How to Write an Excellent Podcast Script in 5 Steps

It’s easy to think that podcasting involves a lot of freeflow discussion. On the contrary, there’s a structure involved to make sure that the discussion still makes sense. And what creates that structure is a podcast script.

However, writing a podcast script involves a lot more than simply writing what you’ll say in the actual podcast. There’s a certain process you need to take to make sure that your podcast script has exactly what you need to make for an awesome podcast in the end.

Here’s how you can make an excellent podcast in 5 steps:

1. Research

Writing an effective podcast script requires two things: great writing and great content to talk about. A lot of your listeners may define “great” as engaging and distinctive to your brand. Thus, having a good podcast out of a script requires your content to be entertaining and unique to begin with.

Before you can write an excellent podcast script, you have to get your hands dirty with some initial research. Here are some key factors you should research:

• Podcasts from other creators that have similar topics
• Trending topics in social media
• Top keywords for your chosen topics

2. Make an outline

Making an outline for your podcast scripts is a lot simpler than it seems. In essence, podcasts have a similar basic structure with written essays - they have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. A podcast script nuances this a little further depending on the theme and content of your podcast.

Thus, a simple podcast script outline goes like this:

1. Introduction
   1. Sponsor message
   2. Topic lineup
   3. Guest introduction
2. Body
   1. Topic 1
      1. Introduction
      2. Discussion
      3. Closing
   2. Topic 2
      1. Introduction
      2. Discussion
      3. Closing
   3. Topic 3
      1. Introduction
      2. Discussion
      3. Closing
   4. Audience engagement
      1. Question and answer
      2. Reading comments/tweets/emails
3. Conclusion
   1. Thanking listeners, guests, and sponsors
   2. Teaser for next podcast

Having a podcast script outline is very useful when you want to make all your podcasts consistent in structure. This is especially when you want to make the structure of your podcasts distinctive to your brand. In the long run, it makes for greater viewership and engagement because your podcast brand will be much more distinctive.

This is also a great opportunity to make a podcast transcript template. Transcribing your podcasts is extremely useful for content repurposing and engagement. Consider using a transcription service like TranscriptionWing to enjoy the benefits of transcriptions without the hassle of spending a lot of time and energy.

3. Fill in the blanks

The outline will make it significantly easier to structure your content. All you have to do now is to fill in the blanks. Here’s how you can do that:

1. Make a distinct name for each element. In the podcast itself, this allows you to make sure that the discussion stays on topic.
2. Add the duration in a bracket beside each topic name to make sure that you stay within schedule and pace the discussion.
3. Make an outline for each topic. Podcasts are best if they feel natural. Instead of writing your script word-by-word, write keywords for points and arguments in a bullet list (and direct quotes when necessary), in order of how you want to discuss them. In a way, your podcast script is a repository of your ammunition.
4. Balance each topic. Focusing too much on one topic makes your podcast feel rushed rather than well thought out. This can be disappointing especially to audience members who are expecting a deep discussion on a specific topic.

4. Practice

Rehearsing your script gives you a glimpse of how good your script is on the actual day of the podcast. For best effect, record yourself doing the dry run. This gives you a reference point of where to improve - whether it’s your delivery of the script, or the script itself. For best effect, try doing it around 3 times to get a good sample size.

If your podcast will have a guest speaker, have a friend act out as that guest and give them a dummy script.

5. Revise

After doing a few dry runs with your script, you should be able to know if it’s good enough. Your script should make your podcast short, sweet, engaging, and entertaining all throughout.

Here are some things you have to look out for.

• Long-winded monologue
• Taking too long/short to discuss certain topics 
• Changing topics too quickly

When you’ve identified some areas of improvement, revise your script accordingly.

It’s highly possible to keep increasing the engagement even after concluding your podcast. The latest episode may contain something entertaining or juicy that you’d like to share on social media for a greater audience reach. However, this may require going through the entire podcast audio and transcribing the important parts, which takes time and energy. 

If you want to further your engagement without the hassle, use TranscriptionService to transcribe your podcasts for you so you can focus on making more engaging podcasts in the future.