Writing a script for the ear
A reader can go back over a sentence they missed. A listener cannot — the words arrive once and vanish. So a script that looks elegant on the page can collapse when spoken, and writing for the ear is a different craft from writing for the eye.
Short, plain, spoken
Favour short sentences, one idea each. Break long comma-spliced thoughts into separate lines the way you would pause. Prefer plain words you would use in conversation ("use," not "utilise"). Use contractions — nobody says "do not" aloud. Front-load each sentence so a listener knows early where it is going, and read lists gently with a beat before each item.
Test it out loud
The one rule: read every line aloud before recording, ideally off the prompter. Your mouth trips over what your eye glided past — a tongue-twister, a breath you cannot take, a sentence secretly too long. Fix those and mark where you will breathe. Paste the draft into the reading-time tool to check it fits your slot, then run it at a calm pace. When the words are built for speaking, the teleprompter almost disappears — you are just talking.