# How to Write a YouTube Script That Sounds Like You > Write a YouTube script that sounds like you: about 150 spoken words a minute, a hook in the opening 15 seconds, a turn every 60 to 90 seconds and what to cut. Source: https://hidengpt.com/write/youtube-script-in-your-voice # I need a script for my next YouTube video, and I want it to sound like me. Bring the topic, what a viewer should walk away with and a few details nobody else has. HidenGPT's Video script format turns your running time into a word target, about 150 spoken words a minute, so 10 minutes is roughly 1,500 words: a hook, a short intro, sections that renew curiosity every 60 to 90 seconds, and a close. Updated October 10, 2026 · by the HidenGPT team Try it with your own details Enter to send · Shift+Enter for a new line ## How to do it in HidenGPT - 01 Before you open the composer, write one sentence saying what a viewer will be able to do or know at the end, then three to five true details from your own work: a number, a price, a mistake. - 02 Video script is already picked on this page, with Format on YouTube video and Minutes on 10; set Minutes to your real length, fill in Audience and choose a tone such as Calm storyteller, Informative or Witty. - 03 Under More details, pick a hook style (Question, Surprising fact, Start with the result or Story) and leave Title & tags on if you want 3 title ideas, a description and 10 tags at the end. - 04 If you're on a plan, pick a voice built from transcripts of videos you've already made, so the lines follow the way you talk rather than the way you type. - 05 Read the script aloud with a timer, mark each line you trip over, and ask for changes like “shorter intro” or “move the result to the top”. [Video / Podcast Script](https://hidengpt.com/tools/video-script): Scripts for YouTube, Reels, TikTok and podcasts, timed to your length. ## How many words a YouTube script needs HidenGPT plans English scripts at about 150 spoken words a minute, so the Minutes setting is really a word count. As a table in words: 5 minutes is about 750 words, 8 minutes (the default) about 1,200, 10 minutes about 1,500, 12 minutes about 1,800, 15 minutes about 2,250 and 20 minutes about 3,000. Minutes runs from 1 to 60. Only the spoken lines count. Headings, timestamps, bracketed notes such as [B-ROLL:...] and the title and tag ideas after the --- line are left out, and you get a warning if the spoken words land more than 30% off the target. Your own pace matters more than the average. Read 150 words of any script aloud at recording speed and time it. If it takes 50 seconds, you talk at about 180 words a minute, so a 10-minute video needs about 1,800 words, and setting Minutes to 12 gets you there. If it takes 70 seconds, you speak at about 130 a minute and 10 minutes holds about 1,300 words. One way to split a 10-minute, 1,500-word script: a hook from 0:00 to 0:15 of about 40 words, an intro to 0:45 of about 75, four sections of roughly 2 minutes 10 seconds and 325 words each, and a 35-second close of about 85 words. That adds up to 1,500 words and 10 minutes. ## The opening 30 seconds, and the dips after them YouTube Studio has a report called key moments for audience retention. Its Intro figure is the share of viewers still watching after the first 30 seconds, and YouTube's help page ties a strong intro to an opening that matches what the title and thumbnail promised. Dips mark the spots where viewers abandon or skip. Both are script problems as much as editing problems. A before and after for the bike video. Before: “Hey everyone, welcome back to the channel. Today we're going to be talking about restoring an old road bike, which is something I've wanted to do for a while.” That is 29 words, about 12 seconds, and nothing has happened yet. After: “This bike cost me $40 at a yard sale. Two weekends and $100 later, it rides better than my new one. Three mistakes nearly stopped me, and the second one cost me a whole weekend.” Six more words, and the viewer already knows the result, the cost and why to stay. The format's YouTube shape works the same way. The hook carries the promise in the opening 15 seconds, the intro says who you are in one sentence, and each section ends on a line that gives a reason to keep watching, every 60 to 90 seconds. If a dip shows up at the same minute in several of your videos, open the script at that minute. You will often find a list read out loud, a long setup before the point, or a recap of what you said a minute ago. ## Sounding like you instead of a teleprompter A script is written to be heard: short sentences, contractions, the words you would use on the phone. The format is told never to open with “Hi guys, today we're going to…”, to keep visual notes in square brackets on their own lines so you never read one out by mistake, and not to add numbers or claims you