How to Write a Video Script That Sounds Conversational
Jun 24, 2022
A video script sounds conversational when you write it the way you will say it, not the way you would write it for a website. Contractions instead of full words, slang spelt the way it comes out of your mouth, and punctuation used as a delivery cue rather than a grammar rule.
In this episode of Video Made Simple, now the Video Confidence Collective, Chris Schwager works through the mechanics of that: why website copy reads wrong out loud, the barbecue test for how casual to go, marking a script up with capitals and bold so a teleprompter read lands on the right words, joining words together so they roll into one another, and why an over-supply of pauses is what actually makes a presenter sound robotic.
Chris Schwager is the Founder and CEO of Ridge Films and hosts the show. This one is solo, from the Video Tips segment, which ran short pieces on scripting and on-camera presenting.
What conversational actually means in a script
Chris starts with the plain definition, because the word gets used as a vibe rather than an instruction.
"it's an informal talk between two people or more, uh, in which news and ideas can be exchanged, right?"
Two people. Not an audience, not a readership. If the words on the page could not survive being said to one person standing in front of you, they will not survive a camera either.
Why website copy sounds wrong the moment you read it out
The mistake he names is writing the script the way you would write a web page or a blog post. It is the same words doing a different job, and the job is what changed.
"Imagine you're at a barbecue and you had to explain a topic to a stranger. How would you do that? You'd start from the beginning. You'd keep it conversational."
That is the test. Not "is this correct", but "would I say this at a barbecue". If you want the diagnostic version of the same problem, we have written up why a video script sounds stiff when you read it.
How to mark a script up so it reads the way you talk
This is the part that separates writing a script from writing an article, and it is mostly mechanical.
- Do not lean on grammar. Lean on punctuation as a delivery mark. Commas, full stops, capitals and bold are there to tell you which words to hit when you read from a teleprompter, not to satisfy an editor.
- Write contractions. "Don't go there" and "do not go there" are, in Chris's words, two completely different deliveries. Pick the one you would actually say, and only write the long form when you want the emphasis.
- Spell the slang the way it comes out. His example is joining "you know" into "y'know", which is not a word and is not spelt correctly, and which forces you to deliver the line at the speed you would say it.
- Join words that roll together. Splitting them apart on the page is what makes you separate them out loud.
- Read it out loud while you write it. If there is someone else in the room, read it to them. They will tell you how it sounds before a camera does.
That last one has its own episode: the read-out-loud test. The other half of the same idea is pace, and his argument there is that the brain runs faster than the reading.
"the human brain is pretty bloody good at interpreting and deciphering the code of the way that people talk"
Why too many pauses make you sound robotic
Pauses are the thing presenters reach for when they are trying to sound considered, and they are the thing that most often does the opposite.
"pauses are important, but often, pauses or an over delivery of pauses can end up making the content sound kind of robotic"
The cause is usually on the page rather than in the delivery. A script written in short paragraphs and dot points gets read in short paragraphs and dot points, and that is where the staccato comes from. Connect the sentences that belong together and the gaps close on their own. Keep the pauses for the lines you actually want to land on.
The writing is only half of it. The delivery side of the same problem is covered in presentation tone and inflection, which are about how you say a line rather than how you wrote it.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a video script sound conversational?
Chris Schwager works from the dictionary definition: an informal talk between two people or more, where news and ideas get exchanged. That is the bar for a script. Not an audience, one person. The practical test he gives is a barbecue, and if you would not say the line to a stranger there, rewrite it.
How do you sound conversational when reading a script?
Write the script the way you will say it. Use contractions, spell slang the way it comes out of your mouth, and join words that roll together so you do not separate them out loud. Mark the page up with capitals and bold so you know which words to hit, and read every draft out loud as you write it.
How do you read a presentation without sounding scripted?
Read at close to the speed you talk. His argument is that people interpret speech faster than most presenters read, so a sporadic delivery lands as natural rather than rushed. The bigger giveaway is not speed but pauses, because an over-delivery of them makes the read sound robotic. Keep them for the lines you want to land.
Should a video script be written in the same style as a blog article?
No. Website copy and blog posts are written to be read silently, and a script is written to be performed out loud. Scripting a video the way you would write a web page is the mistake Chris Schwager says gets overlooked most often. Same words, different job, and the job is what changed.
Key moments
- 0:22 What conversational means, and why a script has to sound unscripted
- 0:47 The overlooked mistake: scripting the way you write website copy
- 1:07 The barbecue test for how casual to write
- 1:26 Using punctuation, capitals and bold as teleprompter mark-up
- 2:04 Read fast, because people interpret quicker than you read
- 2:27 Reading verbatim like a six year old, and reading out loud instead
- 3:01 Connecting sentences so the script stops sounding staccato
- 3:25 Why an over-delivery of pauses sounds robotic
- 4:11 Slang as the quickest way to sound like a person
- 4:35 Writing "y'know", and why "don't" and "do not" are two completely different deliveries
- 5:24 What changes for the viewer when the read stops sounding read
Links and resources
- The pillar this episode sits under: get confident on camera
- Why you should read fast when you present
- Chris Schwager on LinkedIn
Full transcript
Episode 112 of Video Made Simple, published 23 June 2022.
