carousel-script-writer

Carousel Script Writer

What This Skill Does

Writes the copy for a multi-slide Instagram or LinkedIn carousel post, with a strong opening slide, logical slide-by-slide progression, and a final slide that drives action or invites engagement.

When To Use This Skill

• You have a complex idea, argument, or story that benefits from being broken into sequential slides
• You want to repurpose a long article, report, or interview into a high-engagement visual format
• You are creating educational or insight-driven content for a professional or media audience
• You want to share behind-the-scenes production insight, editorial methodology, or documentary storytelling in a format designed for saves and shares

What You Need To Provide

Required: The platform (Instagram or LinkedIn), the topic or argument you want the carousel to cover, the number of slides you want (suggest 6–10), the account type or voice.

Optional: The specific audience you are targeting, whether this is based on an existing piece of content (article, episode, documentary), a call to action for the final slide, any design constraints (e.g., maximum characters per slide for the design template).

How the Assistant Approaches This

1. Plans the carousel structure before writing: slide 1 is a hook that stops the scroll (a claim, a question, or a provocation); slides 2–(n-1) develop the argument or story one idea per slide; the final slide is a CTA, a question, or a summary worth saving
2. Writes each slide with minimal text — carousels reward brevity per slide; each slide should contain one idea, stated in the fewest possible words that still make it land
3. Provides a caption to accompany the carousel post (using the same logic as the caption-writer skill) and a suggested slide design note for each slide (what type of visual would work: typographic, photographic, illustrated)

Output Format

Slide list with: slide number, headline text (large text, max 8 words), body text (supporting copy, max 25 words per slide), and a slide design note. Plus: accompanying caption for the post (75–150 words for Instagram, 100–180 words for LinkedIn). Total output: structured slide script + caption. Each slide clearly separated and labelled.

Quality Criteria

• Slide 1 is a hook — a claim, question, or statistic that creates immediate curiosity
• Each slide contains exactly one idea — no slide tries to do two things
• Text per slide is within the specified limits — carousel copy that's too long fails on mobile
• Progression is logical — a reader swiping forward should feel they are getting somewhere
• Final slide has a specific CTA or question — not "follow for more" as the only action
• Accompanying caption works as a standalone post even without the slides

Example

Input

Platform: LinkedIn Topic: Five things documentary filmmakers know about storytelling that most corporate communicators don't Slides: 8 Account: Documentary filmmaker / production company Voice: Direct, knowledgeable, not preachy Audience: Communications professionals, PR, brand storytelling teams CTA: DM or comment for the full essay

Output

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CAROUSEL SCRIPT — LinkedIn "5 Things Documentary Filmmakers Know That Corporate Communicators Don't"

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Slide 1 — HOOK Headline: Corporate storytelling is broken. Body: Not because companies don't care about stories. Because they've never spent three years following one. Design note: Bold typographic — white text on dark background. High contrast.

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Slide 2 Headline: The most interesting person isn't the CEO. Body: Documentary filmmakers spend months finding the person whose story actually explains the thing. Most brand storytelling never makes that search. Design note: Split image — two contrasting portraits, anonymous.

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Slide 3 Headline: Tension is not bad for your brand. Body: Documentaries work because they let conflict exist. The obstacle is the story. Smoothing it out removes the reason to keep watching. Design note: Typographic — a quote pulled from the body text, large.

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Slide 4 Headline: Specificity > inspiration. Body: "A woman who rebuilt her life" is forgettable. "A 58-year-old electrician who started her company after being made redundant twice" — that's a person. Design note: Two text blocks side by side — the generic version vs the specific version.

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Slide 5 Headline: Your audience knows when you're performing. Body: Documentary subjects who perform for camera are the least interesting. So are brands. The most engaging content is made by people who've stopped trying to look good. Design note: Typographic — clean, centred.

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Slide 6 Headline: Structure is invisible when it works. Body: The best documentaries don't feel structured. They feel inevitable. That requires more planning than most campaigns allow for. Design note: Timeline or flowchart graphic — abstract.

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Slide 7 Headline: The most powerful moment is often the smallest. Body: A gesture. A pause. The detail that the subject doesn't know you caught. That's what people remember. Not the key message. Design note: Close-up photography — hands, detail shot.

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Slide 8 — CLOSE / CTA Headline: The full version is an essay. Body: If you work in communications, PR, or brand storytelling and want to read it — DM me or drop a comment below. Design note: Clean typographic CTA — strong contrast, simple layout.

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ACCOMPANYING CAPTION

Five years of documentary filmmaking have taught me things about storytelling I never would have learned in a communications or marketing context.

The main one: the rules that make documentaries work are not specific to documentary. They're just rules about how attention and trust actually function.

I've written them up as a short carousel. If any of them are useful or infuriating, I'd genuinely like to hear why.

(Full essay available on request — DM or comment.)

Known Limitations

• Carousel performance is heavily dependent on the visual execution. Well-written copy on a poorly designed slide will underperform. This skill produces the copy and design direction, not the finished visual.
• LinkedIn and Instagram have different algorithmic relationships with carousels. LinkedIn currently rewards long carousel dwell time; Instagram Reels have overtaken carousels in organic reach for most accounts. Check current best practice for your platform before investing heavily in carousel production.
• The skill defaults to an educational or insight-driven carousel format. Purely promotional carousels (product launches, event announcements) follow different structural logic and should be specified separately.

Related Skills

• caption-writer
• thread-writer
• short-form-video-brief