A 60-second video holds a single idea, with room for 1 example and an invitation. Coaches and consultants tend to squeeze in 3 ideas, since every one of them matters, and the viewer leaves remembering none.
A script with 4 parts and a word budget fixes that. At a steady reading pace, 60 seconds holds about 155 words, so each part gets a share and the example gets the biggest one.
By the end you'll have 3 annotated example scripts, covering a client question, a demonstration and a lesson from client work. You'll also have an editable 4-part structure, a timing estimate for each script and a simple test for your closing invitation.
Jump to the free 60-Second Expert Video Script Kit
Choose a single question and a supportable promise
Pick 1 question a client asked in the last month, and write the promise as something the viewer gets inside 60 seconds and could check. A supportable promise stays inside what your example shows: "a 2-sentence opener for feedback to a former peer" fits in a minute, while "become a confident leader" can't.
| Too big for 60 seconds | Supportable in 60 seconds |
|---|---|
| Become a confident leader | A 2-sentence opener for feedback to someone who used to be your peer |
| Fix your cash flow | A 3-column check that shows next month's shortfall in 5 minutes |
| Run better 1:1 meetings | 1 agenda question that brings problems up sooner |
Before writing, test the promise 3 ways:
- Your example proves it on its own.
- A viewer could try it today.
- Every number in it is one you can back up.
Short scripts come in 3 useful shapes: question scripts answer something a client asked, demonstrations show a tool or method on screen or paper, and client-work lessons share what a project taught you, with identifying details removed. If you surface questions more easily by talking, recording a 30-minute expert interview can give you a dozen candidates in 1 sitting.
Where these scripts sit in a weekly calendar is covered in the AuthorityOS guide to personal brand content strategy.
Write short video scripts for coaches around 1 concrete example
Write each script in 4 parts with a word budget: an opening of about 15 words that states the question or promise, an explanation of about 45, a concrete example of about 55 and an invitation of about 25. That adds up to roughly 140 words, which leaves breathing room inside 60 seconds.
The 3 scripts below use 2 fictional people: Rachel Kim, a leadership coach for first-time managers, and Marco Silva, a bookkeeping consultant for creative agencies. Studio North, the agency in script 2, and the other clients in the stories are fictional too.
Script 1: the question (Rachel)
| Part | Script | Why it's written this way |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | "You got promoted, and now you have to give feedback to someone who was your peer last month." | Names the viewer's exact situation in the first line |
| Explanation | "Skip the warm-up compliments. Name the awkward part in 1 sentence, then go straight to the behavior. Try this: 'This is new for both of us, so I'm going to be direct. The client report went out with 2 errors on Tuesday.'" | Gives the rule, then the words to say |
| Example | "A manager I coached had put this conversation off for 3 weeks. When she finally used that line, her old teammate laughed and said, 'Thank goodness, I thought you were avoiding me.' They fixed the report process together, and the errors stopped the next week." | Shows the line working on a specific person, with a result the viewer can picture |
| Invitation | "Try the sentence in your next 1:1 this week. The full opener script, with 3 follow-up lines, is in the link on my profile." | 1 action tied to the idea, plus where to find more |
Script 2: the demonstration (Marco)
| Part | Script | Why it's written this way |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | "Here's a 5-minute cash check that tells you whether you can cover payroll next month." | Promises a result and states the time cost up front |
| Explanation | "Grab a sheet of paper and draw 3 columns: cash in the bank today, invoices due in the next 30 days, and bills due in the same 30 days. Add the first 2 columns, then subtract the third." | The whole method in 2 sentences, drawn on paper while he talks |
| Example | "Here's an agency I'll call Studio North: $42,000 in the bank, $35,000 in invoices due, and $81,000 in bills and payroll. That's $77,000 available against $81,000 going out, so they're $4,000 short. And they can see it 4 weeks early, while there's still time to chase the 2 biggest invoices." | Specific figures, with the math done on camera |
| Invitation | "Run this every Friday afternoon. If the third column keeps winning, book a call through the link on my profile and we'll work out why." | Repeats the habit, then offers help for the bad case |
Script 3: the client-work lesson (Rachel)
| Part | Script | Why it's written this way |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | "A team was losing 2 hours a day until their manager added 1 question to the 1:1 agenda." | Puts a cost in hours up front and holds the question back for a few seconds |
| Explanation | "Here's the question, and it goes first, before any status updates: 'What's slowing you down that I don't know about?' Leave it for the end and people have already decided to keep quiet." | The exact question, plus why it goes first |
| Example | "The manager, a client of mine, asked it every week. In week 2, a developer mentioned a test server that crashed every afternoon. That was the 2 hours. It had been happening for a month, and it was fixed by Friday." | Names the cause, how long it ran and how fast it was fixed, with identifying details removed |
| Invitation | "Put the question at the top of your next 1:1 agenda. Follow along for the other 2 questions on that agenda." | 1 action today and a reason to watch the next video |
Script 3 starts with a small open loop: the viewer hears what the problem cost and has to wait a few seconds for the question that found it. Curiosity Loop Architecture covers that kind of opening in more depth.
