Here is "MC's 10 simple steps to streamlined calling"
1) Drop the warning. It is unnecessary. Most ops hardly need the Standby, a warning just gets ignored.
2) Create groups. ie "Standby LX 1-5, Sound 3-5" It makes things a lot faster.
3) Create sequences. ie "Standby LX, Sound, flys, Sequence 1." "Sequence one, count 10, go...1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10" The way these work takes a bit of planning. Say you have a part that over 20 seconds has many different cues for lighting, flys and sound. Before the show, you hand out a sequence sheet, and under sequence 1, there may be something like this:
Sequence 1:
01: LX13
SD8
FY10
02: LX14
03: LX15
04: SD9
05: FY11
06: LX16
07: SD10
08: LX17
09: LX18
10: SD11
FY12
I use them with complex sections, and they work.
4) Ensure that there is NO CANS CHATTER.
5) Don't leave long pauses. 2 seconds between the end of LX 15 and Go when you are going a cue is about the max.
6) Never false call (ie "LX 15.. G.... LX 15... Go!") Ops will anticipate the go. If you false call, you will have screw ups
7) Never stand by a cue more than 30 seconds in advance if you can avoid it. If you are going into a long sequence, say 2 minutes with no room to standby (for example) a fly cue, THEN you "Warn Flys 15"
Make sure your ops know your calling syntax. Things like the warning above, let them know that that means it is coming up but you wont have time to stand then by.
9) Practice.
10) Practice More! The cues NEED to roll off your tongue. Spluttering can throw off a sequence and can lead to major stuffups.
Some other things you may want to consider. Softdrinks and juices can play havolk with your vocal chords - avoid them pre show, only drink water.
Gargling salt water is also meant to be good for your throat.
Ensure you have decent light.
I don't like dots - in fact I HATE dots, I think they make life harder. Especially if you dont write department prefixes on them (which a lot of people don't). The setup of your book really does impact on how you call. The format I have found works best is this:
But as I said above, practice!