I need an intro script for my podcast that gets to the point in under a minute.

Two kinds of intro, timed

A show open is the same every week. It runs 15 to 30 seconds over your theme music and says the show's name, who it's for, what they get and who you are. You record it once. An episode open changes every time, runs 30 to 90 seconds and tells people why this episode is worth their next hour. These are rules of thumb, not platform rules.

At 150 spoken words a minute, two and a half words a second, here is a 60-second episode open in words:

Cold open: 15 to 20 seconds, 40 to 50 words, a line from the episode that works without context.

Theme sting: about 5 seconds, no words.

Show line and your name: about 10 seconds, 25 words.

What this episode is and who the guest is: about 25 seconds, 60 words.

Hand-off: about 5 seconds, 10 to 15 words, such as the opening question or “Let's start with July.”

That comes to roughly 60 seconds and 140 spoken words, a little under the 150 the 1-minute setting aims for. For 30 seconds, drop the cold open and keep the show line, your name and one sentence about the episode. For 90, give the extra time to the cold open, not to the guest's résumé.

A sample episode open, and the version before it

Before: “Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the show. I'm so excited for today's episode, we have an amazing guest, and without further ado, let's get into it.” That is 29 words, about 12 seconds, and a new listener still doesn't know the show's name, the guest or the topic.

After, built only from the request above:

[COLD OPEN] **Guest:** “I don't keep a plant because I love it. I keep it because it earned the space.”

[THEME STING]

**Host:** “This is Dirt Under the Nails, the show for people growing food in small backyards. I'm Priya.”

“Marcus Hale grows 140 kinds of tomato on a lot the size of a tennis court, and every July he pulls out half of them. This week he tells me how he decides which half goes.”

“Marcus, start with July. What happens?”

That is 76 spoken words: about 30 seconds of talk plus the sting. Notice what moved. The guest's own line does the bragging, so the bio shrinks to the two facts that matter this week, and the show's name comes after the hook instead of before it.

Cut from any podcast intro: “welcome back to another episode”, “without further ado”, “so, yeah”, thanking listeners before you've given them anything, a sponsor read before the cold open, the guest's full résumé, and web addresses read out letter by letter. Those belong in the show notes.

What the Podcast episode setting does, and where it stops

The setting is built for whole episodes. With Format on Podcast episode it writes a cold open, an intro, segments with **Host:** and **Guest:** labels, and a close with a recap, a question for listeners and the next episode. Time is set in whole minutes from 1 to 60, so 1 minute, about 150 spoken words, is the shortest it goes, and an intro on its own is something you ask for in your request and then trim. Speaker labels and bracketed notes don't count as spoken words, and you get a warning if the spoken lines land more than 30% off the target.

It writes for the ear, with short sentences, everyday words and room for small reactions like “Right”. It is told not to make up numbers or claims, but a script can still put words in a guest's mouth if the request leaves room, so take the cold open from the actual recording and check any line credited to a guest with them. A light red pen pass cuts stock phrases and keeps your labels and notes as they are. On a plan, a voice built from transcripts of past episodes brings the host lines closer to how you talk; Pro saves 5 voices and Pro Max 20.