Do You Need a Script for Recording Online Course Lessons? Tips for Solopreneur Course Creators

Are you ready to record your online course lessons but unsure whether to write a full script, use bullet points, or just wing it? This episode explores essential techniques for course creation that help solopreneurs build an online course that truly connects with their students. Learn from my 17 years of experience as an educator and course designer as I break down the three main approaches to lesson delivery and share which method works best.

You'll learn:

• Why repeating yourself on camera tanks your credibility (and how scripts prevent it)
• The minimum preparation you need before hitting record
• How to read a script without sounding robotic
• When bullet points are enough (and when they'll get you in trouble)
• A simple tool that changed how I record everything

The aim isn't perfection but presenting your authentic self while covering everything your students need to succeed. Whether you are just starting to create an online course or looking to improve your delivery, these tips will save you time and help you design more engaging lessons.

I'm Dr. Curtis Satterfield. I spent 17 years as a college professor building over 30 courses from scratch, and I help fully booked coaches build group programs that deliver real results for their clients and scale their business without adding more hours. 

Ready to move forward with your course creation? Book a free Program Roadmap Call to get personalized guidance: https://curtissatterfield.com/work-with-curtis/

Note: This episode was recorded under the show's original name, Course Creation for Solopreneurs. The podcast is now called Program Design for Coaches. The name changed to better reflect what's actually working in the coaching space right now. Group programs where the coach is present and involved are what's selling, and that's the direction this show has moved. The instructional design principles in this episode apply whether you're building a course or a group program, so everything you hear still works. 

Send me a message!

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
There's one mistake you can make while recording

(00:01):
your course lessons that willslowly erode your students'
trust in you, and you won't evenknow you're doing it.
Welcome to Course Creation forSolopreneurs.
I'm Dr.
Curtis Satterfield, and I'vespent 17 years as an educator
and course designer helpingthousands of students learn new
skills.
Now I help solopreneurs like youcreate courses that actually
transform your students and growyour business.

(00:23):
Let's get into it.
So today I'm going to answer thequestion I get all the time.
Do I need to script my lessonsor can I just speak off the
cuff?
After 17 years as an educatorand helping thousands of adults
learn new skills, I'll give youmy honest answer, including the
tool that completely changed howI approach recording.
You basically have three optionsfor preparing your lesson

(00:44):
delivery.
And in this episode, we're goingto cover all of them, and I'll
share my personalrecommendation.
Let's start with the option Irecommend for most people.
When I first started creatingonline courses over a decade
ago, they weren't great.
I had issues with studentsgetting through the content.
They'd start strong and thenjust stop.
So I went back and startedwatching my own recordings

(01:04):
looking for clues.
And I noticed something.
I kept circling back to the samepoint.
I'd explain something, move on,then five minutes later I'd say,
and remember, like I mentionedearlier, and basically repeat
myself.
I thought I was being thoroughand reinforcing the material,
but here's what I didn'trealize.
Think about who repeatsthemselves most often when
they're talking.

(01:25):
People who are trying toconvince you of something
they're not sure about.
People who don't trust that youunderstand them.
People who are making things upas they go.
I'm not saying you're doing anyof that in your course lessons,
but your students' brains makethat association unconsciously.
The more you repeat a point, themore it sounds like you're not
confident in what you're saying.

(01:45):
You lose credibility withoutever knowing why.
Now, repetition itself isn'tbad.
Intentional repetition, whereyou recap key points at
strategic moments, that's goodteaching.
But haphazard repetition, whereyou keep circling back because
you forgot you already coveredsomething, or you're not sure
you explained it well enough,that's what kills your
credibility.

(02:06):
That's why I script everythingnow.
A script means you say what youneed to say, you say it once,
you say it well, and you moveon.
No tangents, no, like Imentioned earlier, no filler
where your brain catches up toyour mouth.
Now I know the objection.
If I read a script, I'm going tosound like a robot.
And yes, when you first start,it feels weird.

