12 short scripts picked for your first reads, out of 3,360 in our free library. Plain language, one clear job each, and a coach's note on what to listen for.
Written by the VO Journey Academy coaching team. Updated 3 October 2026.
If you're new to voice over, start small. These scripts are short, so you can do lots of takes without getting tired. Read one cold and record it on your phone. Listen back once. Then read the coach's note on the card and try it again. Doing that every day is how you get better. The 7-day plan below tells you what to read each day.
Short commercials to start
15 and 30-second spots that any voice can read. More in the commercial library.
The Ribs Are Not Going Back
Fourth of July, appliance saleAdult (40-55)Southern US1 (any)15 secondsabout 14s
Your freezer is full. The ribs don't fit. Company comes Saturday.
The Brannigan's Fourth of July Appliance Sale. Chest freezers from one ninety-nine, delivered tomorrow.
Brannigan's Appliance. Because the ribs are not going back.
Direction: Urgent but calm, a friend solving your problem fast What it is for: Problem, solution, tag in under fifteen seconds, with a price and a delivery promise. Coach's note: Watch out for racing the set-up. Three short problems, each one worse. The turn is 'Because the ribs are not going back', said like a fact of life. What casting listens for: Casting listens for a clear price and a personality in the last line.
Jack FrostAdult (25-40)Any (character choice)1 (any)30 secondsabout 37s
[Silky, close to the mic]
Hello. It's me. The draft under your door. The chill on the stairs. The reason you can see your breath in the kitchen.
Your furnace is fifteen years old. I adore it. It lets me right in.
So please. Whatever you do. Do not call Cinderbrook Heating.
Do not book the sixty-nine dollar winter tune-up. Do not ask about same-day service. And do not, under any circumstances, let them change that filter.
[Sigh]
You're dialing. I can hear you dialing.
Cinderbrook Heating. They're very good. I hate them.
Direction: Silky, close, conspiratorial trickster right in the listener's ear; charming, coaxing, then quietly beaten What it is for: Selling by reverse psychology: every 'do not' has to make the offer sound better. Coach's note: Watch out for getting quieter and quieter until the offer is lost. Stay close, but give 'sixty-nine dollar winter tune-up' and 'same-day service' full voice. Keep a little tone under the whisper to protect your throat. The turn is 'You're dialing. I can hear you dialing.' What casting listens for: Casting listens for intimacy, control over thirty seconds and offer details that are clear in spite of him.
[Whispered, close]
I have been trying to reach you for forty years.
From the attic. From the cellar. From the far end of the garden.
Nothing. One bar. Sometimes none.
Then your family switched to Greywether Mobile.
Now there is coverage in every room. Even the cold one.
Unlimited talk. Unlimited text. Thirty dollars a month. No contract.
So tonight, at last, I can deliver my message.
[A long, eerie breath]
You left the garage door open.
Greywether Mobile. No dead zones.
Direction: Faint, mournful whisper on the mic, a spirit who has waited forty years for a decent signal What it is for: A long whispered build to a tiny, ordinary pay-off, with plan details kept clear on the way. Coach's note: Watch out for making the message sound scary when it arrives. It is a helpful household reminder. Keep the whisper supported and the consonants crisp so the price is heard. The turn is 'You left the garage door open.' What casting listens for: Casting listens for a slow build held entirely in a whisper, and a punchline delivered dead straight.
Midday glare off the water. Everyone's squinting except you. Even the ones who paid more.
Sunwarden polarised sunglasses. Light frames, proper lenses, and a scratch guarantee for two full summers.
Sunwarden. See the whole beach.
Direction: Bright, sunny, relaxed Aussie energy What it is for: A light sunglasses spot. Trains a relaxed, smiling read with a regional accent that stays clear. Coach's note: Watch out for letting the accent swallow the brand. 'Sunwarden' needs both syllables clean. Smile through 'polarised' without rushing it. What casting listens for: Casting wants the accent to feel lived-in, not performed. Relaxed wins.
Sun's out. Sand's hot. And you are seriously thirsty.
Crack open an ice-cold Sundial Cola. Crisp, bubbly, and cold enough to make you forget the sunburn, at least for a minute.
Sundial Cola. Summer, in a can.
Direction: Excited and sunny, a smile you can hear, crisp on the tag What it is for: The classic summer soda read in fifteen seconds. Trains energy and a tag that lands. Coach's note: Watch out for starting at full volume. The first three short lines build heat; 'Crack open' is the release. Keep 'Summer, in a can' simple. What casting listens for: Beverage casting listens for a smile. Energy is not enough if it does not sound refreshing.
All 12 scripts on this page in one printable sheet, with the 7-day plan on the first page. Leave your email and it opens straight away.
Short story reads
Audiobook excerpts of a minute or less. When you're ready for more, try the audiobook library.
Community Service, Hour Six Hundred
Demon, community serviceAnyNeutral American1 (any)45 secondsabout 47s
The court of the Ninth Circle sentenced Azrik to one thousand hours of community service, and Parks and Recreation got him on Tuesdays.
"You cannot set the leaves on fire," said Hattie, for the third time.
