How many words in a 15 second script?
About 38 words, at the usual pace of two and a half words a second. Counted the way it is spoken, a :15 fits 119 to 132 characters: the letters and digits the voice says, with numbers and symbols counted as said and (directions) left out.
- Words, rule of thumb
- about 38
- Spoken characters
- 119–132
- Close to the limit from
- 130
As it stands, it fits a 0:15.
Why a word count isn’t enough
Words come in every size. “Sale” and “refinancing” are one word each, and a phone number like 555-0187 is one word on the page but 41 spoken characters. Two scripts with the same word count can read seconds apart, which is a lot in a :15. Counting what the voice actually says gets much closer, so the timer above and every SendScripts.to artist page count spoken characters.
- 20
- A number counts as it is said: twenty. 6 characters
- $20
- Symbols count as their word: twenty dollars. 13 characters
- 50%
- fifty percent 12 characters
- 1,500
- one thousand five hundred 22 characters
- Rock & Roll
- rock and roll 11 characters
- (warm, smiling) Hello
- Directions in parentheses are skipped: only “hello” counts. 5 characters
FOR VOICEOVER ARTISTS
Give your clients this counter
On SendScripts.to your clients write to length on your own page, with this meter under every script, and every order lands in your inbox ready to read, record, deliver and invoice. No commission, ever: just you and the clients you already have.