Script / Story

Scripting is THE biggest thing that creators struggle with and if you don’t know how to do it right, it’s going to be really, really, really hard for you to grow.

But lets talk about the elephant in the room: AI.

If you are inside my community, The Content College you have access to our Ai content bot, Dip. He has every single once of content knowledge that I do.

Check out how you can join here: PARASOCIAL

But Dip’s purpose is to support you in your content journey, not do it for you.

He’s best used to:

1. Help you understand what I want to say and how it comes across.

2. Condense my run on sentences in a viewers can understand.

3. Simplify overly big words.

So under no circumstance should you ever use 100% of a script he writes for you. This is YOUR story so YOU have to be the one to tell it. It’s impossible to get Dip to be 100% as authentic as you.

Now, when it comes to scripting out story telling short form videos I always use one of the template structures listed below.

This is because you’re going to have a lot to say and not enough time to say it. So having a way to keep you on track while writing is a MUST.

We’ll cover the theory first so you can best utilize the scripting resources.

STORY-SCRIPTING THEORY

Now telling a story, in theory, isn’t that hard. For the sole reason that humans have being doing it sense we evolved to speak and recount information.

But we all know there are good storytellers and bad storytellers. The main difference between a good and bad story is:

1. Brutal honesty

This goes hand in hand with authenticity. You can’t tell personable stories about things you haven’t experienced → but BOY do people try.

The guru’s urge to lie is why I harp so much on speaking to your younger self in the brand lesson: THIS IS THE ONLY PERSON YOUR 100% QUALIFIED TO TALK TO.

So when we script from story we need to base it in reality and fact. Thing’s you do every single day or have done enough that they become second nature.

2. Relatability (this makes you care)

Now relatability varies, as technically anyone can relate to anyone else via anything. (super specific, I know.)

But when we use Instagram to set up an offer, we have to be conscious that we’re relating to the right people.

Consider how your story connects to the different demographics.

Who do you want to realte to your brand?

Again if Lesson 2 was done right this should be known like the back of your hand.

And this should be mainly considered when choosing the tone of your writing. The amount of slang you use will affect authority. That’s neither a bad or good thing, it’s just what happens.

3. The flow

Flow, also know as a videos pace, is something you need to keep in the forefront of your mind at all times.

We dictate flow through the art of anticipation and including micro-conflicts in our stories.

Anticipation stems from a psychological principal called the Zeigarnik Effect. It basically means that humans are hardwired to want to see the end of a story. It’s a leading cause of the “authentic storytelling” revolution on Instagram.

You may have heard of it before but as open or close loops. Basically you “open” a loop of curiosity at the start of a story and by the end, that loop is “closed.”

But… what if we did that more than just one time.

Micro-conflicts are little points of contention in a story that “re-hook” the viewer into another 3-5 seconds of watching.

The most popular for of this is the but, therefore framework:

Setup: “I was doing everything right…”

BUT: “...then this happened.”

THEREFORE: “...so I did this instead.”

And it makes sense why it works.

Example:

Instead of: “I woke up and drove to work today.”

Try: “I woke up late, rushed to get ready, got in my car, BUT noticed my tank was EMPTY, THEREFORE I sped to the gas station past a cop and almost got pulled over. I arrived at the office with just one minute to spare!

See? A lot more engaging and more fun to follow. This is exactly what we want for storytelling videos.

Think about your favorite movie for a second. Does ANYTHING go wrong in between the start of the film and the end? Yes, right?

Think about how boring the film would be if the protagonist just got what they wanted right away. It’s the same thing for short form, the conflict-resolution cycle is just shorter.

We also aid in this by using re-hook phrases.

Curiosity Triggers

1. “But here’s the part nobody talks about…”

2. “What happened next shocked me.”

3. “And that’s when everything changed.”

4. “I couldn’t believe what I saw next.”

5. “But there was one problem…”

6. “The way I found it? Totally accidental.”

7. “This small tweak made a massive difference.”

8. “Here’s where most people get it wrong.”

9. “The results? You won’t believe how fast it worked.”

10. “What I did next changed everything.”

Guided Questions / Open Loops

1. “Have you ever made this mistake?”

2. “Can you guess why that didn’t work?”

3. “What would you do in this situation?”

4. “How would you fix this?”