Read the full transcript
Chris Schwager 0:03
Welcome to the Video Made Simple podcast where we help take the mystery out of videos and break through the monotony of day to day communication. I'm your host, Chris Schwager. And if you want to know how to write a script that can make your presentation engaging, and easy, and relatable, then here's a video scripting tip for you now.
[00:00:22] Be conversational. Hmm. Conversational. What does it mean to be conversational? Well, it's an informal talk between two people or more, uh, in which news and ideas can be exchanged, right? Conversations are gonna flow freely and they've got to sound not scripted. If you do this right, viewers have a better chance at interpreting what you're saying easier.
[00:00:47] And this point is often overlooked when people script their videos because they often script it like they're scripting for their website copy or their blog. And that's not the way people talk. Okay. So you need to under articulate a lot of the time, and you slang and keep it conversational to make it work.
[00:01:07] You've gotta avoid being too wordy. Okay. Imagine you're at a barbecue and you had to explain a topic to a stranger. How would you do that? You'd start from the beginning. You'd keep it conversational. You'd be casual about how it sounds so that you come across loose and easy to listen to, and that's how you need to write.
[00:01:26] Okay. So tips on how to be conversational when you write a script. Write like you speak, don't write for the website copy, right? Don't lean too heavily on grammar, but what you can do is use punctuation and other techniques such as, you know, common like coms and full stops, capitalization, bolding words to assist you when you are reading, say from a teleprompter. You can use those as guides so that you can emphasise. And you know, if I was to read that it'd probably be capitalized or be in bold. To emphasise the word that you are wanting them to hear. The key words, the key messages, the takeaways. Okay.
[00:02:04] Another thing is read fast like how you speak, you know, we speak sporadically. People's ability to interpret what you're saying, you know, is far quicker than the speed in which you read. Right? So you can be sporadic about the way that you deliver your content because the human brain is pretty bloody good at interpreting and deciphering the code of the way that people talk.
[00:02:27] And if you do that, it's more real, it's more natural. It's what we do. Okay. Rather than reading the verbatim from the script, kind of like a six year old. Because that's robotic and boring and people will fall asleep when you do that. When you're writing, read out loud, read it out loud all the time. So you can get an idea of how it's sounding.
[00:02:47] You've got more than one person in the room, read it out loud to them. They'll tell you how it's sounding, okay? And that's a really important process because you are writing to deliver content out loud, right? It's not something that people are just reading to themselves.
[00:03:01] Okay. So people deliver conversation sporadically, they emulate that kind of pacing so that people don't see that you're reading content. You know, the other technique is you can connect sentences together. Right? Don't put any spaces in there often that can help as well. So my point here is, when people write, they might write these paragraph breaks or kind of dot points or whatever, you know, if you read it in the same way, again, it might come across as being quite staccato.
[00:03:25] So, you know, you say your point, you stop, you say another point you stop. Now, pauses are important, but often, pauses or an over delivery of pauses can end up making the content sound kind of robotic and form -- it's a little bit too structured, a little bit too formatted. Right? So just in specific areas, particularly where it's not overly important content or it's not really strong stuff that you're trying to drive home, fly through it.
[00:03:54] Don't ignore the punctuation. Don't ignore the full stops, but just don't add those gaping pauses in there, right? Because they're there for dramatic effect, you know, and if you don't have any dramatic effect in, in what you're saying, you don't need to do great big, long pauses through those areas.
[00:04:11] Using slang. Slang is a great example of how you can be better conversational. So here's an example. If I were to use the words, "you know, how to get things better," I would be articulating that pretty well, but if I didn't want to, you know, if I wanted to increase the rate in which I spoke and just kind of fly through that, I would attach the words, you know, together.
[00:04:35] So it's not grammatically a word it's not spelt correctly. It's not spelt, you know, it's no spelling for, you know, but it just forces you to deliver it like that. Okay. Again, we're not writing for copy on the website, we're writing for you to deliver your performance. So "y'know how to get things better." That's how you would wanna write it, y'know, attach those two words together. There's lots of examples and ways you can do this throughout your script, just to kind of tighten things up and just kind of let words roll into one another because when you split 'em apart. So for instance, do not, instead of don't another great example as well of how you maybe you'd write, do not for your website, or if you wanted to really emphasize something do not go there, uh, versus don't go there. Right? So two completely different deliveries.
[00:05:24] People will understand your message better and stay engaged with what you have to say, without it sounding robotic or mechanical. You're giving yourself the best chance at delivering your message clearly with the performance that is undetectable that it is being read. Your audience will be inclined to act, more willing to spread the word, and do the work for you.
[00:05:47] Go with it, baby. If you want more personalized coaching around this, then be sure to leave a comment, let us know how we can help use this tip and you'll pick it up quickly with a performance that's consistent, delivering a message that people will want to watch. And don't forget to subscribe to this channel where you'll get weekly Video Made Simple ideas to present your videos like a pro. That's all for this episode.
[00:06:08] Thanks for listening and see you next week.
If your scripts keep coming out sounding read rather than said, that is a writing habit before it is a camera problem, and it is a fixable one. Book a call and we will look at how your scripts are actually written.
