Why a 5-Minute Cue Review Is Worth 5 Hours of Stress Prevention

In the final hours before an event, everyone is moving fast. The client wants to tweak a slide. The stage manager needs to confirm walk-on timing. Sponsors are asking about signage. In that whirlwind, it’s tempting to think, “The tech team has the run of show. We’re good to go.”

But there’s one small step that can make the difference between a smooth program and a stressful one: the cue review.

It takes five minutes. And it’s worth five hours of potential troubleshooting, second-guessing, or last-minute scrambling. Here's why.

What is a cue review?

A cue review is a quick, calm run-through between the planner and the AV lead. It’s not a full rehearsal. No one needs to be on stage. The goal is simple: Confirm how the event will flow from a technical point of view.

We talk through:

• When each speaker or presenter comes on.

• Where the walk-ons and walk-offs happen.

• What needs to appear on screens and when.

• Any special cues, transitions, or media elements.

• When lighting or music changes are expected.

• Where the "quiet moments" or buffer zones are.

It’s also where we catch the little things. Is the speaker using a handheld mic or lav? Do they want a confidence monitor? Is there a cue for the video roll or does the presenter want to trigger it manually? These questions don’t take long to answer, but they matter more than most people realize.

Why it saves time (and headaches).

When cue flow isn’t confirmed ahead of time, everyone makes assumptions. And in live events, assumptions cause friction. We’ve seen it happen: a speaker walks on while the music is still playing. A video starts while the audience is still clapping. A slide doesn’t appear on the screen because no one confirmed which file version was final.

Each of these moments creates stress, for the planner, the speaker, and the tech team. They’re avoidable. And the fix is simple. A cue review gives everyone a shared mental model for how the show is supposed to run. It aligns people who are otherwise working in separate lanes.

A cue review builds trust.

This five-minute conversation is also a chance for you to read the room. Are the AV techs confident? Do they seem clear on the plan? Do they have any questions that haven’t surfaced yet? These small moments of clarity are how you build trust before the lights go down.

Moonrise AV offers cue reviews as part of every event we support. We don’t just check boxes and assume it’ll all work out. We slow down, check in, and make sure everyone is in sync. It’s a habit we build into our process because we’ve seen the upside. Five minutes now prevents five hours of damage control later — trust us on that.

REQUEST A PROPOSAL