How many words for a 60-second video script, and how to write one that reads well
The short answer
A 60-second video script is about 140 to 160 words at a normal speaking pace, 120 to 130 if you speak slowly or leave pauses, and up to 180 for a fast, energetic delivery. Multiply the seconds by your pace in words per minute, divide by 60, and then cut about 10%, because pauses, gestures and on-screen moments take time that words do not count.
A 60-second limit is strict. Write too much and you rush the ending or get cut off; write too little and the video sags. The fix is simple arithmetic, done before you record, plus a few habits that make a script sound spoken rather than read.
The word counts
Most people speak on camera at 130 to 160 words a minute. Use your own pace if you know it.
| Video length | Slow, 120 wpm | Normal, 150 wpm | Fast, 180 wpm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 seconds | 30 words | 38 words | 45 words |
| 30 seconds | 60 words | 75 words | 90 words |
| 45 seconds | 90 words | 113 words | 135 words |
| 60 seconds | 120 words | 150 words | 180 words |
| 90 seconds | 180 words | 225 words | 270 words |
| 3 minutes | 360 words | 450 words | 540 words |
The formula is seconds × words per minute ÷ 60. Then cut about 10%. Real videos have pauses for effect, a beat while you hold something up, and a breath before the last line. None of those are words, and all of them take time. The speech time calculator does this sum at any pace, with a 10% or 20% allowance for those moments, and counts words the same way as the teleprompter.
Find your own pace
Paste a script into the teleprompter. Under the script it shows the word count and the running time at your chosen pace, for example “150 words · about 1:04 at 140 words a minute”. The pace slider runs from 60 to 240 words a minute and starts at 140.
Press S to run the text without recording, and read along. If you are waiting for words, raise the pace. If you are chasing them, lower it. When it feels natural, the number on the slider is your pace, and the running time under the script tells you whether the script fits.
Write for the ear, not the eye
A script that reads well on paper often sounds stiff aloud. Some habits help:
- Short sentences. One idea each. Long sentences make you run out of breath in the middle.
- Contractions. “You’ll” and “it’s” sound like speech. “You will” and “it is” sound like a letter.
- One line per breath. Put a line break where you would breathe. The teleprompter keeps every line break you type, so the text on screen breaks where your breath does.
- Numbers the way you say them. Write “about four thousand”, not “c. 4,000”.
- Say it aloud as you write. If you stumble on a phrase, change it. You will stumble on camera too.
Structure a 60-second video
A short video has little room, so give each part a job:
- Hook, 5 seconds, about 12 words. Why should anyone keep watching?
- Point, 40 seconds, about 100 words. One idea, with one example.
- Close, 10 seconds, about 25 words. What to do or remember.
That is roughly 137 words, which leaves room for pauses at a pace of 150 words a minute.
Recording it
Read from a prompter that sits close to the lens, so your eyes do not travel. The teleprompter draws the text over the top of the camera preview, which is where a laptop camera sits. Sit at arm’s length or further, because the further away you are, the smaller the eye movement looks.
If you pause to show something, Follow my voice is the better mode: it moves only to words it has heard, so it waits when you do. Steady speed never waits. The page tells you before voice follow starts whether your browser recognises speech on the device or sends it to its maker’s service.
The recording stays on your device, and the text is not burned into the video. The guide to reading a teleprompter naturally covers eye line and delivery in more detail.
Audio only?
For a podcast intro or a voice-over, the voice recorder has the same script panel. The same word counts apply, and recording a voice-over on a laptop mic covers the sound side.
- Video
- Presenting
