How to write an explainer video script – a simple template
I find some of my best work comes from tight situations. This has proven true across my various jobs in London and, in particular, in my capacity as an Art Director back in Ireland. There is a mad rush about the sudden, unforeseen situations that spark the fight-or-flight flame in all of us and in the creative field, sometimes you need to step up to be the MacGyver that’s needed and, with only your wiles (and maybe a scrap of paper and a paperclip), know your end goal and drive the work to where it needs to go.
This article is a summary of a particularly effective business development conversation we had at Elemental Concept many years ago, which remains relevant in 2026. And as all the best stories come from tight situations, we all know this started with the most ideal working conditions, right? Not really…
The challenge
A client walks in, saying they need to get a video out within the week to pitch to an incredibly influential group of investors; all the stars have aligned, their time is now, etc. And the only other small thing they need (I can hear the designers shaking their heads in the back as I type…) is a simple, animated explainer video.
There was no script. No existing messaging. And the client had only half an hour of his time to give before he had to leave…
“There is no point in having sharp images when you’ve fuzzy ideas.”
Jean-Luc Godard
How to turn a tight deadline into a structured story
Panic Stations?
Now, the instinct would be to panic, but what a challenge to step up here. What better scenario to breathe, take the opportunity to roll up the sleeves and face the situation head-on and drill our client until we got what we needed.
My art director roots in film and TV were to come back into play, in tandem with the UX challenge of shaping a message that would engage the user’s motivations in the right way to get them to engage. I was extremely lucky in having a fantastic motion graphics designer, so I was confident in his ability to knock out an animation within the crazy timeframe. But we needed a script; we needed a story.
And so, this simple script-generation template was born. From that half-hour of frenzied typing and questioning came this lovely, simple resource that’s proved itself useful over and over and over again. At the end of the day, we love a structure, and when it comes to a story we can digest, there’s no more straightforward way than this.
How to write an explainer video script with no scriptwriting experience
You need no experience in writing or scripting to do this – Just an understanding of your client’s business and the right questions to ask to fill out our 4-paragraph script template, which will help you translate your client’s business model summary and elevator pitch into a succinct and compelling story that drives engagement. Let’s get into it…
The four-paragraph explainer video script template
Paragraph One: Frame the problem
- Provide a brief intro to the issue we wish to solve (whether general or using a particular use case), all the parties it negatively affects, the impact on X, Y and Z and why it needs to be solved, etc.
Paragraph Two: Frame the solution
- Name our solution and how it works to directly answer our problem. What inspired it and what its mission/desired impact is, etc.
Paragraph Three: Sell them on the benefits
- List all the benefits of using this solution, particularly referencing issues named in paragraph one or in the established use-case, etc.
Paragraph Four: Summarise the story and main takeaways
- Recollect the original issue, how this solution works using X, Y and Z to ensure not only are your problems solved but you’ve provided a good experience, happy customers and other benefits, like scalable offering, modern tech, etc.
Bear in mind, the last statement should always focus back to the name of the company, logo and product, using a snappy tagline or a sentence summing up why it’s the future, why it’s the default choice, etc. End with a bang.
Five things to remember when polishing your explainer video script
So, you have your fact-finding template and have successfully distilled the necessary content from the client – What next? We need to start polishing, creating a narrative, and polishing these bare bones into a fully fleshed script. Things to be mindful of:
Make sure you’re telling a story
- This template helps you establish the bare bones that will shape your story, but it’s up to you to ensure there’s flow and a strong narrative sense throughout the information. Get your first draft shaped, send it to your client to ensure the message is captured correctly, and iterate from there.
Keep your brand voice in mind
- The content in your video expresses the ‘voice’ of your company or brand, so it’s good to be mindful of the type of voice you want to have. It works in concert with your whole visual and digital presence, your social media connections, your product interface, and your event and experience branding.
Get to the point quickly
- Remember your user. UX 101: What is the message you want the user to get out of this? Get this out there as soon as possible, and don’t let the core message get lost in the details.
Read the script aloud
- This is not a document; this is a living script that needs to be read, flow off the tongue, resonate audibly, and inspire visuals to go alongside it. Reading your words aloud is essential for finding stumbling blocks in the text, identifying where you need to cut sentences that are too long, and editing from there.
Keep it short
- Explainer videos are now one of the most widely used formats in marketing – used by 68% of marketers according to Wyzowl’s 2026 State of Video Marketing report – which makes the ability to script one quickly a more useful skill than it might once have seemed.
- On length, Wistia’s research tells the clearest story. Average engagement dropped around the 60-second mark as recently as 2023, and by 2025 they were reporting that videos of one minute or shorter achieved 50% engagement, while those over five minutes had just 38%. For a standard product or service explainer in 2026, 60 to 90 seconds remains the benchmark – audience attention spans have not gotten longer, and completion rates across platforms continue to reflect this.
- The principle is the same as it ever was: the longer your video, the more of it your audience will miss. Make as many revisions and edits as possible to keep it clear, concise and snappy. Every line that doesn’t earn its place is a line that loses you a viewer.
Why getting the script right matters for customer experience and brand voice
The happy ending to the tale was that we successfully delivered by our deadline and, in the process, created an asset that has continued to save time, provide great value, and give solid structure to how we shape and define stories for our clients.
“Once you crack the script, everything else follows.”
Ridley Scott
Nailing the explainer script lays the foundation for website and pitch deck content and clearly defines the voice and identity of an emerging brand or product.
Lack of experience is irrelevant – That’s the beauty of the template. It does your thinking for you, frames the key questions to ask the client, and lays the groundwork for success. Like any mountain that seems impossible to climb, it’s not a question of being insurmountable. It’s simply a question of knowing where to start.
At Elemental Concept, storytelling is part of how we approach UX and experience design – from the scripts that explain a product to the copy that guides a user through it. If you’re working on a product or brand that needs a clearer voice, our UX research and design team would be glad to talk it through.