5. “You see the problem, right?”

6. “So what would happen if I tried it again?”

7. “Why did this work for them but not me?”

8. “Here’s the weird part…”

9. “Would you have done the same thing?”

10. “Guess what happened after that?”

Time Pressure & Stakes

1. “I had 30 days to figure it out…”

2. “If I didn’t fix it now, I was done.”

3. “This was my last shot.”

4. “Time was running out fast.”

5. “One wrong move and it was over.”

Process Teases

1. “I didn’t realize it at the time…”

2. “This one step is where most people quit.”

3. “Here’s what I wish I knew before trying this.”

4. “And then I made a move I wasn’t sure about.”

5. “I was halfway through when I spotted the mistake.”

Contrast & Reversals

1. “I thought it was a win—until this happened.”

2. “At first, it looked like a failure.”

3. “This was working perfectly… until it wasn’t.”

4. “I did everything right—and still got it wrong.”

5. “Then I broke my own rule.”

6. “Sounds great, right? It wasn’t.”

7. “Here’s where it went completely wrong.”

8. “You’d think that would be enough…”

9. “It was working—until it wasn’t.”

10. “But then I did the opposite…”

Cliffhangers & Teased Details

1. “You’ll see what I mean in a second.”

2. “Watch what I do right here.”

3. “There’s a tiny mistake—but it’s important.”

4. “This is the part most people miss.”

5. “Zoom in on this moment…”

6. “I’ll show you the exact line I used in a second.”

7. “There’s one word that changed everything.”

8. “The most important part is coming up.”

9. “I’ll explain why this matters in a minute.”

10. “You’ll want to remember this for later.”

4. The value

Every content-guru on the planet tells you to post “valuable content” but no one tells you how to structure that value in a way people understand and care about.

The caring part is easy, if you’ve built your foundation right you know the value your giving will help your ICP every time. So of course they’re going to care.

The second part of caring comes for how soon they can implement it. Is the value ACTIONABLE within 24 hours. (can they take what you tell them and INSTANTLY apply it?) If the answer is yes, that’s some solid value.

But one step beyond that is how your presenting the value, if our goal is to make them comment for a free resource to learn MORE, they need to like what they’ve already gotten.

This is where my WHAT, HOW, and WHY structure comes in to play.

After you get to the value section of whatever structure your using - you need to make sure that your explaining:

1. What the value is.

2. How it’s going to help the viewer.

3. Why they need it.

This packages the value in a way that covers all the bases we hit above.

This ensures your payoff is satisfying.

If your payoff is un-satisfying, viewers are MUCH less likely to do the action we call them to do.

Side note: when it comes to value give it in 1, 3, or 5 tip steps. 1 meaning, one longer in-depth breakdown of the process, simply of course. With 3 steps being more manageable and 5 if you have a lot of little bits of value to stack.

As for what order to put these tips you always want:

1. Second best tip

2. Best tip

   (CTA goes here)

3. Last tip

Obviously extending this when you have 5 tips to give.

Here are some questions that act as a good quality-check for value delivery

• Can they use the value (actionable) within 24 hours?

• Did you explain the entire process?

• Do they get a free resource at the end?

• Would they share it with someone they care about?

• Is it unique? (not a tip they’ve heard 100 times)

5. Viewer comprehension

On average, viewers on Instagram are comprehending at at a fifth grade level, so big words only lessen viewer comprehension. People are afraid of what they don’t understand.

An easy fix is HEMMINGWAY.COM.

It’s an app that dumbs down the language in your script. Meaning it tells you the confusing parts of your script and politely asks you to simplify.

BONUS: Story starters

To make your videos to flow better and feel more story-like, use my story starters at the beginning of each line.

• “and”

• “but”

• “then”

• “so”

• “because”

• “now”

• “therefore”

• “however”

• “until”

• “which”

IMPORTANT: Make sure that when your reviewing your script you don’t have too many of the same words close together.

If you have the sentence “but then this happened” right after your hook, it would sound off in the video if one or two lines later you had “but then this also happened.”

Instead, use a synonym like “however,” this helps keep up the natural feel of videos.

With that base of knowledge, we can now take a look at some proven story structures. This are easy to understand but hard to master.

And before we dive deeper, you must understand that scripting takes practice. I can explain the theory and give you templates all day long.

