The script decides more about an explainer video than any other stage. A beautiful animation cannot rescue a muddled message, and a clear script will survive a modest budget. It is also the cheapest stage to change: rewriting a sentence costs minutes, while re animating a scene costs days.
This guide covers the craft side of writing an explainer script: how to time it, how to lay it out so the animation team can build from it, how to sound like a person, and the mistakes that make explainers drag. If you are still deciding whether you need an explainer at all, start with what an explainer video is.
Start with a one page brief
Before writing a line of narration, answer these on a single page:
- Viewer. Who is watching, and what do they already know?
- Problem. What specific situation or frustration brings them here?
- Promise. What changes for them with your product, in one sentence?
- Proof. One or two facts you can actually stand behind.
- Action. The single thing they should do after watching.
- Channel and length. Where the video lives first, and the target duration.
If you cannot write the promise in one sentence, the script will wander. Fix the brief first. This step belongs to pre-production, and it saves more time than any other.
Time the script before you write it
Narration in explainers is usually read at a calm, clear pace of about 130 to 150 words per minute. Faster than that and viewers stop absorbing; slower and the video feels padded. Use this to set a word budget before you start.
| Video length | Approximate narration words | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 15 seconds | 30 to 35 | One idea and a CTA, often text led |
| 30 seconds | 60 to 70 | Problem, solution, CTA |
| 60 seconds | 120 to 140 | Full four part structure, tight |
| 90 seconds | 190 to 210 | Room for two or three "how it works" steps |
| 120 seconds | 250 to 280 | Onboarding or sales, consider chapters |
Leave a little air. Animation needs moments without narration: a beat after the problem lands, a pause on the product reveal, two or three seconds for the logo and CTA. A script that fills every second with words will feel rushed even if the voice actor reads at a normal pace.
The most reliable test is simple: read the script aloud with a stopwatch, at the pace you would use to explain it to a colleague. If it runs long, cut words, not pauses.
The two column script format
Explainers are written in two columns because words and pictures have to be planned together. The left column says what the viewer sees. The right column holds what they hear and any text that appears on screen.
Each row is a scene or a beat. Number the rows; everyone on the project will refer to them in feedback ("scene 4, the second sentence is too long").
What goes in each column:
- Visual (left). Setting, characters, key action, UI or diagram shown, camera move if it matters. Describe what is needed to understand the moment, not every detail. The storyboard artist will design the frame.
- Audio (right). Narration in plain text, on screen text marked clearly (for example in capitals or with a "TEXT:" label), sound effects and music cues where they carry meaning.
- Timing (optional third column). Estimated seconds per row, calculated from the word count. Useful for long scripts.
A short worked example
Here is the opening and close of a 60 second explainer for a fictional expense approval app aimed at finance teams. It shows the format, not a finished film.
| # | Visual | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A finance manager at her desk. Her inbox fills with "Approve?" emails. A stack of receipts grows beside the keyboard. | VO: It's the end of the month, and every expense still needs three approvals. By email. |
| 2 | Calendar pages flip. A supplier's "Payment overdue" notice slides onto the screen. | VO: So payments wait, suppliers chase, and your team spends days chasing people instead of closing the books. SFX: phone buzzing. |
| 3 | Clean cut to white. The app logo builds from three check marks. | VO: Meet the app that moves approvals out of the inbox. TEXT: APPROVALS IN ONE PLACE |
| 4 | Simplified phone screen: an employee snaps a receipt, fields fill in automatically. | VO: Employees snap a receipt. The details fill in by themselves. |
| 5 | The request travels along a line to two manager avatars, each tapping "Approve" on their phones. | VO: The right people get it in the right order, and approve with one tap. |
| 6 | Dashboard view: the overdue item turns green, a "Paid" label appears. | VO: Finance sees every request in one place and pays on time. |
| 7 | Logo, URL and a button labelled "Start free trial". Music resolves. | VO: Close the month without chasing anyone. Start your free trial today. TEXT: START FREE TRIAL |
That example is about 90 words of narration across seven rows. In a full 60 second version, scenes 4 to 6 would expand slightly, and the total would land near 130 words.
Notice a few things:
- The problem is a scene the viewer can picture, not a general claim.
- The narration never describes what the picture already shows. Row 5 does not say "a notification goes to manager A and then manager B"; the visual handles it.
- On screen text is short and only appears where it reinforces the key point.
- The CTA in the audio matches the button label exactly.
Once the script is locked, the visual column becomes the brief for the storyboard and animatic.
Voice and tone
Write for the ear
People will hear this script once, at the speed of the narrator. That changes the rules:
- Short sentences. One idea each. If a sentence has two commas, consider splitting it.
- Common words. "Use" instead of "utilise", "help" instead of "facilitate".
- Contractions. "It's", "you'll", "don't". Without them, narration sounds stiff.
- Second person. Talk to "you", not about "users" or "customers".
- Concrete nouns. "Receipts" and "invoices" instead of "documents"; "three days" instead of "significant time".
Match the brand, then the audience
A bank and a gaming startup should not sound the same, but both should sound like a knowledgeable person speaking, not a brochure. Write two or three sample lines in different tones and pick one before drafting the full script. Agree on it with whoever signs off, because tone is a common source of late revisions.
Choose the voice early
Decide on the narrator profile (age range, accent, energy) while writing, not after. A warm, slower voice needs fewer words per minute; an energetic read can carry a few more. Ask for two or three short voice samples reading your actual first lines before recording the full script.
Common mistakes
- Starting with the company. "Founded in..." or "We are a leading..." loses viewers in the first five seconds. Start with their problem.
- Listing features. Five features in 60 seconds means none of them is remembered. Pick the two or three that solve the opening problem.
- Jargon and internal language. Words your team uses every day are often meaningless to buyers. Test the script on someone outside the company.
- Too many words. The most common issue by far. Overstuffed scripts force fast reads and rushed animation.
- Narration that repeats the picture. If the screen shows a dashboard turning green, the voice does not need to say "the dashboard turns green".
- Weak or multiple CTAs. One action, said clearly, matching the page or ad it sits on.
- Writing without the visuals. A narration only script leaves the animation team guessing. Always use the two column format.
- Changing the script after storyboarding. Every change after this point costs more. Lock it first.
Script checklist
Run through this before you send the script for approval:
- The brief fits on one page and the promise is one sentence.
- The word count fits the target length at 130 to 150 words per minute.
- The script has been read aloud and timed with a stopwatch.
- The first 5 seconds describe the viewer's problem, not the company.
- The "how it works" section has no more than three or four steps.
- Every claim is true and could be backed up if asked.
- Every row has both a visual and an audio cell.
- On screen text is short and does not duplicate the narration word for word.
- There is exactly one call to action, matching the page or ad.
- Jargon has been replaced or explained.
- Someone outside the project has read it and could explain the product back.
- The person who signs off has approved this version in writing.
Script length and the number of scenes also feed directly into budget. Our guide to explainer video cost explains how.
Need help with the script?
Script writing is part of every explainer we produce, and we are just as happy to polish a draft you have already written. Share your brief or draft and we will come back with timing notes and a scene breakdown.