Writing a great voiceover script doesn’t have to be rocket science…
You don’t have to be the best at whatever language you speak to write great voiceover scripts.
Are you able to communicate properly when you speak? Can you read and write?
If your answer is yes to the above questions, congratulations! You’re qualified to write A+ voiceover scripts!
Academic and/or essay writing differs greatly from writing scripts for voiceovers…
So, put away your rules of Concord and pronoun placement because you’re not going to need them!
You won’t need a thesis, paragraphs, analysis, introduction and conclusions.
These won’t help you write the best Voiceover script. They’ll slow you down, put a ton of pressure on you and possibly give you a mediocre script.
Now here’s what you need – a mind full of ideas or at least capable of creating ideas, somewhere to put down these ideas i.e. your phone, laptop or a notepad and lastly you’ll need the ability to speak.
Sounds good? Okay.
5 Helpful Tips For Writing Better Voiceover Scripts
- Get Comfortable
“Brainstorming” and “critical thinking” literally scream PRESSURE. The idea here is to relax and get out of your head.
Step outside, go to your favourite place and just breathe.
Rid yourself from the pressure of having to write good voiceover scripts. You want to make room for fresh and good ideas, not rushed and terrible ideas. If you’re calm and relaxed, ideas can flow into your mind with so much ease. It’s no surprise you get your best ideas in the shower.
2. Just Write
How many times have you had stellar thoughts or had an awesome joke but didn’t know how to say it? It probably left you tongue-tied, stammering and sighing in defeat. The same can happen when trying to put your thoughts down into writing.
But here’s a trick. Just write. Genius, isn’t it? You don’t have to turn in everything you’ve written and no one’s going to see your drafts unless you let them. Write down everything that comes to you, pay no mind to mistakes or misspellings or wrong fragments. Just write.
3. Write as you speak
“When the trees start to wither and the leaves turn orangey-brown, it makes me remember that winter is only a few weeks away.” That’s a Grade A sentence in grammar but for voiceover scripts, you’ll get a C or D or F.
Here’s why:
If you’re being honest, how often do you slide such words into your day to day conversations? Your audience will be able to detect that something is off and it’ll disturb the entire flow!
4. Use short sentences
Your sentences don’t need to be 20-25 words long. Your sentence could be as short as 5 words or even 2! Remember that you want to sound NATURAL.
When writing voiceover scripts, it is okay to defy certain laws of grammar. Start your sentence with “because”, use colloquial words, include slang if need be, just make sure these are conversational, day-to-day words everybody uses and understands.
5. Read your script aloud.
This isn’t poetry but you need to read your work out loud. If you have to ask if it sounds unnatural, chances are that it does sound unnatural.
If you’re losing your breath trying to finish one sentence, maybe you need to shorten that sentence.
If you can’t pronounce a certain word with ease, perhaps you should change it. The simplest and smallest things matter when perfecting your script. So, if it sounds off, it probably is.
Pro tip: Listen to a lot of voiceovers to know how to include silence, gauge word and time limit, remove or keep certain words. Here are some awesome voiceovers you can listen to.
Pro tip: On average a 30-second script is about 80 words and a 60-second script is 160-180 words.
Do you need more help writing your voiceover scripts? Send an email to info@ivoiceafrica.com or call +234 (0) 7026276411. We are ready to help!
