Podcasts Template

Interview / Guest Episode Script Template

A retention-optimized script template for YouTube interview / guest episode videos. Copy it, customize the placeholders, and start writing.

[COLD OPEN - 0:00 to 0:30 | about 91 words]
Open on the single best 15 seconds of the guest speaking, then cut to the host.
"[THE GUEST'S MOST SURPRISING CLAIM, in their own words]"
Say who they are in one line, then get out of the way.

[GUEST INTRODUCTION - 0:30 to 1:30 | about 181 words]
"[NAME] is [ROLE], and the reason I wanted this conversation is [THE SPECIFIC QUESTION]."
"Here is what we cover: [TOPIC ONE], [TOPIC TWO], [TOPIC THREE]."
Set expectations for length and format.

[THE EASY OPENER - 1:30 to 4:00 | about 453 words]
Ask the question the guest is most comfortable with, so they settle in on camera.
"[QUESTIONS THAT LET THEM TELL THEIR OWN STORY]"
Let them finish. Do not fill the pause.

[THE CORE QUESTION - 4:00 to 10:00 | about 1,086 words]
"[THE MAIN QUESTION the whole episode is built around]."
Ask it once. If the answer drifts, the follow up is: "You said [THEIR WORD]. Go slower on that part."
Second follow up: "What does that look like on a Tuesday?"

[THE HARD QUESTION - 10:00 to 14:00 | about 724 words]
"[THE QUESTION THEY WILL NOT HAVE BEEN ASKED]."
Ask it plainly, without softening it into a compliment.
If they dodge: "Let me ask it differently. [SAME QUESTION, NARROWER]."

[THE PRACTICAL TURN - 14:00 to 17:00 | about 543 words]
"What should somebody listening do tomorrow if they want to start on this?"
"Walk me through the first step as if I know nothing."

[CLOSE - 17:00 to 18:00 | about 181 words]
"[ONE SUMMARY LINE FOR THE GUEST]."
"[WHERE TO FIND THEM, said once, on screen and aloud]."
"[YOUR OWN ONE SENTENCE TAKEAWAY, then the next episode tease]."

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Opening on the host introducing the episode instead of the guest saying the most interesting thing they say all hour.

Asking five shallow questions instead of one core question with real follow ups.

Filling every pause, which trains the guest to give short answers and flattens the rest of the episode.

Skipping the practical question, so the listener leaves entertained but with nothing to do next.

Planning numbers

About 3,258 words

Script length that fills 18 minutes

0:00 to 0:30

Cold open block to write first

181 wpm (median for 15 to 20 minute videos)

Words per minute of finished video

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a script for an interview?

Script the frame and the questions, never the answers. Write the cold open, the introduction, and your question ladder word for word, then ask follow ups live. An 18 minute episode holds roughly 3,258 words of talk, most of it improvised.

How many questions should an interview episode have?

Three to five substantial ones, with a core question that gets its own large block. A long list of shallow questions produces a long list of shallow answers, and the guest never gets to say anything they have not said before.

How do I ask a hard question without being hostile?

Ask it plainly and let the guest answer. Skip the preamble that softens it into a compliment. If the answer dodges, ask the same question in a narrower form rather than moving on.

What should the cold open of an interview be?

The guest's single most interesting line from anywhere in the conversation, cut clean with no context. It is the only material in an interview that a stranger cannot get anywhere else.

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