But the only way for you to actually know what your doing is to write a lot.

Many of them will be bad, and that’s ok — it’s why I’m here to help.

PLUG-N-PLAY STORYTELLING STRUCTURES

THE BASICS

Use these as a rough outline.

The Epiphany Bridge

1. Identify the Problem

2. Share your personal struggle

3. Deliver your epiphany moment or “the moment everything changed.”

4. Offer the solution that came after

3 Simple Acts

1. Impact / attention

2. Influence / conversation

3. Persuasion / transformation (CTA)

MORE COMPLEX

More in-depth with examples.

Hero’s Journey

1. INTRO - Establishes the hero (our client, or one of their clients) and the problem.

   ”X days/years ago I (insert problem client was experiencing/and or was seeing others experience)”

2. INFLECTION POINT - Highlights the pain points from this problem.

   ” Because of this I was (insert pain points/symptoms that come from having this problem)“

3. RISING ACTION - Explain failed solutions/attempts they tried in order to fix the problem.

   ”I tired/they tried insert failed solutions they have tried in order to fix the problem”

4. CLIMAX - Introduce the solution to this problem.

   ”Finally after X months/years of no results I figured out the one thing that actually worked, (insert solution).”

5. FALLING ACTION - Explain the success you have seen because of the solution

   ”When I started doing this I (Insert results/social proof/success from solution that happened”

6. RESOLUTION - Call to action to business/service.

   Because of this experience I started (insert business/service so I could help people just like me achieve (insert dream result) → CTA to business/service

In a Hole:

1. COMFORT ZONE - Individual is not in a bad place but something is missing.

   ”X days/months/years ago I was a normal (insert age) guy/girl, working as a (insert role), and just living life. I wasn’t unhappy but it always felt like something was missing.”

2. TRIGGER - A trigger happens (illness, accident, disruption, etc) which causes realization not the best version of yourself.

   ”Then on a random (insert weekday) (insert trigger)”

3. CRISIS - The realization causes a midlife crisis where the individual learns something valuable.

   ”But this mid-life crisis made me realize (insert valuable lesson)”

4. RECOVERY - Individual put what they learned to good use and start to make your comeback.

   ”So I started to (insert action/actions)”

5. BETTER PLACE - Individual is better off than you were before in your previous comfort zone.

   ”Which leads me to today. Now I (insert dream result), and (insert positive side effect/effects from dream result).”

About Me:

1. INTRO - A starting point where your story begins

   ”Hi i’m (insert name), and X months/years ago I was a normal guy/girl, working as a (insert role), and living a normal life”

2. CONFLICT - What set you on this path

   ”Well all up until (insert life changing event)”

3. EPIPHANY - That changed your perspective

   ”Because I this I realized (insert epiphany)”

4. CHANGE - The change you made following your epiphany

   ”Which led me to do (insert action/actions), and that leads me to today. Now I (insert dream result), and (insert positive side effect/effects from dream result).”

5. PURPOSE - The deeper “Why” that is driving your brand

   ”Insert dream result) changed my life, and I made it my mission to help (insert target audience) go from (insert pain point/points) to (insert dream result) too.”

Now once you chose a template you need to understand how to meld it to the story you want to tell:

1. Start with the log line, this is like a mini mantra that is per video.

Logline = Problem → Intention → Obstacle → Solution

I start by word-vomiting onto the page and slowly chipping down at it until it’s under 25 words and perfectly summarize what the video is about.

Example: “My scripts sucked but I knew my posts were valuable however I didn't know how to write, so I learned storytelling.”

Keep the sentence visible the whole time you’re scripting. Every line should push it forward.

2. The hook

We’ve already covered this: Hook Theory

3. Add backstory and context

Now the backstory is meant to hype up the video’s value in about 2-4 lines. Strong backstory makes viewers much more likely to watch until the end.

Think of it as the build up of the video → you want to build suspense, stimulate, and provoke the viewer.

The only “rule” of this section is to cut any sentence that is greater that 20 words. It will mess up the pace when editing.

(If your feel lost, just start with “X days/months/years ago…” and write about what you were doing at that time in relation to the story.)

The backstory needs to be as specific as possible, nothing remotely vague BUT don’t over do it, you also need to keep it simple and condensed so the viewer can follow along.

