Narration Script
A tutorial lives or dies on its narration. The viewer is trying to do the thing while listening, so every word competes with their attention on the screen. Write less, say it plainer, and pin each line to a visible action.
Write for the ear, not the page
Spoken language is not written language. Read every line aloud before keeping it.
- Short sentences. One idea each. If you run out of breath, it is too long.
- Active voice, present tense, second person: "Click Save" - not "The Save button would then be clicked by the user."
- Cut every "basically", "simply", and "just." "Just click Settings" quietly tells a stuck viewer they are stupid. Drop it.
- Contractions are good ("you'll", "it's"); they sound human.
Sync narration to action
The cardinal rule: one instruction per on-screen action, and the words land with the action, never describing what already happened.
- State the action a beat before or exactly as it happens on screen, so the viewer's hand and the cursor move together.
- Never narrate a click that has already finished - "and now we've saved it" after the save animation is dead air.
- When the screen does something complex, stop talking and let it breathe. Silence over a clear visual beats narration fighting it.
Pace it
- Target ~140-160 words per minute for instruction. Faster loses people who are following along.
- Budget the script against the storyboard's per-scene durations. If a beat is 8 seconds, that is ~20 words, not 50.
- Build in deliberate pauses at transitions and at any moment the viewer needs to look rather than listen.
Structure each step
A reliable three-part shape per step keeps viewers oriented:
- Goal - what we're about to do and why ("To share this, we'll create a public link.").
- Action - the single concrete instruction ("Open the Share menu and choose Anyone with the link.").
- Confirmation - what success looks like ("You'll see the link turn green when it's ready.").
Signpost between steps with light transitions - "Next", "Now that the link exists, let's…" - so the spine of the tutorial is always audible.
Tone
Confident and warm, like a competent colleague sitting beside them. Never condescending, never hype. Define a term the first time it appears, then use it consistently. Match on-screen UI labels exactly - if the button says "New project", say "New project", not "create a project."
Output format
Deliver a two-column script the editor and VO talent can both follow:
| On-screen action |
Spoken line |
| Cursor opens Share menu |
"Open the Share menu in the top right." |
| Link toggles to public |
"Switch it to Anyone with the link." |
Mark [pause] where the visual should carry the moment, and bold the words to stress. Note approximate timing per line if the storyboard durations are known.
Don't
- Don't write music, SFX, or mix cues here - pacing the audio, ducking, and beat-matching is sound-and-music-sync.
- Don't plan the scene order or shot list - that is video-storyboard, which this script should follow.
- Don't describe filler the viewer can already see ("here is the screen, as you can see there are some buttons").
- Don't let a line outrun its scene's duration budget; trim words, not pauses.
1---2name: narration-script3description: Write the spoken voiceover for a tutorial or demo - the actual words, phrased for the ear and synced one-instruction-per-action to what is on screen, with a pacing budget and a confident, jargon-checked tone. Use when someone says "write the voiceover", "script the narration", "what should I say over this", "VO script for my tutorial", "narrate this demo", "the script feels robotic", or "the narration is too wordy". Do NOT use to mix, time, duck, source, or beat-match the audio - VO leveling, SFX, music - that is sound-and-music-sync; do NOT use to decide which scenes exist or their order - that is video-storyboard; do NOT use to direct the on-screen actions themselves (cursor, zoom, callouts) - that is product-demo-director; do NOT use to turn spoken lines into animated on-screen text - that is kinetic-typography.4---56# Narration Script78A tutorial lives or dies on its narration. The viewer is trying to *do* the thing while listening, so every word competes with their attention on the screen. Write less, say it plainer, and pin each line to a visible action.910## Write for the ear, not the page1112Spoken language is not written language. Read every line aloud before keeping it.1314- Short sentences. One idea each. If you run out of breath, it is too long.15- Active voice, present tense, second person: "Click **Save**" - not "The Save button would then be clicked by the user."16- Cut every "basically", "simply", and "just." "Just click Settings" quietly tells a stuck viewer they are stupid. Drop it.17- Contractions are good ("you'll", "it's"); they sound human.1819## Sync narration to action2021The cardinal rule: **one instruction per on-screen action**, and the words land *with* the action, never describing what already happened.2223- State the action a beat before or exactly as it happens on screen, so the viewer's hand and the cursor move together.24- Never narrate a click that has already finished - "and now we've saved it" after the save animation is dead air.25- When the screen does something complex, *stop talking* and let it breathe. Silence over a clear visual beats narration fighting it.2627## Pace it2829- Target ~140-160 words per minute for instruction. Faster loses people who are following along.30- Budget the script against the storyboard's per-scene durations. If a beat is 8 seconds, that is ~20 words, not 50.31- Build in deliberate pauses at transitions and at any moment the viewer needs to look rather than listen.3233## Structure each step3435A reliable three-part shape per step keeps viewers oriented:36371. **Goal** - what we're about to do and why ("To share this, we'll create a public link.").382. **Action** - the single concrete instruction ("Open the **Share** menu and choose **Anyone with the link**.").393. **Confirmation** - what success looks like ("You'll see the link turn green when it's ready.").4041Signpost between steps with light transitions - "Next", "Now that the link exists, let's…" - so the spine of the tutorial is always audible.4243## Tone4445Confident and warm, like a competent colleague sitting beside them. Never condescending, never hype. Define a term the first time it appears, then use it consistently. Match on-screen UI labels **exactly** - if the button says "New project", say "New project", not "create a project."4647## Output format4849Deliver a two-column script the editor and VO talent can both follow:5051| On-screen action | Spoken line |52| --- | --- |53| Cursor opens Share menu | "Open the Share menu in the top right." |54| Link toggles to public | "Switch it to *Anyone with the link*." |5556Mark `[pause]` where the visual should carry the moment, and **bold** the words to stress. Note approximate timing per line if the storyboard durations are known.5758## Don't5960- Don't write music, SFX, or mix cues here - pacing the *audio*, ducking, and beat-matching is sound-and-music-sync.61- Don't plan the scene order or shot list - that is video-storyboard, which this script should follow.62- Don't describe filler the viewer can already see ("here is the screen, as you can see there are some buttons").63- Don't let a line outrun its scene's duration budget; trim words, not pauses.
SkillMedev