---
url: https://superduperai.co/library/youtube-eight-minute-explainer-outline/
title: YouTube explainer, 8 minutes: the outline prompt with timestamps
description: A prompt that produces a timed outline for an 8-minute explainer: a cold open, a promise, five sections with a visual each, the mistake, a recap and one ask, before any script is written.
category: scripts
platforms: [youtube]
works_with: [claude-code, claude, chatgpt, any-llm]
tags: [youtube, explainer, outline, long-form, structure, chapters]
difficulty: intermediate
verified: false
created: 2026-11-01
---

# YouTube explainer, 8 minutes: the outline prompt with timestamps

A prompt that produces a timed outline for an 8-minute explainer: a cold open, a promise, five sections with a visual each, the mistake, a recap and one ask, before any script is written.

## Prompt

```text
Outline an 8-minute YouTube explainer on {topic} for {audience}. Output a table: Timestamp | Section | What is said (one sentence) | What is on screen | Why the viewer stays.

Structure, with timings:
0:00-0:20 Cold open: the most surprising moment or result from later in the video, shown, not announced.
0:20-0:45 Promise: what the viewer will be able to do by the end, in one sentence, plus who this is not for.
0:45-6:30 Five sections of 60-75 s. Each one answers one question the audience actually asks (write the question). Each needs one visual that is not the presenter: a screen, a diagram, an object, a demo.
6:30-7:15 The mistake: the one thing people get wrong, with the fix.
7:15-7:45 Recap: the five answers as five lines.
7:45-8:00 One ask: a single next step (a link, a question in the comments, the next video).

Rules: no section longer than 75 s; a section with no visual gets rewritten until it has one; the cold open is cut from section 3 or later. Budget the narration at 150-170 words per minute (a parameter, check it against your own delivery). After the table, list the visuals to record.
```

## Steps

1. Fix the five questions first. If the agent invents questions nobody asks, replace them with the ones from your comments, support inbox or search suggestions.
2. Record section by section; each is its own file, so a bad take costs 75 s, not 8 min.
3. Paste the final timestamps into the description as chapters (see the chapters entry).

## Tips

- The cold open is the hook of a long video. Pick it from material you already have, the way a trailer is cut from a finished film.
- If the outline comes back under 6 minutes, that is the length. Do not pad; cut the target.

## 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.