Cueing is the skill that makes the most difference in teaching, and the one that gets practised least in training. You learn exercises, anatomy, contraindications. How to compress all of that into one sentence twelve people understand at the same time, you learn afterwards. On your own time.
Short version: A good cue is short, points outward, and arrives at the right moment. Everything else — imagery, touch, tone of voice — builds on those three. This page is the way into everything we have written on the subject, ordered by what you need first.
Where to start
If you are early in your teaching, do not start with nuance — start with the foundation: how a usable cue is built, and how that becomes a language that sounds like you.
The practical starting points are in cueing tips for new instructors. They cover the shape of a cue before they cover the wording, which is the right way round.
Why cues fall flat
The usual reason is not the content but the moment. A technically perfect cue delivered mid-effort reaches nobody — the nervous system is busy.
The five reasons instructions do not land, and what to do instead, are in why your Pilates cues don't land. Alongside it, the cueing mistakes experienced teachers make — most of them are habits rather than knowledge gaps.
"Do not name the muscle. Name what should happen — the body finds the route itself."
Inside or outside: where you point attention
The single most powerful lever in cueing. "Engage your abdominals" points attention inward; "keep the carriage so quiet nobody hears it" points it outward. The results differ noticeably, even though both refer to the same muscles.
External cues win in most situations because the body executes an image instead of analysing it. Internal cues keep their place — in body awareness work, in breath, and with people relearning to feel a region after injury. The full comparison, with a translation table, is in internal vs external cues.
Breath is cueing too
Breath is the only cue that sets rhythm, regulates tension and supports movement all at once. It is also where most goes wrong: "breathe into your sides" describes an invisible target almost nobody can act on.
The German-language guide goes through this in depth — contact point instead of explanation, eight concrete phrasings, and the three places in a class where breath actually belongs: Atmung anleiten.
Cueing a group
Everything above holds for one person. In a group of ten a second job appears: you speak to everyone and sometimes mean one.
How to phrase cues so that a beginner and an advanced client can both use them is in mastering mixed-level classes. What changes about cueing once you are in front of a group rather than beside one person is in teaching reformer groups.
An order that works
If you want to improve your cueing deliberately, take these one week at a time — one only, nothing else changed:
- Week 1: Length. No cue longer than one breath.
- Week 2: Timing. Cue before the first repetition, then close your mouth and watch.
- Week 3: Outward. Translate every internal cue into an external target.
- Week 4: Breath. One breath cue per class, done properly.
- Week 5: Silence. Deliberately say less and see what the group finds on its own.
After five weeks your teaching sounds different — not because you know more, but because you say less and what you say lands.
Want cues that already sit next to the exercise?
Every Pilates Plans class plan carries the cue with the exercise — phrased with an external focus and short enough for one breath.
→ Get a free class plan
Frequently Asked Questions
What does cueing mean in Pilates?
Cueing is everything you use to guide a movement: spoken instruction, imagery, rhythm, gaze and touch. A cue is not a description of an exercise — it is the shortest route to a change. Which is why the best cue is rarely the most precise one, but the one that lands for this person right now.
How do I get better at cueing?
Not through more technical knowledge, but through repetition and watching. Take one aspect per week — only breath cues, or only timing — and change nothing else. After five classes you will hear for yourself what works. Trying to improve everything at once improves nothing.
What is the difference between internal and external cues?
Internal cues point attention at the body ("engage your abdominals"), external cues at a target outside it ("keep the carriage quiet"). External cues produce smoother movement in most situations because the brain filters less. Internal cues keep their place for body awareness work and after injury.
How many cues per exercise should I give?
One. Two at most. Three instructions at once means none of them gets done — that is the single most common cueing mistake there is. Say one thing, wait two repetitions, look, and then decide whether a second is needed.