The editable structure
Copy this into a doc and fill it in. The example gets the biggest budget because it's the part viewers remember and repeat.
OPENING (about 15 words, 0 to 6 seconds)
The client's question in their words, or the promise in 1 sentence.
EXPLANATION (about 45 words, 6 to 23 seconds)
The idea in plain terms: 1 rule or 1 step, plus the words to use if that helps.
EXAMPLE (about 55 words, 23 to 45 seconds)
1 specific case: who it was, what happened, what changed. Remove identifying details.
INVITATION (about 25 words, 45 to 55 seconds)
1 action tied to the idea, plus where to find more.
The 60-Second Expert Video Script Kit has all 3 scripts, this structure and a timing sheet with a blank column for your own reads.
Read it aloud and test the closing invitation
Read each script aloud 3 times with a stopwatch before filming, and cut words until your slowest read finishes under 60 seconds. Then test the invitation on its own: it should ask for 1 action, connect to the idea you just taught, and make sense to someone who only caught the last 10 seconds.
Estimated timing for the 3 scripts
The times below are estimates from word count. ACX, the audiobook production platform, says most performers narrate about 9,300 words per hour, which works out to 155 words a minute.
Count each figure the way you'll say it, so "$42,000" counts as 3 spoken words. That adds 12 words to script 2.
A narrator reads steadily from a page, while talking to a camera adds pauses, emphasis and nerves. Treat these as a starting point and fill in the last column from your own reads.
| Script | Spoken words | Estimated time at 155 words a minute | Your slowest measured read |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1: the question | 129 | 50 seconds | |
| 2: the demonstration | 140 | 54 seconds | |
| 3: the client-work lesson | 113 | 44 seconds |
While you read, run these checks:
- Circle any word you stumble on twice and swap in a shorter one.
- Mark a breath at each period, and split any sentence that needs 2 breaths.
- Read the example to someone else and ask them to repeat the number back.
- Strip warm-up words like "so" and "basically" from the opening.
If the camera itself is the hard part, planning your first 5 recordings as a camera-shy expert covers the room, the sound and a self-review sheet.
Test the closing invitation
On YouTube, square or vertical videos up to 3 minutes count as Shorts, so a 60-second script fits with room to spare. URLs in Shorts descriptions and comments aren't clickable, which is why these scripts send people to "the link on my profile," and YouTube's related video setting can point a Short to a longer video on your channel once you have advanced features (established channels usually qualify through their history).
Then test the wording. Use 1 invitation on your next 3 videos and the other on the 3 after that: an action invitation ("Try the sentence in your next 1:1") and a resource invitation ("The full script is in the link on my profile"). When you switch, swap the profile link for the same URL with a new source label on the end, such as ?source=block-2, so downloads show which block sent them. Then count the replies, the messages that quote the idea and the downloads for each block.
6 videos make a small sample, so treat a gap between the 2 versions as a hint and run the test again before settling on a default.
Pick 1 question from this month's client emails and write it into the 4-part structure tonight. Tomorrow, read it aloud 3 times with a stopwatch, write down the slowest time, and film it once it's under 60 seconds.