The four ranks as stages of mastery
Page (apprentice) → Knight (active seeker) → Queen (mature embodiment) → King (mastery and authority). Each suit's four court cards walk through these four stages with that element's energy. So the Page of Cups is someone just learning to feel; the Knight of Cups is a romantic on a quest; the Queen of Cups is the empath everyone goes to; the King of Cups is the wise emotional authority. Read them as a developmental arc, not as four interchangeable "people."
Suit + rank = the person's flavour
Combine the suit (Wands = fire/creative, Cups = water/emotional, Swords = air/intellectual, Pentacles = earth/practical) with the rank (apprentice/seeker/master/authority) and you have a quick read on who or what the card represents. The Queen of Pentacles is the mature, nurturing, materially capable woman; the Knight of Swords is the fast-talking, occasionally reckless thinker; the King of Wands is the seasoned creative visionary. Learn these sixteen flavours and the court cards start to feel obvious.
Person, self, or energy — how to pick
When a court card shows up in a reading, ask three questions in order: (1) Does anyone in my life immediately come to mind? If yes, read it as that person. (2) If not, does this rank-and-suit describe a part of me that is active in this question? If yes, read it as a self-aspect. (3) If neither, read it as the energy the situation is calling for — be the Knight of Swords here, be the Queen of Pentacles. This three-step order keeps you from forcing readings.
When multiple court cards show up
A spread with two or three court cards is usually telling you the situation is about relationships — who is involved, who is missing, who you need to call. Read the cards as a cast of characters and notice the dynamic between them: who is the authority figure, who is the seeker, who is the apprentice. Sometimes you are one of the courts in your own reading; sometimes you are the querent watching the others.