YouTube Shorts script
script template

A short has no title and no thumbnail. The first second is the title, the thumbnail and the trailer all at once, and the whole job of the script is to survive it. Everything after that is compression: one idea, no preamble, and an ending that sends people back to the start.

96 words as written 33 places to fill in 3 versions

Opens the free teleprompter with the script already loaded. Nothing is uploaded, and your camera never leaves your device.

THIRTY SECONDS, ONE IDEA

[THE CLAIM THAT SOUNDS WRONG, IN UNDER TEN WORDS.][THE SITUATION, ONE SENTENCE. NO BACKSTORY.]Most people [THE OBVIOUS APPROACH]. That fails, because [THE ONE REASON].Do this instead. [THE SINGLE ACTION, SAID SLOWLY.][THE PROOF: ONE NUMBER, ONE EXAMPLE, OR ONE THING THAT CHANGED.]Which is why [REPEAT THE OPENING CLAIM, WORD FOR WORD].

SIXTY SECONDS, ONE IDEA WITH PROOF

[THE CLAIM THAT SOUNDS WRONG.]I used to [THE OLD WAY], for [HOW LONG].The problem was [THE SPECIFIC FAILURE, NOT A FEELING].Then [WHAT CHANGED, OR WHO TOLD YOU].Now I do three things. [STEP ONE.] [STEP TWO.] [STEP THREE.]The difference: [THE BEFORE NUMBER] to [THE AFTER NUMBER], in [TIMEFRAME].The reason it works is [THE MECHANISM, ONE SENTENCE]. That is the part everyone skips.So, [THE OPENING CLAIM AGAIN].[THE ONE ASK, ONE SHORT SENTENCE.]

THE LIST SHORT, ABOUT FORTY-FIVE SECONDS

[NUMBER] things [WHO] get wrong about [TOPIC]. The last one is the expensive one.One. [MISTAKE ONE.] Do [THE FIX] instead.Two. [MISTAKE TWO.] That costs you [THE COST].Three. [MISTAKE THREE.] [WHY IT IS WORSE THAN IT LOOKS.]And the expensive one. [THE FINAL MISTAKE.] [WHAT IT ACTUALLY COSTS.]Fix that one first. [THE OPENING LINE AGAIN, SHORTENED.]

Why it is built this way

Put the tension in the first line

There is no thumbnail doing this for you. The opening sentence has to contain something unresolved: a claim that sounds wrong, a number, or a problem the viewer already has.

Delete every word before the point

Greetings, channel names and "so I have been thinking about" are all swipes. Start on the sentence you would have made the fourth one.

One idea, no branches

A short with three ideas in it has none. If the second idea is any good, it is a second short, and now you have two.

Pay off at about three quarters, not on the last frame

Land the answer with a few seconds left, then use what remains to close the loop. An answer that arrives on the final frame feels withheld rather than delivered.

End where you began

Finishing on the opening line, word for word, makes the video circle rather than stop, and that is what turns a watch into a replay.

One quiet ask, at the end only

A short interrupted at second three to ask for a follow is a short nobody follows. Ask once, after the payoff, in one short sentence.

Delivering it

·Read the first line at your normal speaking pace and time it. If it takes longer than two seconds, it is too long to be a hook.
·Set the prompter text large and the scroll slow. In vertical framing your eyes have far less room to travel before the reading becomes visible.
·Put the list numbers on screen as well as in the script. A lot of people watch with the sound off, and a list is the one format that survives that.
·Cut the first half second of the take in the edit. The small breath before your first word is one of the most common reasons a short gets swiped.
·Write shorts in batches of five off one long video. One idea per short, four lines each, and the whole batch takes an afternoon.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a YouTube Short be?

Long enough to make one point and no longer. Thirty seconds is plenty for a single idea, sixty if you need proof. A short that runs to the maximum because the format allows it loses people in the middle.

How do you write a hook for a short?

Open with something unresolved: a claim that sounds wrong, a number, or a problem the viewer already has. Then say the sentence you would normally say fourth, and delete the three before it.

Can you use a teleprompter for shorts?

Yes, and it matters more here than in long form because there is no room to ramble in thirty seconds. Keep the prompter close to the lens, one sentence per line, and slow the scroll.

Should you repeat the first line at the end of a short?

It works, because a short that ends where it began invites a replay instead of a swipe. Repeat it word for word rather than paraphrasing, so the loop is obvious.

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