How to write a compelling script for your video

A good script provides the backbone to a great video. Without one you risk producing a video which is unclear in its messaging, hard to follow for your audience, and lacking a strong narrative. Having an engaging script is especially important if your video is going to be faced by a presenter, or voiced by a narrator who will be speaking over the visuals happening on screen. But how do you go about writing a compelling script for your video?

Why is a good script important for your video?

A script can act as the structure on which you will hang the rest of your video. It establishes the narrative you want to tell, the message you want to convey and the feeling you want to leave your audience with once they’ve finished watching. A good script will show the personality of your business or organisation, whilst presenting information in a concise and accessible way.

A well written script is an important resource to have to hand if your video will be faced by a presenter, especially if they have little experience appearing on camera or are feeling nervous about delivering their lines. Having a script gives them a chance to learn their lines and feel confident in what they have to say. A good script is arguably even more important for a narrator, who will read the script word for word to narrate the action happening in your video. 

Writing a script for your video which engages and resonates with your audience

Plan your script before writing it

Before you put pen to paper, it’s important to take the time to think about what you’d like to say in your script. Developing a plan helps to guide the writing process, ensure a clear narrative and that key messages are conveyed to your audience. It also prevents the need for multiple re-writes, if the structure for your script is not clear from the beginning and you keep having to change things to establish a flow for the copy. 

Planning your script can be as simple as writing a list of bullet points which clearly lay out how you’d like to structure the dialogue. At this point you can then make sure that the narrative is clear and that key points are included.

Decide on the length of your video

Another helpful step to complete before writing your script is to decide on the length of your video. A script for a documentary which lasts more than 30 minutes is going to be very different to a short social video lasting a few minutes. In addition to establishing how long you have to convey the story or information you want to deliver in the video, knowing the time limit ensures that when you come to writing, you know how much detail you can include. A shorter video will need to be more concise in nature, whilst a longer video will allow you to explore themes or topics in more depth.

Think about your target audience

Knowing who is going to be watching your video is a key factor to keep in mind when writing your video script. Spend time before writing your script defining whom your target audience is and how best to verbally communicate with them. What are their demographics? Consider what jobs they have, what their interests are, what content they already consume and their technical expertise.

How you write for a child will be very different to that of a professional who has been working in their field for decades and has built up a specialist knowledge of their industry. Knowing with whom you are trying to communicate will allow you to write in such a way that will engage and resonate with your target audience.

Simplify complex terms

It’s easy when you’re working in an industry to slip into using jargon or assume knowledge, but when writing a script you should take steps to make the text as accessible as possible. That means defining or simplifying complex terms, avoiding the use of jargon where possible and presenting information in a concise way. 

Even if you are producing a video which will only be shown to people who are experts in their field, you should still make the content accessible. People won’t want to watch a video version of an academic sounding essay or report, they will want to listen to someone speaking in a conversational way. 

Write how you’d say it

When you’ve spent years writing corporate sounding emails or reports, making the switch to writing in a more conversational tone can be difficult. But writing how you’d verbally say something will make your script more accessible, engaging and easier to deliver for your talent. Writing in a more natural way can also avoid your video sounding too corporate or wooden, which can disengage viewers whose attention will be diverted elsewhere.

If you’re struggling with making the transition to writing how you would say it, try taking a step back from writing your script and say aloud what you’d like your script to include. You could even try recording yourself. This will be a useful exercise which will help you identify your voice and make it easier to translate it to your writing on the page.

Read it aloud

As you write your script, try reading parts you’ve written aloud to yourself. Does it sound strange, too complex or strangely corporate? Try going back and making some edits and then reading it aloud again, repeating this until it feels natural to say the script aloud. It can be easy to fall into the trap of writing a script like you would an email, newsletter or blog post, but the tone of voice and way of writing needs to be different. You need to allow for pauses and moments to take a breath. The script needs to reflect how someone would tell the story or explain the issue in a conversation. Reading what you’ve written aloud will help you identify what changes need to be made.

Give it 24 hours before making edits

After spending hours writing your script you’ll probably want to get stuck into making edits, send it off for approval or get straight into recording. The best idea though is to take a break and return to your script with a fresh pair of eyes. This could be returning to the script after lunch, the next day or even next week. Taking time away from what you’ve written allows you to approach the task with a new perspective. You’ll be surprised at how many changes you’ll want to make and how much easier it is to make edits. 

If you’re eager to feel like you’re making progress whilst you take a break from writing, you could always try sharing the script with others who haven’t been involved in the process and ask them to provide feedback. Then when you come back to review the script yourself you  could use these comments to inform your editing process.

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