Docs Build from scratch
01
Open the new guide panel
Start from your Sessions dashboard.

From the main Sessions view, click the + New guide button in the left sidebar. A panel will appear asking how you'd like to create your guide.

Select Write manually to open the blank guide editor.

Screenshot: New guide creation panel Drop image at /images/docs/scratch-new-panel.png
02
Name your guide
Give it a clear, descriptive title.

The first field in the editor is the guide title. This is what you'll see in your sessions list, so make it specific enough to tell apart from other guides — for example, New Starter Induction — Day 1 rather than just Induction.

You can rename the guide at any time from the guide settings menu.
03
Add your first section
Sections are the building blocks of a guide.

Each section represents one topic or segment of your training. Think of them like chapters — during a live session you'll move through them one at a time.

Click + Add section and give it a title, such as Welcome & introductions or Health and safety overview.

Screenshot: Guide editor with sections sidebar Drop image at /images/docs/scratch-sections.png
04
Write the section content
Write the way you'd actually speak it — not bullet points.

In the main content area, write or paste the text for this section. Pigeon's speech tracker works by matching the words you say against what's written here — so the closer your content is to how you'd naturally speak, the better the tracking will be.

  • Write in complete sentences rather than bullet-point fragments
  • Avoid heavy formatting — the tracker reads the text, not the layout
  • It doesn't need to be a verbatim script — a rough outline of key phrases works well too
Screenshot: Section content editor with text Drop image at /images/docs/scratch-content.png
05
Add the rest of your sections
Repeat until your full training structure is in place.

Continue adding sections until your guide covers everything you'd deliver in the session. You can reorder sections at any time by dragging them in the left sidebar.

Most effective guides have between 4 and 10 sections. Too few and you lose granularity in your reports; too many and navigation becomes unwieldy in a live session.
06
Save and run your first session
Your guide is ready to use.

Your guide saves automatically as you work. When you're happy with it, click Start session from the guide view to run it live.

Not quite ready? You can come back to edit your guide any time from the Sessions dashboard — changes take effect the next time you start a session.

Up next

Now that you've built a guide, learn how to run it:

Run a live session

How speech tracking works, navigating sections, and ending a session.

Try the AI builder

Have existing materials? Let AI draft your guide from a transcript, video, or recording. Read the guide →

Import a file

Already have a Word doc or PowerPoint? Import it directly. Read the guide →