"It would be faster."
"It would be arson."
"I have been convicted of worse." He picked up the rake between two fingers, like a dead thing. "In my realm I commanded legions."
"In this park you command that pile." She handed him a juice box. "Hydrate. You are doing great."
Nobody had told Azrik he was doing great in six thousand years. He stared at the tiny straw for a long moment.
Then he raked. Quite carefully. In case she was watching.
What it is for: A demon raking leaves for the parks department. Trains third-person comedy with a grand, wounded male voice against a cheerful, unbothered woman. Coach's note: Watch out for making Azrik growl. His dignity is the joke, so keep him precise and offended. The turn is 'You are doing great'; slow down for the juice box, then let the last three short sentences get smaller. What casting listens for: Casting listens for affection in the narration. The narrator should like this demon before the heroine does.
Look out the window. The moon is getting ready for bed.
First she washes her face in a cloud. Splish.
Then she brushes her teeth with a comet. Up and down. Up and down.
She puts on her pajamas, the ones with the stars on.
She is not sleepy. Not one bit. She says so three times.
But the night pulls up her dark blue blanket, and the moon closes one eye. Then the other.
Shh. Now it's your turn.
What it is for: A bedtime routine with the moon as the child. Trains talking straight to one small listener, and handing the story over to them on the last line. Coach's note: Watch out for performing to a room. This is for one child, close enough to touch. "Not one bit" is the moon's own stubborn voice; have fun with it. The turn is "Shh." Then "Now it's your turn" is barely voiced. What casting listens for: Casting listens for intimacy and a little mischief, the read that gets a child to close their eyes.
One moment I was holding a grocery bag at a crosswalk. The next I was standing in a meadow under two moons, still holding the bag, with words hanging in the air in front of my face.
[Welcome, Traveler. Calculating arrival bonus.]
I turned in a slow circle. Grass to the horizon. No crosswalk. No city. A bird went over with too many wings.
[Items detected: one loaf of bread, six eggs, one jar of pickles.]
The bag grew warm. I looked inside. The bread was glowing.
[Loaf of Lasting Bread. Restores 50 Health. Never goes stale.]
[Eggs of Uncertain Origin. Effect unknown.]
[Jar of Pickles. This is a jar of pickles.]
I sat down in the grass, quite carefully, and ate a pickle. It seemed like the only thing left in the world that I understood.
What it is for: A portal arrival with an item list. Trains reading a run of system lines as a list with a comic last entry, while the narrator stays quietly stunned. Coach's note: Watch out for speeding through the three item lines. Each is its own thought with its own full stop. 'This is a jar of pickles' gets exactly the same flat read as the magic items. The turn is the narrator sitting down in the grass. What casting listens for: Casting listens for a narrator in shock who is still clear, and for a system voice that never reacts to its own content.
There is one blanket. Of course there is one blanket.
"We could share it," says Captain Daverin, like a man suggesting we share a toothache.
"I would rather freeze."
"Your teeth are making a noise."
"That is the sound of my dignity."
He lifts a corner. He does not smile, which is worse, because I can tell he wants to. Three weeks ago I tried to have this man arrested. Tonight he is warm, and I hate that I noticed.
What it is for: An audition-length romantasy cut. Trains banter at speed with two clear voices and a soft landing. Coach's note: Watch out for making him smug. He is trying not to laugh, which is funnier. The turn is 'Tonight he is warm'; the last four words should cost her something. What casting listens for: Thirty seconds of romantasy is a chemistry test. Casting listens for two people, not one person doing two pitches.
A work kitchen. KIRSTY, 32, who hasn't watched the season finale yet. MEL, 30, who watched it last night and is not coping
KIRSTYDon't.
MELI didn't say anything.
KIRSTYYour face said something.
MELMy face is neutral. This is my neutral face.
KIRSTYYour neutral face doesn't normally have tears in it.
MELHay fever. It's spring.
KIRSTYIt's June, Mel.
MELThe seasons are all over the place now.
KIRSTYI'm watching it tonight. I've bought snacks. I've told my family not to ring me. Just survive until five o'clock.
MELI can do that. I'm a professional. I'm a grown woman.
KIRSTYGood.
MELCan I say one thing?
KIRSTYNo.
MELIt's not a spoiler. It's a feeling.
KIRSTYFeelings are spoilers.
MELBring tissues.
KIRSTYMel!
MELThat could mean anything! People cry at weddings!
KIRSTYIs there a wedding?
MEL...I can't answer that.
KIRSTYWhy can't you answer that?
MELBecause I promised not to spoil it.
KIRSTYSo someone dies.
MELI didn't say that.
KIRSTYYou made a noise. You made a little dog noise.
MELThat was the kettle.
KIRSTYThe kettle's not on.
MEL...I'm going to go and sit in my car until five.
What it is for: One friend hasn't seen the finale; the other has and is falling apart. Trains playing someone failing to hide a secret. Coach's note: Watch out for Mel over-acting the struggle. She genuinely thinks she's hiding it; the tells leak out despite her. Kirsty drives the interrogation and gets sharper each line. 'You made a little dog noise' needs Mel to have actually made one. What casting listens for: Casting listens for relaxed Australian delivery with snap, and for comic reactions that are small and truthful.