And the more story you dump quicker, the earlier they get those dopamine hits.

The goal is to make the story feel personal and vulnerable, this is where you use slang to emphasis a casual tone. To facilitate the “literally me” connection you can pull from your mantra and Ikigai in order to better communication with your dream avatar.

And make sure, above all else you add PAIN.

Lot’s and lot’s of pain.

For struggles say when it was, where you were, and how much it sucked.

Use painful buzz words like “burn-out,” “overwhelmed,” or “depressed.”

The vulnerbility will make them relate and help them remember that pain again. And because no one likes pain they’re going to want the value that much more

Now after about 3 lines of backstory you should be at the 15 second mark in your video. Besides the hook, this is the make or break point for your retention graph.

Here’s a few tricks to make it psychologically impossible for them not to watch the rest of the video. (premise → resolution)

This is also where anticipation and micro-conflicts should start to be used.

4. The breaking pint

This the 2-3 sentence transition from where you were in your pain-filled backstory to where you are now.

It should feel like a moment of instant change → this aids in making the value your about to give feel actionable within 24 hours like we talked about.

You want contrast word’s like: “but,” “until,” or “then I realized.”

Examples:

1. “But after I did [value], I finally got [dream result.]”

2. “[Pain] lasted until I tried [value] and that’s when everything changed.”

3. “Then I realized, if I stopped doing [pain], I could finally [dream result.]”

I also set up the value here if warranted.

Something like “[Breaking point], so here are the 1/3/5 steps to always have [dream result.]”

5. The take-away

This is when you use all of the value delivery practices we talked about above.

Your goal is to shift their mindset without sounding like a coach.

A good take away will lead to the viewer feeling satisfied and liking/commenting/following.

Or they will scroll away and be annoyed at you for wasting their time.

So how do we avoid being annoying and give good value every time?

By understanding value per second (VPS.)

And using theory in the value section we can meld the two together to ensure happy viewers.

A good question to ask yourself to gauge the level of value your sharing is:

“Does this information hurt to give away for free?”

If yes you’re doing it right.

Now value isn’t just practical information, it can come from reliability, emotional validation, entertainment, or story.

This is why we want to speak so specifically, it just makes what you saying natively more valuable.

Understand where value comes from allows to make the VPS of our videos much higher AND makes our viewers feel GOOD for watching without having to be overly professor-esc.

Using this concept you can make the what how why framework flow 10x smoother. It’ll just feel like a natural extension of the story.

6. The call to action

As far as CTA’s go, I think people overhype them.

The specific way you word the CTA isn’t gong to make someone 100% more likely to click on it. The way you frame your value is.

So when it comes to CTA, we use SOFT pitches. They make the action feel like a friend asking for a favor rather than a salesman trying to close you.

I always start my CTA’s with “oh, by the way..”

It makes the ask slide into the story really well and the CTA is over before the viewer has time to put their guard up.

Honestly, the most important tip for this section is WHERE you put it.

Do not have your CTA’s at the end. Less than half of the people who watch your reels are going to get there, especially if your new to this.

I touched on this in the value theory but heres how I think through it:

1. Is the first tip good enough for them to stay but not good enough for them to be 100% satisfied and leave.

2. Does the second tip set up the free resource I’ve created?

3. Is my CTA a good summary of the value in the video and what’s mentioned in the free resource?

   Example: “comment for my free in-depth guide to get you to go viral on autopilot.”

   I use the phrases “in-depth” or “full guide” A LOT.

And after this is all said and done, there’s just one last step.

Brutal revision.

I think of the first draft of my script as a lump of clay. There’s a beautiful amazing script statue in there, I just need to mold it a bit more.

So, go line by line and do these quality checks:

• If it’s a line with a pain point → find the relatable keyword for that pain point and add the most raw information about yourself to it.

• If its a story-pusher, think of how you FELT at that time of your story, condense the story and add emotion words to drive that feeling.

• Cut anything that doesn't carry the video forward, be super harsh on yourself here. (you’ll most likely keep cutting all the way through the filming + editing processes.) You want to super over analysis yourself here, this directly impacts watch time.

• If you used ANY external help make sure it sounds like YOU (MOST IMPORTANT)

Boom. Scripting = done.