Planning out your live radio event is a great way to ensure you are prepared and that you deliver the best possible content to your listeners. A great way to plan out your event is by creating a script to follow. This script can help keep you focused and gives you the direction that you may need as you move through your live radio show. After all, the event is live, so a script can certainly come in handy if you are ever at a loss for words. So, to help you get started with writing your script, we gathered our best tips for creating a script.
Write Your Script for Speaking
Writing your script for how you speak instead of writing it as if you are going to be reading it will help keep your scripts natural-sounding. The way that we formally read and write is usually much stiffer than how we speak. So, write your script in your voice and with the flow of your mind.
Paint Pictures with Your Words
Given that your listeners do not have a visual aid, ensure that you are setting the scene whenever need be. Now, this doesn't mean that you need to talk about every single detail of everything you talk about, but just be aware that your listeners may need that extra description once in awhile to help them picture the stories, news, etc. in their heads.
Keep it Concise
Keeping your script concise gives you the room for improvisation and expansion while live broadcasting. You never want to read directly from your script as you want to sound natural on-air, so ensuring that your scripts are directly to the point without unnecessary words or sentences allows you the space and time to be creative with your delivery.
Give Yourself Flexibility
This ties into writing your script as if it is going to be spoken aloud. If there are certain words that you want to use on-air, include them on your script. Similarly, if there are certain stories, news pieces, topics, etc. that you want to talk about on-air, include them on your script as well. However, also give yourself different options for vocabulary, stories, news, topics, etc. and the space to explore what you are particularly interested in talking about at the moment while live broadcasting. This flexibility can make your live event that much more interesting. So, on your script, give yourself only what you need to allow yourself that freedom.
As a guide, we've created our own radio script template examples for music radio and talk radio. Take a look at the radio script template examples below. Keep in mind that these templates are not meant to be complete scripts, but rather examples that can help guide you with writing your own.
Music Radio Script Template:
Intro: [Jingle or Speech Introduction] (Duration)
Cue DJ: "Hello and welcome to the [Insert Radio Station Name or Segment Name] live show. First up is a song by [Insert Artist]." (Duration)
- (Artist Notes: Have some facts prepared about the songs/artists that you are playing and you can use them if you want while on-air. Having facts prepared, but not scripted, gives you the freedom you need.)
Cue track: [Insert Song Details and Start Song] (Duration)
Cue DJ: "That is an absolute classic by [Insert Artist]. Now, we've got a lot to talk about today. [Insert News, Story, or Gossip here]." (Duration)
- (News, Story, Gossip Notes: Have some facts prepared about the stories that you are talking about and you can use them if you want while on-air. Having facts prepared, but not scripted, gives you the freedom you need.)
End of segment.
Cue DJ: "Coming up next, we have [Insert Song Details], but first, [Insert News, Story, or Anecdote related to song/artist or other topic]." (Duration)
Cue track: [Insert Song Details and Start Song] (Duration)
End segment.
Cue DJ: "Well, that's the end of our live hour. Thanks so much for tuning in, we've got [Next scheduled event] coming up next." (Duration)
Outro: [Speech Outro or Jingle] (Duration)
Talk Radio Script Template:
Intro: [Jingle or Speech Introduction] (Duration)
Cue DJ: "Hello and welcome to the [Insert Radio Station Name or Segment Name] live show. First up is a story about [Insert Story Topic here]." (Duration)
Story 1: [Title of your story] (Duration)
Introduction: [Summary of Story/Anecdote that captures attention of your listeners]
Background: [Tell the bulk of the Story/Anecdote, including any background info]
Conclusion: [End the Story/Anecdote distinctly and memorably]
End segment.
News 1: [Title of your News Story] (Duration)
Introduction: [Summary of News Story]
Background: [Tell the bulk of the News Story, including any background info]
Conclusion: [End the News Story distinctly]
End segment.
Cue DJ: "Well, that's the end of our live hour. Thanks so much for tuning in, we've got [Next scheduled event] coming up next." (Duration)
Outro: [Speech Outro or Jingle] (Duration)
Tip: Including the duration for each part of your script will help you schedule your live event duration properly and will help you stay on track with time while live broadcasting.
Writing a script for your live event is a great way to ensure that you are prepared. However, writing a script does not have to be difficult nor does it have to be complete with word for word what you are going to say on-air. A good script is truly more of a guide that keeps you on track and gives you the cues you need, but allows you the room for personality, creativity, and improvisation. There's honestly no right or wrong way to make your script as it is your script for your radio station, so just include what you need and organize it in a way that works for you. For your next live event, make a quick script beforehand and see how it can benefit you while on-air!
If you are looking for tips on how to be a great live broadcaster, check out our article here.
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