Writing a Plain Language Video Script That More Viewers Can Follow

Who plain language scripts are for

Video can be easier than text for many people, because there is no page of words to decode. It can also be harder: speech moves at the speaker's pace, and a viewer who misses a sentence may not know how to go back. A plain language script reduces that risk for several groups at once.

• People with intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities such as dyslexia, or memory and attention difficulties, including after a brain injury or stroke.
• Adults with low literacy, who may rely on video because written material is hard for them.
• People watching in a second or third language, including recent arrivals and international staff.
• People who are tired, stressed, in pain or distracted, which describes many viewers of health, benefits, legal and safety information.

Plain language is not the same as Easy Read, a more structured format usually developed with people with intellectual disabilities and often combining very short sentences with a picture for each point. A plain script is a sensible default for public information; Easy Read versions may still be needed for specific audiences.

Core principles for spoken plain language

Most plain language guidance was written for documents, but the principles carry over to speech with a few changes, because a listener cannot reread.

• Start with what the viewer needs to know or do, not with background about your organization.
• Use everyday words. Say use instead of utilize, help instead of facilitate, before instead of prior to.
• Address the viewer directly. You can book online is clearer than appointments may be booked online.
• Prefer active verbs that say who does what. We will send you a letter, not a letter will be issued.
• Keep one term for one thing. If you call it a referral once, do not call it a recommendation later.
• Explain any word you cannot avoid, the first time it appears, and show it on screen.
• Make numbers simple: round where precision is not needed, say dates in full, and avoid percentages and fractions when a plain comparison will do.

Sentence length and shape

Long sentences are the most common barrier in scripts. A listener has to hold the beginning of a sentence in memory until the end arrives, and every extra clause adds load. Many plain language guides suggest keeping average sentence length short and treating very long sentences as a warning sign, though there is no single agreed limit.

• Put one idea in each sentence. If a sentence contains and, but, which or because more than once, it can usually be split.
• Put the main point first. If your card is lost, call us before the weekend is easier to process as: Call us before the weekend if your card is lost.
• Avoid stacked conditions such as unless, except where, provided that. Turn them into separate steps.
• Avoid negatives where a positive works. Do not forget to bring your letter becomes Bring your letter.
• Read every sentence aloud. If you need a breath in the middle, it is too long.

Sentence length also shapes delivery. Short sentences give a presenter natural places to pause, and pauses give viewers time to absorb each point.

Structure that tells viewers where they are

Viewers with memory or attention difficulties lose the thread when they cannot tell how far through a video they are or how points connect.

1. Open by saying what the video covers, in one or two sentences: This video explains how to renew your parking permit. It has three steps.
2. Present steps in the order people will do them, and number them aloud: Step one. Step two.
3. Keep each section short and about one thing. Several short videos often work better than one long one.
4. Signpost transitions: Now you know what to bring. Next, here is where to go.
5. End with a short recap and the single most important action.

On-screen chapter titles or a simple step counter reinforce the spoken structure for people who process visual information more easily than speech.

Repetition that helps rather than bores

In writing, repetition is often edited out. In speech for a broad audience it is a tool. A viewer who drifted for ten seconds needs a second chance to catch the key point.

• Repeat the key action at the start and at the end, in the same words.
• Repeat essential details such as a phone number or a deadline, and show them on screen while they are spoken.
• Reuse the same phrasing for the same idea. Varying the wording for style makes viewers wonder whether you mean something different.

Repetition should be deliberate and limited to what matters. Repeating everything makes the important points harder to spot.

Make the visuals say the same thing as the voice

For many viewers with cognitive disabilities, the strongest support is a picture that matches the words exactly as they are spoken.

• Show the thing being described at the moment it is mentioned: the form, the button, the building entrance.
• Keep on-screen text identical to the narration, or a shorter version of it. Text that says something different splits attention.
• Leave text on screen long enough to read twice.
• Avoid busy backgrounds, constant movement and decorative animation during explanations.
• Use real photos or footage where symbols might be misread, and keep icons consistent throughout.
• Avoid relying on what is shown alone. Say the information too, so viewers who cannot see the screen well still get it.

Testing a script with real viewers

Readability formulas count syllables and sentence length. They are a rough screen, not a verdict, and they cannot tell you whether viewers understood the content.

1. Read the script aloud to someone unfamiliar with the subject, then ask them to explain it back in their own words.
2. Test a rough cut with people from the intended audience, including people with the disabilities or language backgrounds you are writing for. Pay them for their time where possible.
3. Ask what they would do after watching. If they cannot name the action, the script has not done its job.
4. Note every point where people asked you to repeat or looked confused, and rewrite those parts first.

The W3C has published guidance on making content usable for people with cognitive and learning disabilities, and WCAG includes a Reading Level criterion at its highest conformance level. Both are worth reading for context; check the current versions for details.

Pitfalls and limits of plain language

• Talking down. Plain language is about clarity, not childish tone. Adults with intellectual disabilities or low literacy are adults.
• Removing information people need. Simplify the expression, not the facts. If a legal or medical point has a condition, keep the condition and explain it.
• Speaking too fast to fit a time slot. A plain script read at speed loses most of its benefit. Cut content rather than rushing.
• Assuming one version suits everyone. Some audiences need Easy Read, sign language or an interpreter, and plain language does not replace those.
• Trusting a readability score alone, or skipping user testing because the script looks simple to its author.
• Forgetting that plain language in the source does not guarantee plain language in a translation. A translator or reviewer still has to keep the target text simple.

How plain scripts help captions, translation and mydubly

A plain script has useful side effects. Short sentences become short, readable captions. Clear speech at a steady pace is easier for speech recognition, and everyday vocabulary with one term per idea gives machine translation fewer chances to choose the wrong meaning. Production advice aimed at translators and dubbing, such as avoiding burned-in text and keeping a glossary, is covered in making videos translation-ready.

mydubly does not write or simplify scripts; it transcribes and translates what is actually said. That still makes it useful in two ways. First, as a check: record a read-through, get a plain transcript, and look at the sentences as spoken rather than as written, since presenters often add clauses on the day. A short test file costs the minimum of 5 credits (0.5¢). Second, for language versions: mydubly works with 21 languages and can produce a translated transcript, subtitles in the target language, or a dubbed voice track using one of 8 stock voices.

Two limits matter for plain language audiences. The translation engine translates rather than simplifies, so a fluent reviewer should check that the target text is still plain, and a guide to how translations grow or shrink explains why some lines get longer. In a dub, a translated line that runs long may be spoken slightly faster to fit the original timing, up to about 1.15 times normal speed, so a slow, well-paused source script leaves more room and keeps the dubbed version easier to follow. For subject-specific advice, see patient education video translation and the video translator page.

Next step: rewrite one script section and test it

Take the most important minute of a current script, usually the part where you tell viewers what to do. Split every long sentence, replace formal words, add a one-line opening that says what is coming, and repeat the key action at the end. Read it aloud to someone outside your team and ask them to tell you what they would do next. If they can, apply the same treatment to the rest of the script, and when the video is finished, the guide on how to translate a video covers the language versions.