Corporate videos can have many purposes. The video might be about your new product, teaching staff about using your equipment, sharing a message or generally connecting with your customers. Either way, it all starts with a script and will guide you on how to write and perfect one.

Define the Goal

Flawless video script writing starts with one simple question. What do I want to achieve with this video? What you answer helps you to identify your target audience and tailor the message for them! Some examples of questions to identify your goal are:

• Do I want to sell more?
• Will the video generate leads?
• Can it spark conversation?
• Do I want to educate?
• How will it affect the brand image?
• Will the product be explained?

Goals should be S.M.A.R.T.. Always think of them in more specific terms, not just ‘increase sales‘.

Identify Your Audience

After knowing what we want to achieve with the video script, the second part is to identify the audience. This is considered a staple in scriptwriting since tailoring content for your audience helps bring the message across. Writing in general and too broad might reach more people, but it is less likely to stick.

5 ways to pinpoint your target audience are:

• Analyze the existing audience
• Focus on benefits rather than features
• Ask for feedback
• Don’t go too broad
• Keep an eye on the competition

Use Your Audience’s Language

Remember that you’re not writing the script for yourself. To feel natural to your audience, write it the way they would write it. Try to keep it simple and conversational. Script with loads of technically demanding buzzwords can feel overwhelming.

It’s also a great idea to use the help of professionals if you’re not sure about the characteristics of your target audience yet.

Generally, it’s advisable to write in line with your brand’s agenda, but avoid sounding patronizing to the audience. While writing, you can keep it simple, but that doesn’t mean a simple script is not a great video script. You can ask for a professional writing help online. Luckily, there are plenty of writing pros on the web. To choose the one you need can be a tough job, but you can start with reading best academic writing services reviews to understand the style and level of writing.

Write the Outline

Even though the story is short, we still need to make an outline for all the basic ideas. Despite the video being short, we need to be able to engage the audience. Having a narrative arc helps build interest and keeps viewers engaged to see the outcome of the story.

If you think the story needs to be long, try to trim it by writing up to five sentences to create an outline to guide you.

Building the Story

So now you have the outline all ready to go. It’s time to add the details you want and form it into an engaging piece. During the story writing, focus on the single message you want. That makes it possible to push it enough through a few minutes corporate video lasts.

Put the hook at the start to make sure viewers stay for the rest. The hook shouldn’t be just bland statistics but should add some emotion to the video. By adding emotions and context, your written story can come alive, but only if it contains points of interest for the viewers.

Award the viewers on the finish line. Make them feel it was worth watching the video till the end. Give a strong takeaway at the end of the story as a payoff.

Cut Cut Cut

Since corporate videos are short in nature, there isn’t any wiggle room for unnecessary sentences and even words. For a video that is under 3 minutes, every word needs to carry the narrative and help develop it.

If possible, cut out words that aren’t needed. Conveying the message without words like then and that is desirable as it can become repetitive. Overusing and repeating some words might cause audiences loss of interest.

Write the Script

Depending on what the length of the video you are writing is, there is a limit to what you can cram in. Generally, try not to go over 150 words of dialogue per minute.

This ties into our last point. While starting the script, you will probably have an idea that you want to share. After you write the outline and story with included dialogue, you should check the word count. If your word count is high, you should start cutting unnecessary words and reforming sentences to suit your purpose. Making the script short ensures the audience doesn’t spend any attention where you don’t want them to.

To sound like someone the audience can connect to use the following tips in writing dialogue:

• Use “you” for the viewers
• Speak to the audience
• Write as you would say it

Adding a personal touch makes sure that dialogue feels natural and not forced upon the audience.

Don’t Read in Your Head

After writing the script, there is only one way to see how it sounds. Even though it looks great on paper, read it out loud and note what changes you should make. A secondary benefit of reading aloud is that it correctly recognizes 20% more words than when reading silently.

Here are a few tips to get the most out of reading the script:

• Record your speech and analyze it
• Read it all in one take
• Pay attention to your rhythm so it’s even

Edit and Improve

Finishing a quality script is certainly an accomplishment, but the work doesn’t end there just yet! Make sure to allocate some time to go through the writing and reading. After that, it’s easier to see if there are some stray words that don’t sound just right or if the tempo seems off.

Looking at it in one piece makes it possible for you to tailor and improve the video script to suit your presentation style. Move sections around, take out content that’s not necessary, and make sure you’re happy with the finished product.

Ask for Feedback

Two heads are smarter than one. It is always helpful to ask for feedback since it can give you different perspectives that give you room for improvement.
Asking your colleagues for their opinion can either boost your confidence that the script is great or make the script even better with positive criticism.

Conclusion

Starting fresh at writing corporate video scripts can seem like an overwhelming task, but with some key pointers, you’ll do it with ease. Make sure to set a goal and according to it find your audience. Close-knit audiences will appreciate your story and message more than broad ones. Make sure that even in your final product, there is room left to improve, either by reviewing it aloud yourself or with your colleagues.