How to Write a Video Script – Essential Guide

First, the intro! It’s the one part of the video that grabs your viewers’ attention and keeps it all the way to the end. Now, it’s okay to be a bit quirky at the beginning, but don’t overstay your welcome. So, think about what you’re going to say within the first 5 to 15 seconds of the video. Since you’re dealing with students for your online course, how would you greet them? And what do they need to look forward to when they click on your video?

Perhaps here, you can tease the viewers on what to expect in your video. But remember: You’ll only have a limited time to capture their attention and get them fired up to watch your video. A simple “Coming Up” tag would suffice where you show a quick montage of what viewers can expect in your video.

Here’s a good video script template to use in that case, as we return to the math example from earlier:

“ COMING UP… [tag]

*Montage of clips play out as speaker speaks.

SPEAKER: We’ll put a face on multiplication. Then, watch what happens when we apply

multiplication on EVERYTHING! FIND OUT NOW! ”

Notice how the intro is brief? Notice how it describe what’s in the video, and what viewers should look forward to? Notice how it’s imploring viewers to stay tuned? That’s how your intro should look and feel. You can also create scenarios, which can segway into the main topic. But again, you’ll need to keep the intro brief, so that viewers stick to the video.

In the previous point, it was mentioned that there was a certain amount of time that’s acceptable for the intro. Now, let’s think about your video as a whole. How long do you want your video to be?

Nowadays, people want to know things right away, especially when it comes to videos. According to survey, videos that are up to 2 minutes long receive the most engagement from viewers. In other words, viewers want videos to be straightforward in order for them to receive the viewership. Although you can get away with your videos being between 5 and 15 minutes, but you still have to take into consideration that your video script template takes into account the timing. When doing so, keep these objectives in mind:

• Don’t exceed the 15-minute mark.
• Don’t drag on in certain parts of the video. All segments of a video should be distributed evenly in your script; AND,
• Keep the intro brief and enticing.

Now, this part is already a given. Since you’re running an online course, your ideal audience should be students. However, what your audience will look like depends on what you plan on teaching.

Now, when it comes to education, or doing something for educational purposes, you’ll need to think about who you’re teaching to. Keep in mind that not all students are created equal. In other words, you might be talking to younger students, or you might be reaching out to college-level students. No matter the grade level or age range, you’ll need to know who will watch your video.

So, in your script, speak to the audience like you know who they are. For example, talk to college-level students as if they were adults. There’s no need for the baby language, when addressing college students, unless it’s for comedic purposes.

Now, who said that an online course video has to be “boring” or “dull”? Check out this sample video script:

“Welcome to the biology course! Today we’re gonna be talking about [subject]. [Say something quirky] Let’s dive right in!”

See how the script tells you to “say something quirky”? You can make that distinction when writing the script. Or, when filming, you say something quirky without that distinction being on the script, AND it works during post-edit, that’s okay too.

The trick is to make your video unique for people to watch, while still keeping that engagement with your viewers.

Once you have plenty of ideas running through your mind, write them down! Now, keep in mind: This is where you’ll brainstorm ideas. Also, remember that not all ideas will be used in your videos. In fact, some of your ideas might be perfect for the next video that you make.

However, let’s not forget about creativity. Being creative in your script is a plus. Creativity allows you to:

• Better engage with your audience
• Make the video stand out more with pizzazz and relevancy, AND
• Get the overall message across

It’s okay if the brainstorming period has you writing down silly ideas. What if those “silly ideas” can be the necessary gems for your video? Plus, like general writing, the rough draft is NEVER the final draft.

Normally, a call-to-action is needed at the end of a video. What do you want people to do after they’ve watched your video? Do you want them to check out any resources after watching? Do you want them to check out other videos from your online course?

So, make sure that you add an effective call-to-action in your video script.

Finally, it’s time to review the script. Here, you’ll need to read the script out loud, so that it makes sense. If you find any typos, or if something sounds off, then fix it.

If necessary, ask a friend or two to look at your script. Having extra pairs of eyes on your script can help you improve it during the revision process. Chances are, you might have missed something after reviewing it once.

Conclusion

So, there you have it!

If you’re looking to teach with an online course, then consider learning how to write a script for a video. Video scripts are a great way to keep your ideas focused, and to help you get your lessons and message through to your viewers.

Just to recap, consider the following tips:

• Make a good and brief intro.
• Give your video a good length.
• Know your audience.
• Feel free to improvise.
• Jot down many ideas.
• Have a decent call-to-action. AND,
• Review the script.

With a strong script, your online course video will be impactful to those you teach.