didn't give it. For your voice, the sample decides a lot. Most people write more formally than they talk, so a voice built from your blog posts makes a script sound like a blog post. Use transcripts of videos you have already made instead. If your videos have captions, YouTube can show the transcript under the video; a cleaned-up copy of two or three, at least 300 characters in all, gives HidenGPT your real sentence length and the words you lean on. Voices need a plan: Pro saves up to 5 and Pro Max up to 20. After the draft, a light red pen pass cuts stock phrases and keeps your timestamps, bracketed notes and headings exactly as they are. Phrases it crosses out that turn up in scripts a lot: “let's dive in”, “buckle up”, “here's the thing”, “have you ever wondered”, “let that sink in” and “picture this”. What to cut before you record, even if the red pen left it: the welcome-back line; a roadmap that repeats the title; any sentence that only names the next section; a recap longer than one sentence; the second request to subscribe; and any number you can't show on screen or back up. ## Not the right tool if - Filming, editing or captions. It writes the spoken words and the [B-ROLL] and [ON-SCREEN TEXT] notes; shooting and cutting the video is up to you. - A video about things you haven't tried or checked. It doesn't research or test anything, so prices, specs and results have to come from you. - Remaking another creator's video. Bring your own topic and notes; it doesn't download or transcribe anyone's videos. ## Other ways to do it Bullet points in Google Docs Costs nothing and suits talking-head videos if you ad-lib well. Harder to time, and the opening tends to wander without a written hook. Talking it through and editing the transcript Record yourself explaining the topic to a friend, transcribe it with your phone or editing app, then cut it down. Sounds most like you; slower to shape. A freelance scriptwriter Research, structure and polish for channels with a budget. Give them your old transcripts so they can match how you talk. ChatGPT or another chatbot Fast for a rough outline; expect welcome-back openers, stock transitions and statistics you will need to check or cut. ## Questions ### How many words is a 10-minute YouTube script? About 1,500 words at 150 words a minute, the pace HidenGPT uses for English scripts. Eight minutes is about 1,200 and 15 minutes about 2,250; time yourself reading 150 words to find your own pace. ### How do I write a good hook for a YouTube video? Say the result or the problem in the opening sentence and make it match your title and thumbnail. YouTube Studio's Intro figure counts how many viewers are still there after 30 seconds, so cut any greeting that comes before the point. ### Should I write a full script or just bullet points? Write it out in full when the exact words matter: tutorials with steps and numbers, voiceover over B-roll, sponsor reads. Bullets suit opinion videos and vlogs if you ad-lib well. A middle way is to script the hook, the transitions and the close word for word and bullet the rest. ### How do I format a YouTube script in Google Docs? Put timestamps as headings, the spoken lines as plain paragraphs and every visual note on its own line in square brackets, such as [B-ROLL: seat post soaking]. That is the layout HidenGPT writes; download the plain text version and paste it into a Doc. ### Can it write YouTube titles, descriptions and tags too? Yes. With Title & tags on, the default for YouTube, the script ends with 3 title ideas of up to 60 characters, a description of 2 or 3 paragraphs and 10 tags. They sit after a --- line and don't count toward the word target. ### Will viewers be able to tell an AI helped write it? Viewers notice stock phrases, generic claims and a voice that isn't yours, so those are what to fix. HidenGPT makes no promise about how any viewer or tool will judge a script; start from your own details, use a voice built from your transcripts and read every line out loud. ### Can I try it before I subscribe? Yes. You can try 2 drafts a day on the homepage without an account. Writing in the studio, with saved drafts and your own voice, needs a plan; Pro is $19 a month with a $3 first month. ## Related - [I need a TikTok script that gets to the point before people scroll away.](https://hidengpt.com/write/tiktok-script) - [I need an intro script for my podcast that gets to the point in under a minute.](https://hidengpt.com/write/podcast-intro-script) - [I want LinkedIn posts that sound like me, not like a LinkedIn post generator.](https://hidengpt.com/write/linkedin-post-generator-in-your-voice) - [I want to send a newsletter every week, and I want it to sound like me.](https://hidengpt.com/write/newsletter-in-your-voice) - [My draft reads like ChatGPT wrote it. 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