12 short scripts picked for demo reels, each one a different kind of spot. All original, so you can put them on your reel.
Written by the VO Journey Academy coaching team. Updated 3 October 2026.
A demo is a short reel of you sounding like the jobs you want. Every clip should sound like a different real spot, in your natural voice. These scripts are short and easy to cut down. Pick 6 to 8 that sound different from each other. Record each one many times, and keep only the best line or two from each. Lead with your strongest clip.
15-second spots
Short and punchy. Good for the first few seconds of a reel.
Silk. Cut once. Worn for a lifetime.
No logo. No noise. Only the line of a shoulder, and the weight of a hem.
The autumn collection. Now in the atelier, and nowhere else.
Maison Arlaix. Paris.
Direction: Cool, low, almost whispered; no smile, no sell What it is for: The luxury-house whisper in fifteen seconds. Trains restraint and letting the brand name carry the weight. Coach's note: Watch out for pushing. The instinct is to warm up on 'silk'; don't. Every line is a statement of fact. The only lift is a tiny one on 'Paris'. What casting listens for: Luxury casting listens for someone who sounds like they don't need the job. Stillness is the whole audition.
I parallel parked downtown. Nine tries. On the ninth, I met a lamppost.
But Gearshift Mutual had my back. One call, a quick claim, and a real person who didn't laugh.
Gearshift Mutual. Car insurance that gets it.
Direction: Comic, flustered, then instantly relieved; a quick, bright tag What it is for: A short comic auto spot. Trains packing a mini-story, a laugh and a tag into fifteen seconds. Coach's note: Watch out for taking too long on the setup. The crunch happens fast, 'Nine tries' is the laugh, and the relief on 'Gearshift Mutual had my back' needs a clean change of color. What casting listens for: Casting listens for a quick comic read that still leaves the brand name clean and clear.
Day three of rain. The kids have built a fort, knocked it down, and argued about who knocked it down.
Doodlepop. Drawing games and stories for ages four to eight, with no ads, ever.
Doodlepop. Rain, meet your match.
Direction: Warm dad, a little frazzled, relieved by the end What it is for: A kids' app read aimed at parents. Trains a small comic arc in fifteen seconds. Coach's note: Watch out for rushing the frazzled setup. Give 'Day three' a weary beat. The relief on 'Doodlepop' is the sell. What casting listens for: Casting listens for a believable parent and a clean, trustworthy product line.
After my knee surgery, I told my grandkids I'd be back on the hiking trail by fall. They didn't believe me. Honestly, neither did I.
Stepback Physical Therapy built me a plan, and we worked it, week by week. Last Sunday, I beat my grandson to the top of Miller's Ridge.
Stepback has four locations across the valley, early appointments, and therapists who actually listen.
Stepback Physical Therapy. Ask your doctor for a referral.
Direction: Warm, determined, a little spark of pride What it is for: A testimonial-style local healthcare read from an older, active narrator. Coach's note: Watch out for making the injury sound tragic. The story is about getting moving; the lift starts at 'week by week'. What casting listens for: Casting listens for a real person telling their own story, with a genuine regional warmth.
My grandfather wore the same watch for fifty-one years. Through a war, a shipyard, four children, and one very unlucky fishing trip.
He wound it every morning, before the kettle, before the paper.
When he gave it to me, it was still keeping perfect time. I wind it every morning now.
Thorne and Vessey. Watchmakers in Clerkenwell since eighteen ninety-four.
Made to be handed down.
Direction: Gentle, a little husky, full of memory; a man at a kitchen table with a watch in his hand What it is for: Heritage story spot. Trains a slow emotional build without tipping into sentimentality. Coach's note: Watch out for playing the ending for tears. He's grateful, not grieving. The turn is 'He wound it every morning', where the memory comes into focus. Let the last line be warm and plain. What casting listens for: Casting listens for truth in the small details, and a tag that sounds like part of the story.
Okay, so I ordered the same jeans in three sizes. Don't judge me, it's the only way.
The middle ones? Perfect. Like they were waiting for me.
The other two went back in the same bag. Free. I didn't print anything, I just showed a code at the drop-off.
My mom was like, that seems wasteful. Mom, it's called research.
Seamrow and Co. Try it all. Keep what fits.
Direction: Quick, chatty, voice-note energy What it is for: Run-on, voice-note rhythm that still sounds relaxed. Coach's note: Watch out for making the run-on sentences breathless. Voice notes run on but stay loose, so breathe at the commas the way you would talking. 'Mom, it's called research' is a playful eye-roll, not a zinger. What casting listens for: Casting listens for a natural young voice that could be a friend's voice note.
High on the moors, the rain falls, and then it waits.
For years, it filters slowly down through layers of rock, until it rises again at a single spring in the valley below.
That is where we bottle Aldermoor. Cool, clear, and softly refreshing, with nothing added and nothing taken away.
Some things are best left exactly as they are.
Aldermoor Spring Water. Left as it is.
