How to write a video script for a teleprompter

To write a video script you will read off a teleprompter, write for the ear rather than the eye: short sentences, one idea in each, in the words you would actually say. Give it a shape the viewer can follow without seeing it — a hook, one point, the proof, and an ask — and fix the length by word count before you film, at roughly 150 words per minute of English.

Most script advice is written for screenwriters or for people who will edit heavily afterwards. This is for the other case: one person, one phone, a script on the prompter and a take you would rather get right in two attempts than twelve.

Write for the ear, not the page

The page lets a reader slow down, look back and parse a long sentence. A listener gets each word once, in order, at your speed. Sentences that work perfectly well in an email become hard to say and harder to follow, and a teleprompter makes that worse, because you are reading at the pace the scroll sets rather than the pace your comprehension wants.

The test for every line is the same: would you say this to someone sitting across the table? If you would not say “in order to facilitate” to a friend, it does not belong in your script. The fastest way to apply the test is to read the draft aloud while you edit it, and rewrite every line you trip on. A trip in rehearsal is a retake on the day.

How to format a script for a teleprompter

Formatting decides how easily your eyes find the next line while the text moves, which is a different job from formatting a document.

Short sentences, one idea each

Aim for eight to fifteen words per sentence, with the occasional longer one for rhythm. Long sentences force you to hold a clause in your head while reading the next line, and that is when your voice goes flat. Split anything with two “and”s or a “which”.

A paragraph break at every change of thought

On a prompter, a paragraph break is a breath. It shows you where to pause without a stage direction, and it gives your eyes a landmark if you lose your place. One to three sentences per paragraph is plenty.

Numbers written the way you say them

Figures are where readers stumble most, because the written form and the spoken form differ. Write what comes out of your mouth:

Spelling numbers out also makes your word count honest. “2026” counts as one word and takes five syllables to say; written as “twenty twenty-six” it counts as two, which is closer to the time it takes, and your timing stops lying to you quite so much.

Pronunciation for the words you will trip on

Names, product terms and borrowed words can be respelt phonetically in the script, since nobody but you will see it: Nguyen (nwin), quinoa (keen-wah). Do it for anything you have heard pronounced two ways.

Cue marks, sparingly

A few marks help: a dash for a beat, an ellipsis for a longer pause, capitals or bold for the one word in a sentence you want to land. Use them on the lines that matter, not throughout — a script covered in emphasis has none. Leave out anything you do not intend to say: headings, shot notes and B-roll reminders belong in a separate document, because on a prompter you will read them aloud by accident, usually on your best take.

A structure that holds: hook, point, proof, ask

Viewers cannot see the shape of a video the way a reader can see the shape of a page, so the structure has to be audible. Four parts cover almost every talking-head video, from a 30-second Reel to a ten-minute explainer:

1. Hook. One or two sentences that earn the next ten seconds: the problem the viewer has, a surprising fact, or the result they want. Not your name, not “in this video”.
2. Point. The single thing you want them to remember, said plainly. If you cannot say it in one sentence, you have two videos.
3. Proof. An example, a figure, a story or a demonstration that makes the point believable. This is the part that grows when the video gets longer.
4. Ask. One action: follow, book a call, read the description, try it. Two asks get neither.

Short-form video compresses all four into very little space; there is a breakdown of how that works for 15 to 90 seconds in a teleprompter for Instagram Reels. Vertical scripts follow the same shape with a specific audience — see the real estate video scripts for an introduction video and a listing walk-through written this way.

How long should the script be?

Length in minutes multiplied by speaking rate. At 150 words per minute — natural conversational English — that gives:

Every other length, and the figures for slower and faster delivery, are in how many words is a 2-minute speech. If you already have a draft and want its running time, how long it takes to read 500 words out loud works in that direction. Scripts in Hindi, Tamil or other languages run differently per word — the rates are explained in teleprompter speed by language.

A worked rewrite: before and after

Here is an opening written the way people write emails, followed by the same content written to be read aloud.

