1. Script Writing Techniques

2. Write like you speak In most cases, writing for the ear is more informal than writing to be read. You may find that it improves your style if you imagine that you are speaking to someone while you are writing. When you write like you speak, you will naturally use smaller words, a more conversational tone and shorter sentences

3. Get to the point quickly When you’re writing for audio, you don’t have much time to lead up to the point. You have to get there quickly before you lose your audience. Focus on what’s most important by using straightforward wording.

4. Speak with one voice Speaking with one voice emerges out of consistency. It sounds like the narrator deeply knows and understands the topic, because consistency makes the speaker credible. To achieve the sound of one voice, consider defining these aspects of a script from the start: Tone: Decide on a tone that will best connect with your audience (conversational, folksy, sophisticated, etc.) Person: whether you’ll be using first, second or third person. Contractions: Will you use them or not?

5. Keep sentences short but varied Better approach might be to aim for short sentences that vary in length. This is closer to how we speak. To keep sentences on the shorter side: 1)stick to one idea per sentence; 2)delete all the extra verbiage; 3)break sentences into two whenever possible.

6. Pay attention to rhythm Speaking is similar to music—it’s got a rhythm related to the tempo of the speech and the alternation of stressed and unstressed words. When you read your script aloud, you can improve the rhythm by considering the words as sounds and listening to their flow and timing. A pleasing rhythm has the potential to hold the listener’s attention longer and to enhance the listening experience.

7. Use silence effectively Silence is to audio as white space is to visuals. Listeners need time to process the verbal content and to watch what’s on the screen. You can work brief pauses into your script by indicating where the talent should stop for a moment (often referred to as a beat) during the recording.

8. Watch your transitions Transition words, such as yet, but, however, therefore and meanwhile, let listeners know that a change from the previous thought is coming. Use transitions as cues to help clarify your message.

9. Edit in phases Some accomplished writers recommend editing in several passes while honing one aspect of your writing at a time. First revision should focus on massive changes, calls reducing. Then less ambitious revisions, such as rearranging. Finally, there is rewording. Or create your own phases of editing that work for your style of writing.

10. Calculate the length of segments You don’t want things to run on and on. A rule of thumb for calculating time is that in one minute, a narrator will read approximately 100 words. If you want your segment to last a minute, pare it down to 100 words or less.

11. Do a sound check Reading your script aloud is mandatory. That’s how you can determine whether the wording is awkward or smooth and whether the sentences flow from one to the next. Reading aloud helps you know when it’s best to use contractions, if juxtaposed words are difficult to pronounce and whether the whole script is well- connected. Finally, this is how you know if a narrator can get through a sentence without having to stop for a breath in the middle.