Writing a video script can feel intimidating. It’s unlike many other forms of writing in both tone of voice and formatting.
Regardless of your experience level, one of the most frustrating parts of writing a script is that you often already know what to say. You’ve said it hundreds of times in casual conversations and high pressure sales situations. The challenge, however, that a video script presents is it needs to be short and you are unable to adjust speed and language based on audience feedback. Of course, the other challenge is overcoming the self-consciousness with the ability to listen to yourself over and over.
Keeping these 5 tips in mind, you can be on the road to producing your next great video (or understanding where the script writer is coming from). Of course, if decide to work with me at Houston Video, I will help write your script using these steps and many other techniques.
Start with a Questionnaire
It may be tempting to dive into a script immediately, but it’s a good idea to pause and consider the framework for the video. Since video does not have an ability language or level of detail on the fly, answer these questions:
Who’s the audience?
What are the key takeaways from the video?
How long do you think they will watch the video?
Once you have the questions written down, collaborate with your team to come up with the answers — and use that as an outline for your script.
Keep it Conversational
Your script does not need to be a profound work of literature. In fact, if you design your tone and presentation and informal, even including ums could. help make it more authentic. Regardless, a script should be clear, conversational, and engaging. Here are some easy tips for how to write in a conversational tone, as adapted from a copyblogger article:
- Ditch complicated jargon and buzzwords. Your script should be easy to read and even easier to understand for your audience.
- Imagine you’re writing to a friend. When you think of your audience as someone close to you, it’s much easier to write in a more natural tone.
- Keep your sentences short and sweet. If your sentences drag on, you’re likely to get winded, and your audience is likely to get bored.
- Give yourself permission to break the rules. It’s um easy to get stressed over grammar, but you want your video to feel natural. So, don’t be afraid to script in phrases or words that make the content feel more laid back.
Drive Your Viewers to Take Action
If you want your vieweres to take action, remember to write what you want them to do into the script. Here are some things you can ask your audience to do right from your video:
- Read related content
- Schedule a demo
- Share the video
- Contact you
- Fill out a form
Read Through Your Script Out Loud
Before you start filming, you will need to read through your script out loud. And you will likely need to time yourself. People read much faster than they speak. And speaking so someone can understand and retain your information is much slower as well. You may find two or three sentences may take you 30 seconds to read. That is important if you are targeting a 60 second video, but have written half a page.
Plan Your Visuals
Similar to reading through your script out loud, it is also important to communicate how long each visual will stay on screen. Often times an image will need to remain on screen 2-4 seconds for the audience to absorb the information. Take into account two common hiccups when in a script.
If you are describing to someone how to use your product, when you get to that place in the script, attempt to conduct that process and make sure enough time is allocated. For example, if you say “watch and see how easy it is for me to tie my shoes using this method versus another method” it may take 10 seconds to show the full process while there is no scripted dialog.
Try to avoid using bulleted lists with the intent of showing different footage for each point. Because of the 2-4 second rule, you should give pause to each bullet point time to settle with the audience. So if you list 10 industry verticals your company is involved, that may take some time. While there are creative editing ways around this, but it would be important to identify these needs during the script phase.
Shoot Your Video
By now, you’ve gotta be feeling good about your script. This means it’s time to begin shooting your video! One way to make your subjects more comfortable and sound more like humans and less like robots (without relying on teleprompters) is to break up your script into smaller, easier-to-memorize chunks. Later, these lines can be edited together with B-roll, artistic jump cuts, etc. The previous tips help you understand how, when, and where footage is planned on screen. This will help you identify how you can break up your script!
Content inspired by Wistia
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