Read Your Script Out Loud
Segun Iwasanmi@iwasanmisegun212159
12 days ago
© Segun Iwasanmi
✍️✍️✍️
One evening, I heard someone rehearsing a script in the next room, and I almost choked myself as I tried to prevent myself from laughing, not because it was funny, but because nobody in real life talks like that.
“Hello, my dear friend, how was your day today?”
Even the person reading it paused and said, “Wait… who talks like this?”
This explains why some scenes die before they even reach a camera. It’s not the idea. It’s the sound of it.
A script is not meant to be admired on paper. It is meant to be spoken, breathed, interrupted, even stumbled on. If it doesn’t sit well in the mouth, it won’t sit well in the ears.
That’s why reading your script out loud changes everything. You start hearing where the lie is. Where the line is trying too hard. Where a simple “How far?” would carry more life than one long sentence.
I’ve seen scenes come alive just by adjusting how people actually speak. No be say perfect English or dramatic English alone, just human rhythm. A relatable talk can carry more emotion than a whole paragraph trying to impress.
And the truth is, many scripts are not bad, they are just unheard. The writer never really listened to them. They stayed on the page, sounding fine in silence, but falling apart the moment voice entered.
Now imagine building a full story that not only reads well, but sounds really good, so much that people can feel it without effort. Scripts like that doesn’t beg for attention, they command it.
Sometimes, the difference between a forgettable scene and one that sticks is just someone sitting with it long enough to hear what others will hear later.
Follow for more tips… 🔥
© Segun Iwasanmi | ™The Man With The Story.
Book Writer | Screen and Scriptwriter | Creative Fiction writer | Book Editor.
I help people turn rough ideas into bold stories that work
