easy for the speech engine to recognize and transcribe

Examples:

• “let’s get started”
• “today’s main story”
• “before we wrap up”
• “welcome to the show”

Avoid phrases that are too common, such as “okay,” “next,” or “and then.” These can appear in normal speech and may cause unwanted section changes.

Alternate Phrases

Alternate Phrases are optional backup phrases for the same section. Use them when you might naturally say the cue in more than one way.

For example:

• Magic Phrase: “welcome back”
• Alternate Phrases:
  • “welcome back everyone”
  • “thanks for joining us”
  • “let’s begin”

Any of these phrases can identify the same section. This gives you flexibility without creating duplicate sections or extra actions.

Repeated Cues

If a cue phrase is heard more than once during a session, Action Phrase can handle it in different ways:

• Navigate to Section: The repeated cue can move the Teleprompter back to that section.
• Ignore: Once that section has already been matched, repeated cues for it are ignored.

You can set repeated cue behavior for the whole script, then override it for individual sections when needed.

Markdown Authoring

When creating scripts from Markdown, headings can become sections and bold text can become cue phrases.

Example:

## Intro

**welcome back** to the show. Today we’re talking about launch planning.

## Sponsor

Before we continue, **let’s thank our sponsor**.

In this example, “welcome back” and “let’s thank our sponsor” become cue phrases for their sections.

Best Practices

• Use one clear Magic Phrase per section.
• Add Alternate Phrases only for wording you might actually say.
• Keep cue phrases distinct from each other.
• Avoid putting the same cue phrase in multiple sections.
• Test your script once before recording or going live.
• Use section actions only where automation is genuinely helpful.

If Action Phrase warns about duplicate cue phrases, update one of the sections so each cue points to a clear destination.