(02:29):
You're reading words instead oftalking, and it sounds off.
But this is a skill you develop.
You learn to read in a way thatsounds conversational.
And there's a tool that madethis way easier for me.
I'm recording this episode rightnow using a teleprompter, and
you probably can't even tell.
I have mine set up so I can readmy script while looking directly

(02:50):
at the camera.
Now, obviously, for the podcast,you can't see the video, but in
a video lesson, it would lookvery natural.
So the words scroll in front ofthe lens, I read them, and it
looks like I'm just talkingnaturally.
I also use software that onlyscrolls the text as I speak, so
there's no odds speeding up orslowing down.
I'll do a whole episode in thefuture about my recording setup

(03:12):
where I'll go deeper on theteleprompter and how I use it.
But for now, just know this toolexists and it's not as expensive
or complicated as you mightthink.
If you don't have ateleprompter, you can still
script.
Practice reading your script outloud before you record, then
glance at it between sentences.
It will take more takes, but itworks.
So that's option one, and myrecommendation is full

(03:36):
scripting.
But what if you're comfortablepresenting and you just want
some guardrails?
Some people really can delivergreat content from just an
outline.
If you've done a lot ofpresenting, if you're
comfortable on camera, if youcan riff on a topic without
losing your thread, bulletpoints might be enough for you.
But there's a right way and awrong way to do this.
I've seen people create bulletpoints that say things like,

(03:57):
talk about pricing, or explainthe framework.
Then they hit record, look atthe bullet, and spend the next
three minutes figuring out whatthey actually want to say about
it.
They ramble, they backtrack,they end up with 10 minutes of
footage that should have beenthree.
If you're going to use bulletpoints, they need to be
specific, not talk aboutpricing, more like three factors

(04:17):
that affect pricing credibility,transformation, value, audience
ability to pay.
The more specific your bullets,the less your brain has to
figure out in the moment.
Put your bullets in the notessection of your slides so you
can glance at them while you'rerecording.
And here's the most importantpart.
Be honest with yourself aboutwhether this is actually
working.
Record a lesson and watch itback.

(04:38):
Did you hit everything youplanned to hit?
Did you repeat yourself?
Did you go on tangents?
If the answer to any of those isyes, bullet points might not be
enough for you yet.
You might need to move to fullscripting.
So that's option two.
Bullet points as the acceptableminimum if you can pull it off.
But what about option three?
What if you just know your stuffso well that you don't need any

(04:59):
notes at all?
I've had people tell me theydon't need a script or bullet
points.
They're experts, they've beendoing this for years, they can
just talk.
And look, I get the appeal, itfeels more authentic, more
natural.
You're just sharing yourknowledge the way you would in a
real conversation.
But here's the thing.
Sharing knowledge is not thesame as teaching.

(05:20):
The structure and order in whichyou present information matters.
It affects whether your studentsactually understand and retain
what you're telling them.
And if you just go off the cuff,you're more likely going to get
that structure wrong, especiallyif you're new to presenting for
online courses.
Now, are there people out therewho can do entire presentations
and lessons on the fly?
Absolutely.

(05:42):
But they're also used topresenting.
They're used to teaching.
They have the experience doingboth things at the same time.
If you're an expert, butteaching and especially teaching
to a camera is new to you, Ireally don't recommend off the
cuff to start.
Here's what actually happenswhen you record without any
preparation.
You're not just thinking aboutyour content, you're also

(06:02):
thinking about looking at thecamera, speaking clearly and
naturally, whether you hit therecord button, whether the
lights look okay.
Your brain is juggling all ofthat while trying to remember
what you wanted to say.
And memory is unreliable underthat kind of pressure.
You forget to cover somethingimportant, you cover things in
the wrong order, and you confuseyour students.
You spend 10 minutes on a pointthat should have taken two

(06:24):
because you didn't have a clearsense of scope.
Then you watch it back andthink, I'll just edit out the
rough parts.
But now you're spending threehours editing a lesson that
should have taken 30 minutes torecord cleanly.
Some people will push back andsay scripting makes them sound
inauthentic.
But here is what I have learned.
Your students don't care ifyou're recording from a script.
They care if the lesson helpsthem.

(06:46):
A well-structured, clearlydelivered lesson serves them
better than a rambling,authentic mess.
Done beats perfect, but preparedbeats winging it.
So here's my recommendation.
Have something written downbefore you hit record.
Ideally a full script, at aminimum, detailed bullet points.
Your students will trust youmore, you'll cover everything
they need, and you'll spend wayless time editing because you

(07:09):
won't have to cut out all thetangents and repetition.
If you're working on a courseand you want help thinking
through not just the recording,but how to actually get your
students the transformationyou're promising, that's exactly
what I help with.
You can book a free courseroadmap call, the links in the
show notes, and we'll figure outwhere you're stuck and what your
next step should be.
Thanks for listening.
If this episode helped you, takea second to subscribe and leave

(07:32):
a review.
It's the best way to support theshow.
Also, be sure to check the shownotes for any links and
resources mentioned in thisepisode.
Now go create a course thattransforms.