HOW TO WRITE A RADIO SCRIPT

Radio presenting skills

If you want to deliver the best possible content to your listeners, planning out your radio event is a great way of doing it. A good way is to plan out a script, because following the script that you created helps you to stay focused during the show. If you accidentally forget a part of the show, the script gives you the right direction to go on during the radio show. Even though the show is live, the script can certainly come in handy when you can’t find the right words. It is very important to write a good script for your show. We will give you a few tips that might help you a lot.

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First, you need to know what kind of radio script you need for your show. Just like social media platforms, there are also a lot of radio stations with all different kinds of shows. There is no basic format for a radio script, the script will depend on the kind of show you have. If your radio show is a talkshow, you have to use a different script than you would use during a music show. 

If you have a talkshow, your show is about a specific topic. It is about what you want to say and the words that you want to use. For talkshows it is important to write down exactly what you want to say, because the whole show is about that specific topic. Make sure that the sentences you write down are easy to read out loud. It is nice to improvise some parts but it’s important to stay focused on your topic. 


During a music show is it more common to improvise. A script for a music radio show has less fully scripted passages than a talkshow. The read-throughs are mostly used for promotional trials.

Don’t write your radio script as if you’re reading it, write it down like it is going to be spoken out loud

Sometimes the mistake is made that people write the script as if someone is going to read it. It is important to write a radio script for the ear. When you write your radio script it is important that it sounds natural when reading it out loud. Make sure the script does not sound too formal, we usually read a lot more formal than we speak. If you write the script in the way that you speak, it will sound a lot more fluently. 

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Use your words to paint pictures

Whenever you are telling something do not forget that your listeners don’t have the visuals they have on tv for example. You don’t have to describe everything that you are talking about, just make sure it’s clear for your listeners.

The people who listen to your radio show cannot see you, so you have to make sure they understand what you are saying. This does not mean you have to talk about every little detail on the radio show, but be aware that your listeners might need a little more descriptions to understand what you are talking about.

Keep your script concise and succinct 

Keep your script as tight as possible, don’t add unnecessary words that are not adding up to what you want to say. Also, make sure your grammar is as succinct as possible.This will allow you to expand and improvise on what is written. You never read directly from your script, because it will not sound natural if you do this. Make sure that your scripts are directly to the point and do not include any unnecessary words. The spaces allow you to be creative with the delivery of your words. 

Give yourself flexibility during your show

If there are stories, topics or news pieces that you want to discuss, include them in your script. The same applies for certain words that you want to use, include them in your script so you won’t forget them. But give yourself some flexibility, make sure you have the option to add another story or use different vocabulary. Flexibility in your script can make your show a lot more interesting. Only write the most important things down for your script so you have the possibility to improvise. 

If you want to be prepared for your radio show, writing down a script is a great way to do that! It does not have to be difficult to write a script, you certainly don’t have to write down all the words that you want to say. A good script keeps you on track during your show and gives you the cues you need. A good script also gives you the chance to add personality to your show. Don’t forget that there is absolutely no wrong way of writing a script, you write a script for yourself and for your radio station. But using these tips and using a script can only benefit you while being on air. 

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