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.