How to write the perfect explainer video script

Define your WHY with a creative brief

Okay, so you know you want to create an explainer video, but have you really outlined why? This might sound like an obvious question but you want to go beyond vague answers like 'to increase awareness'. The more detailed and focused your objective, the more effective your video will be.

Here's an example of a well-defined brief:

"Our new product outperforms all of our competitors with its pioneering technology. But I need an explainer video script to help our customers understand how it's different and why it's so beneficial for them so they'll upgrade their account with us."

We recommend working through these questions to start building your brief:

• Why do you want to create an explainer video? Being sure of your end goal helps you stay on track and write an effective script.
• What message do you want to convey? Focus on the one or two key messages your audience needs to know - it's easy to get sidetracked with information that's more interesting to you than to them.
• Why will people care? The '5 whys' questioning technique can help you identify your audience's main pain points or desires.
  
  
  

• What value will this information provide? Consider it from their perspective: how will they benefit from watching your video?
• What one thing do I want my viewer to take away? If they could only remember one thing - what would you want it to be? Knowing this will really help you focus on your core message.

Identify your story structure

Now you know what you want to achieve and the message you need to convey, you can weave it into a compelling story. Most explainer video scripts follow one of two proven formats.

Problem-to-solution structure

This is the classic explainer video script format for businesses, products, services or ideas. You're the hero making your viewers' lives easier, with your customers as characters in the tale. The story starts by making the problem clear and relatable, then arcs into a natural transition to the solution.

Along the way you can add extra memorable touches by creating multiple voices or adding plot twists to keep things interesting. This is the structure we'll focus on for this guide.

Process overview structure

If you're explaining a service how-to or product walkthrough, the overview structure may work better. Unlike the problem-to-solution format, it focuses on a linear journey one character (most likely your customer) takes to complete a task. If you're choosing this structure, you can skip the problem setup and get straight to the solution.

Write down your 'must-haves'

At this point, it's time to start writing. But sitting down to write a perfect explainer video script in one go very rarely happens and can be seriously intimidating. So we recommend getting some rough points down first.

Aim for 5–10 bullet points covering information you absolutely must include in your video. Use the work you've done in the previous two steps to help you - focusing on what your audience needs to know, why they should care, and what you want them to leave with.

In 10–15 minutes you'll have a rough outline of your essential points and where they fit in your story structure. From there, it's so much easier to fill in the blanks without worrying about missing key information.

Create your hook to grab attention from the start

From your rough outline, you can now start smoothing the edges, adding personality and bringing the pizazz! If you can't grab attention in the first few seconds, your audience will switch off before they hear the rest. So nailing the start of your explainer video script is pretty important.

Here are 6 hook techniques we love:

The amplification technique

Take something that seems minor and demonstrate it's actually a serious problem - or the reverse, take a scary problem and make it simple. This surprise factor keeps people hanging on your every word.

The sensory technique

Draw your audience in by sparking their imagination - setting a scene in vivid detail or asking them to recall a particular memory. Drawing on sights, sounds, feels and smells immerses them in your story and aids memory retention.

The puzzle technique

Few of us can resist a challenge. Grab attention with a puzzle or riddle that piques curiosity. You can leave it open-ended, point them to the answer, or promise to reveal it at the end to hold attention longer.

The rhetorical question

Whether you expect an answer or not, asking a question is a great opener. It gets your audience thinking about their personal experiences, memories or general knowledge - and can gently nudge them towards recognizing a problem you can solve.

Humor

When done right, humor is the ultimate crowd pleaser. It makes your audience feel at ease and more receptive to your idea. Self-deprecating humor works especially well here - and links naturally to our next option.

Once upon a time

Start your explainer video script with a story. Stories are one of the most effective tools to inspire empathy and understanding. They give us something to relate to, and they build personal connections faster because they require showing some vulnerability.

Empathize - show you understand your customer's problem

Once you've got all eyes on your video, it's time to build emotional connections. One of the best ways to do this is by showing genuine empathy - really demonstrating that you understand your audience and the pain points or problems they're experiencing.

That could mean referencing thoughts and feelings they might have had, or going into extra detail about the impact the problem has on other areas of their life. Not only will this make them feel heard and seen, it's a great way to position yourself as a trusted partner rather than a faceless business or salesperson.

Introduce the solution

Once your audience can see themselves in your video, the story flips. Now's the time to show how you can make those problems go away - or help them achieve their much-longed-for ambitions.

Keep this section short and succinct, focusing only on the key bits of information your audience needs to know about your product, service or idea. Refer back to your 'must-haves' list to help with this.

When in doubt - would a child understand this? It's always a good test to eliminate jargon and distill your message down to its simplest form. Your explainer video script should never require effort to follow.

Paint a picture of the future

It's not enough to explain how you can help - you need to complete the story by giving your audience a glimpse at what life with you could look like.

Maybe you help them do something boring faster so they can spend more time with their children. Or you remove a blocker to help salespeople hit their bonuses - hello extra vacation! Painting a vivid picture of this vision makes it feel attainable, and makes your audience want it more.

Reinforce with social proof

We're nearly ready to wrap up. But before you do, a sprinkling of social proof can ease any final concerns your audience might have.

Social proof includes positive reviews, customer quotes or information about your existing customer base - it's what we all look for when booking a hotel or buying something online. A quote or star rating near the end of your explainer video script gives viewers that crucial validation that you'll deliver on your promises.

Tell your viewer what to do next

All that's left is to end strong with a clear call to action. Tell your audience exactly what to do next: how to buy, where to find out more, how to sign up for a free trial. Don't leave it to chance.

Be direct - your viewer has just invested their time and attention. Give them a clear next step that rewards that investment.

Edit, adjust and check

With that, you've just finished your first draft - congratulations! Take a moment to feel that accomplishment before switching into editing mode.

We recommend stepping away for at least 10 minutes (ideally 24 hours) before editing, to come back with fresh eyes. Here's what to check:

• Does it pass the first-grader test? Remove any technical jargon, complex sentences and detail that isn't strictly necessary.
• Is the length right? Use the word count table above to check your script hits your target runtime. Most marketing explainer videos should land at 60–90 seconds.
• Is the tone consistent? Whether you're speaking as your brand, an individual or a narrator, the tone should be consistent throughout - and because your script will be spoken rather than read, it should sound like you're talking to a friend, not reciting from a document.
• Read it aloud. Your explainer video script should sound natural when spoken. Read it yourself and flag any sentences that are too long, awkward or complex. If you run out of breath mid-sentence, cut it down.

Once your script passes these final tests, you're ready to record your voice-over and bring it to life with animation!