To Script or Not to Script? How to Plan Your Podcast Episodes

“We have a surprise for you,” booms my supervisor into the mic.

Ooooh, is it a check? I wonder, as every other teacher in the school gym is probably thinking at this moment. It is Teacher’s Day after all.

Or maybe we get to leave early?

I lean forward in anticipation, elbows on the table, hands under my chin, hope in my eyes.

“Teatro Breve is here, and we’re having an improv show!!!”

I jump back in alarm.

Oh no, no, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

My best friend, Elaine, senses the instant panic in my aura.

“Are you ok?” she asks.

Picture me whispering this entire paragraph frantically to her, really fast without breathing:

“I hate improv shows! I bet they’re gonna start calling people to the stage, and all eyes will be on me because my supervisor is definitely gonna arrange it so that I get called because he knows I get nervous in public and he’s probably gonna view this as some self-development bullshit, and why the hell did we pick this table, so near the front?!? We have nowhere to hide!!!”

I feel sweat beads forming just under the surface of my skin.

The butterflies in my stomach are angry moths.

“They’re not gonna call you,” says Elaine.

“Ok, so you in the green shirt, come up on the stage,” says one of the performers.

Another poor teacher (who’s thankfully not me) chuckles and confidently approaches the stage.

“Seeee?!? They’ve already started calling people. I’m sorry. I have to get out of here!”

I grab my backpack, arrange my face into an expression that hopefully conveys someone just texted me for a Super Important Emergency, duck my head, and quickly walk out.

“Sorry, something happened at home and I need to leave to take care of it,” I text my supervisor.

And I get the hell out.

Elaine tells me they only called two more people after that, nobody from our table, and then started the show.

Did I overreact?

DUH.

That was pre-therapy Adrienne, the Adrienne that thought her tongue would fall out if she said NO and established a boundary.

Nowadays, NO is one of my favorite sentences. I know my body is my own and only I get to decide what to do with it, including whether or not I want to subject it to a shudders improv show.

The reason why I hate improv shows is because I’m expected to be clever, funny, and think fast in front of an audience. And going off-script like that is absolutely nerve-wracking for me.

Just like some podcasters feel anxious about going off-script in their podcast episodes.

The Three Ways to Prepare for a Solo Podcast Episode

There are three ways you can prepare for a solo podcast episode:

Script – You write word for word what you want to say.

Outline – You jot down the main points you want to cover and then just talk about them.

Freestyle – You show up with an idea in mind and just yap.

All three methods can be effective, depending on your podcast and personality.

The Case for (and Against) Full Scripts

While a full script ensures you cover every single point you want to make and minimizes editing (because there are fewer tangents and filler words), it can also make you sound a bit off or unnatural, in a way that some listeners might find disengaging.

Scripts are also more time-consuming to prepare and can limit spontaneous thinking or fun tangents!

Tangents are not always bad. In fact, some of my favorite moments in podcasts are when hosts say something funny on the spot that is often not directly related to what they’re talking about.

But there are some cases in which scripts can be very helpful.

My client Eva from the podcast The Freak Show, for instance, launched her podcast by scripting her episodes. She was nervous about recording at first, and using a script gave her the confidence boost she needed to get started.

She thought she wouldn’t be able to do a 15-20 minute recording without a script because she would simply run out of things to say.

But as time passed and she got comfortable with the mic, I encouraged her to try outlines. I had noticed how easy it was for her to talk in guest episodes and thought she would do an incredible job without a script for her solo episodes as well.

So she tried it, and now she would never go back.

The Sweet Spot: Outlines

I would argue that for most people, an outline is the way to go.

An outline gives you structure and direction without boxing you into reading word-for-word. You hit all your main points while leaving room for those spontaneous moments that make podcasts feel authentic and conversational.

You sound more natural, more like yourself, and you still stay on track.

✨ PODCASTING HACK ALERT ✨

Want to know Eva’s super simple method for creating outlines?

Preparing for her episodes is incredibly easy. All she does is open ChatGPT’s voice mode and do a super looooong voice message with everything she wants to cover in the episode.

Then she asks ChatGPT to structure her message into an outline. She edits it a bit, and voila — she has an outline, and she’s ready to record.

Here’s how you can try it:

1. Open ChatGPT’s voice mode (or any voice-to-text tool)
2. Talk through everything you want to say in your episode
3. Ask the AI to organize your thoughts into a clear outline
4. Edit for your style and preferences
5. Hit record with your outline in hand

This method gives you the best of both worlds: you’ve thought through your content thoroughly (so you won’t run out of things to say), but you’re not locked into reading a script word-for-word.

Find Your Method

The truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to podcast planning. Some people thrive with full scripts, others need the freedom to improvise, and many find their sweet spot somewhere in between.

The key is experimenting to find what works for you and your show. And remember: what works for you might evolve over time, just like it did for Eva.

Maybe you need a script to build confidence at first. Maybe you’ll graduate to outlines as you get comfortable. Or maybe you’re the rare podcaster who can truly freestyle without losing the thread.

Whatever you choose, the goal is the same: create episodes that sound natural, deliver value, and feel sustainable for you to produce.

So if you’re struggling with your current method, give Eva’s ChatGPT hack a try.

And if you try it, let me know how it goes!

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Thanks for reading! 🥂