Cut any script to 55 words: the 20-second rewrite prompt
A rewrite prompt that compresses a script to 55 words (about 20 seconds at 165 wpm) without losing the number, the name or the ask, and reports what it removed so you can argue.
Rewrite the script below to 55 words or fewer, to be spoken in 20 seconds at about 165 words per minute (a parameter; change the word count if you speak slower).
Keep, in this order of priority: the one number, the product name, the call to action, the hook. Everything else is negotiable.
Rules:
- Sentences of 12 words or fewer. One idea per sentence.
- No adjectives that do not change the meaning. 'Fast' stays only if a number cannot replace it.
- No intro, no 'in this video', no 'so'.
- Spoken numbers written as words.
- The last sentence is the ask.
Output: the rewritten script, then the word count, then a list of what was removed and why, one line each.
Script:
{paste script} In Claude Code, paste the prompt as a message.
Steps
- Run it, read the removed list. If something load-bearing is in it, put it back and remove something else by hand.
- Read the result aloud with a stopwatch. 55 words at a natural pace is 18-22 seconds; if you hit 25, you are pausing, not talking.
Example
Input (96 words): a paragraph about an app that ‘seamlessly and intelligently’ finds the best moments in your videos, with three sentences on how hard editing is. Output (52 words): Your phone has hours of video nobody will watch. This app watches it for you. It scores every frame and finds where the scenes change. Then it cuts a film to the length you want. On the Mac. Nothing uploaded. Search for Life two Film Studio. Removed: ‘seamlessly’, ‘intelligently’ (no meaning), two of three sentences about editing being hard (one is enough), the feature list (not the one job).
Tips
- 165 words per minute is a parameter, not a law. Measure yourself once: read any 100 words and time it.
- The removed list is the real output. It shows which sentences were scaffolding, and the next script you write will have fewer of them.
| works with | Claude Code: Runs as a skill or a prompt in the terminal; can read your files and write the result. · Claude: Paste into claude.ai or the Claude app. · ChatGPT: Paste into ChatGPT; works with any GPT model. · Any LLM: Model-agnostic: Gemini, Mistral, a local model. |
| cost | Free. No API, no key. |
| status | Unverified: written from the technique, not yet run end to end by us. |
| license | CC BY 4.0 for the text here; skills are MIT. |
| updated | 2026-11-01 |
| for agents | rewrite-script-to-55-words-20-seconds.md |
Related
Talking-head clip: the script format AI avatar and lip-sync tools read best
How to write a 20-second spoken script so that a lip-sync or avatar model delivers it with natural pauses and no mispronounced numbers.
Reading speed for on-screen text and speech: the parameters to check against
How long a text overlay must stay up and how many words a voice can carry per second, given as parameters you measure on yourself, with the formula and the two failure modes: unreadable, and slow.
Turn a blog post into three short scripts: one claim per video
A prompt that reads a post and returns three 30-45 second scripts, each built on a different claim from the text, with the hook, the proof, the ask and the source sentence for each.
60-second founder update: the script prompt for a weekly build-in-public clip
A prompt that writes a 60-second talking-head update from your week's notes: the number first, one thing that broke, one thing shipped, one ask. About 150 words, no greeting.
Forced reasoning before scripting: goal, hook type, demo moments, emotion arc
Four questions an agent must answer in writing before it writes a line of script. Skips the generic promo every model produces when asked for one directly.
Founder explainer: 'I built this because' in 40 seconds, to camera, one problem
The founder-to-camera format that converts because it names the specific moment the problem became unbearable, then shows the product once. The prompt bans origin-story clichés and budgets the words.