Before

“Hi everyone, my name is Priya and in today’s video I’m going to be talking about the new invoicing feature that our team has been working on over the course of Q3, which, in order to address the feedback we’ve received from approximately 40% of users regarding late payments, now includes automated reminders, e.g. at 7, 14 and 30 days.”

After

“Two in five of you told us the same thing. Getting paid late is worse than getting paid less.
So invoices now chase themselves.
Seven days after you send one, your client gets a polite reminder. At fourteen days, a firmer one. At thirty — you get a nudge to pick up the phone.
I’m Priya, and I’ll show you how to switch it on in under a minute.”

What changed: the hook moved from the speaker’s name to the viewer’s problem; one 60-word sentence became seven short ones; “approximately 40%” became a phrase you can say; “Q3” and “e.g.” disappeared; and the introduction moved to the end of the hook, where it doubles as the promise of what comes next. It is also about the same length, which is the point — spoken writing is not longer, it is ordered differently.

A template you can copy

Fill in the brackets, read it aloud, cut whatever you stumble on.

1. Hook (1–2 sentences): [The problem, the result, or the surprising fact — addressed to “you”.]
2. Promise (1 sentence): [What they will have by the end. Your name can go here if it needs to.]
3. Point (1 sentence): [The one thing to remember.]
4. Proof (2–6 sentences per item): [Example, figure, story or demonstration. One for a minute; two or three for longer.]
5. Turn (1 sentence): [“So here is what to do.” — the bridge to the ask.]
6. Ask (1 sentence): [One action.]

Rehearse it before you record it

A script is not finished until you have said it. Two passes catch almost everything:

• A read-through out loud, without the camera. Mark every stumble and rewrite those lines. If the same word trips you twice, replace it.
• One take on the prompter, watched back. You will hear where the pace is wrong and see where your eyes jump. The scroll speed is part of the script’s delivery, and there is a whole guide to the best teleprompter speed.

Some people prefer to learn the opening and closing lines and read only the middle; it makes the first and last impressions fully natural. How to memorise a script fast compares that hybrid with reading everything and with learning everything. For the delivery itself, how to sound natural when reading a script picks up where this leaves off.

Writing and reading the script in Orate

In Orate you write or paste the script into the editor, or import a plain-text file, and the library shows its read time straight away — worked out from the script’s writing system, so a Hindi or Tamil script gets its own estimate rather than an English one. Cut the draft and the time drops with it, which makes hitting 60 seconds a matter of editing rather than rehearsal.

When you record, the script scrolls in a band directly under the front camera, starting when the recording does after the countdown (three seconds by default). Text size runs from 18 to 96 points; larger text means fewer words per line and less sideways eye movement. If you have not set up a phone as a prompter before, the walkthrough is in how to use a teleprompter on your phone.

Questions people ask

How do you format a script for a teleprompter?

Use short sentences of around eight to fifteen words, one idea per sentence, with a line break or paragraph at every change of thought. Spell numbers and abbreviations the way you will say them, and leave out anything you do not intend to read aloud, such as headings or shot notes.

How long should a video script be?

Multiply the target length in minutes by your speaking rate. At a natural 150 words per minute, a one-minute video is about 150 words, a three-minute video about 450 and a ten-minute video about 1,500, in English.

What is the best structure for a short video script?

Hook, point, proof, ask. Open with the line that earns the next ten seconds, state the one thing you want the viewer to take away, back it with an example or a figure, and close with the single action you want them to take.

Should I write a script word for word or use bullet points?

Word for word if you will read it from a teleprompter, because a prompter cannot improvise from a bullet. Bullet points suit speakers who know the material well and are not reading, and a hybrid of a memorised opening with a prompted middle works for many people.

Why does my script sound robotic when I read it?

Usually because it was written to be read silently. Long sentences, written phrases such as 'in order to', and clauses that only make sense on the page all sound stiff aloud. Read every line out loud while editing and rewrite any you stumble on.