A phone call, 7 a.m. BRIDIE, 79, in Cork, trying to ring her grandson. LIAM, 24, a stranger in Dublin, who picks up half asleep
LIAMHello?
BRIDIEConor, it's your nan. Did you eat anything?
LIAMSorry, I think you've the wrong number.
BRIDIEDon't be smart, Conor.
LIAMI'm not Conor. I'm Liam.
BRIDIESince when?
LIAMSince I was born?
BRIDIEWell, you sound like a Conor.
LIAMI'll take that as a compliment.
BRIDIEI wouldn't. Conor's a terrible eejit. He's after moving in with a girl who has a snake.
LIAMA snake?
BRIDIEIn the flat. A python. Called Gareth.
LIAMThat's a good name for a snake.
BRIDIEIt is not. It's a name for a dentist. Did you eat anything?
LIAMMe?
BRIDIEYes, you. Conor's not on the phone, is he?
LIAM...I had a biscuit.
BRIDIEA biscuit. At your age. Put on a pot of porridge.
LIAMI don't have any oats.
BRIDIEWhat kind of house has no oats?
LIAMA rented one?
BRIDIEGod help us. Right. If Conor rings you, tell him to eat something and keep the snake out of the bed.
LIAMWhy would Conor ring me?
BRIDIEWell, he's not ringing me. Liam, is it? Ring me Sunday. I'll see did you get oats.
What it is for: A Cork grandmother rings the wrong number and adopts the stranger who answers. Trains a steamroller character against a polite one who can't get a word in. Coach's note: Watch out for Bridie being cute. She is a force of nature and she does not slow down for anyone. Liam's job is to be flattened politely; his reactions are the jokes, so keep them short and quick. Ages: Bridie 79, Liam 24. What casting listens for: Casting listens for an Irish accent with real musicality at speed, and for a mature character voice that stays human.
A front hall, 11 p.m. JEN, 41, back from her first date night in two years. HAILEY, 18, the babysitter, who is being extremely calm about something
JENHow were they?
HAILEYGreat. Amazing. Angels.
JENReally?
HAILEYMostly.
JENWhat does mostly mean?
HAILEYSo, first: everyone is fine. That's the headline. Everyone is alive and in bed.
JENWhy would they not be alive?
HAILEYThey would. They are. I'm starting with the good news.
JENWhat's the bad news?
HAILEYThere's no bad news. There's just news. Owen has a new haircut.
JENHe's four.
HAILEYHe did it himself. With the craft scissors. It's mostly on the left. It's quite modern.
JENOh my God.
HAILEYAnd Lily gave the goldfish a bath.
JENThe goldfish lives in water.
HAILEYThat's what I told her. Warm water, though. With bubbles. He's fine. He's much cleaner. He seems confused.
JENIs that everything?
HAILEYOne more thing.
JENHailey.
HAILEYThey taught the parrot a word.
JENWe don't have a parrot.
HAILEYThe neighbours do. It lives by the fence.
JENWhat word?
HAILEYYou know what, the Hendersons will tell you. They seemed really keen to talk to you. So! How was your date?
What it is for: A teenage babysitter delivers bad news in the calmest possible order. Trains controlled comic delivery where the character is managing the listener. Coach's note: Watch out for Hailey sounding nervous. She has rehearsed this in the kitchen for an hour and she is doing it like a news anchor. Jen's reactions get shorter as the news gets worse. The last line is a pivot: bright, fast, desperate. What casting listens for: Casting listens for a young voice with poise and precise timing, and a partner whose silences are funny.
Read the first commercial cold and record it. Listen back once. Don't fix anything yet.
2
Same script. Read the coach's note, then do three takes. Keep the one that sounds most like you talking.
3
Two new commercials. Pick one person you're talking to before each take.
4
Your first story read. Read it out loud twice before you record.
5
A second story read. Find the turn the coach's note talks about and mark it on the page.
6
Read a scene with a friend. Swap parts and read it again.
7
Record Day 1's script again. Play both takes back to back.
Want feedback on Day 7? Bring that recording to a free class.
Questions
Do I need a microphone to start?
No. Your phone is fine for practice. Record in a quiet room with soft things around you, like a closet full of clothes. Get a real mic once you're practicing every week. Our gear page has what we use.
How long should a beginner script be?
Short. 15 to 30 seconds for commercials, which is about 35 to 75 words. Under a minute for story reads. Paste anything into the script timer to check.
Can I use these scripts in a demo later?
Yes. Every script here was written by VO Journey Academy. Record them, post them and use them in auditions and reels. Just don't resell them as scripts.
What do I do after the 7 days?
Keep going with a new script each day, and get a coach to hear you. You can try a free class with us.
Use these freely. Every script in this library was written by VO Journey
Academy. Practice with them, record them, post them as demos, reels or social clips, and use them in auditions.
Please do not resell them or publish them as your own scripts. A credit is always welcome, never required.