Direction: Calm, cool, spacious; a nature film more than an ad What it is for: The premium-water read. Trains stillness, breath control and letting images land. Coach's note: Watch out for rushing the journey of the water. It takes years; your read can take its time. The turn is 'Some things are best left exactly as they are.' What casting listens for: Premium brands listen for restraint. Casting wants calm that still feels alive.
Put it on. Breathe.
The room you were standing in is gone. Now there's a cliff edge, and wind, and a sky that goes on forever.
Turn your head, and the world turns with you. Reach out, and your hands are there.
Race a friend across a frozen lake. Take a boxing class on the moon. Or just sit on that cliff for a while.
Veyra One. Somewhere else is closer than you think.
Direction: Intimate, captivating, a guide leading you somewhere new What it is for: Guided-experience voice. Present-tense instructions that pull the listener into a space. Coach's note: Watch out for getting spooky. It is wonder, not horror. The turn is 'Or just sit on that cliff for a while', which drops the pace after the busy middle. What casting listens for: Casting listens for whether the listener would follow your instructions. Calm authority.
For a narration or audiobook demo. More in e-learning and audiobook scripts.
The Great Stink
Victorian, public healthAdult (40-55)Neutral British1 (any)1 minuteabout 64s
In the summer of 1858, London stopped being able to ignore its river. The city's sewage had long flowed straight into the Thames. Then came a hot June. The water dropped, and the smell rose.
The newspapers called it the Great Stink. In the new Houses of Parliament, on the riverbank, the curtains were soaked in chloride of lime to keep it out. It did not work. Members who had spent years avoiding the cost of a sewer system found they could not bear to sit in the chamber.
Within weeks, the money was approved. The engineer Joseph Bazalgette built more than a thousand miles of sewers.
Parliament had acted to get rid of a smell. Most people believed disease travelled on bad air. It did not. Cholera was in the water. But the sewers took it out of the water anyway, and after a last outbreak in 1866, in a district not yet connected, London's cholera epidemics were over.
What it is for: Popular history with a comic edge and a serious payoff. A lighter read with a real twist. Coach's note: Watch out for playing the whole thing for laughs. The curtains are funny; the cholera is not. The turn is 'Cholera was in the water.' Say it flatly, then let the last sentence land as good news. What casting listens for: Casting listens for a narrator who can be witty and accurate at the same time.
Welcome to Hollis. You're in!
Here's the quick tour. On the left are your channels, where team conversations happen. In the middle is your inbox, with anything that needs your attention. And on the right is your calendar, so you can see the day at a glance.
Say hello to your team in the general channel. That's it. You're ready.
What it is for: A quick welcome video that orients a new user without overwhelming them. Coach's note: Watch out for reading it like a user manual. It's a welcome, so the first line is a smile. Keep the three areas distinct. What casting listens for: Casting listens for friendliness and ease.
[Earpiece crackles. DEX, a teenage hacker, chews gum on the line]
Okay, I'm in their system. Wow. Their password is "password one." Adults, honestly.
Cameras on floor three are looping. You've got ninety seconds before the guard comes back from his snack break.
Vault is on your right. Code is four, four, nine, two.
[beat]
Wait. Somebody else just logged in. Like, right now.
Move faster. Please.
What it is for: A teenage hacker talks the player through a heist. Trains fast, confident, natural young energy. Coach's note: Watch out for playing 'teenager' with a whiny voice or slang overload. Make them smart and quick, a bit bored with how easy this is. Pick up the pace on the tech talk and drop it on the warning. What casting listens for: Casting listens for a natural, modern young voice with speed and confidence.
[A sunny windowsill. FIONA, a very droopy potted fern, speaks like a fading movie star]
Darling. Look at me. Look at these fronds. I used to be the star of this windowsill.
[beat]
Now I get water whenever you remember. Which is Thursdays. Some Thursdays. I've been living on ice cubes and hope.
[breath]
Leafperk Plant Food. One capful a month, and I'm back. Lush. Green. Magnificent.
[Fiona perks up]
Oh, yes. There she is. Hello again, gorgeous. Leafperk. Feed the drama.
What it is for: A droopy fern playing a fading movie star. Trains a big, old-Hollywood diva character with a clear sell in the middle. Coach's note: Watch out for staying droopy after the product line. Fiona revives when the plant food arrives, so the voice has to lift and fill out on 'Lush. Green. Magnificent.' What casting listens for: Casting listens for a glamorous comic voice that can play a transformation within thirty seconds.
Your strongest, most natural read. The one that sounds most like you.
2
A contrast. If clip 1 was warm, make this one bright or quick.
3 to 5
Different industries and moods: a real-person read, an authority read, a smile.
6 to 8
Anything that shows something new. If it sounds like an earlier clip, cut it.
Ready to make it sound like broadcast? Our demo team produces commercial and audiobook demos.
Questions
Can I use these scripts on my demo?
Yes. Every script here was written by VO Journey Academy, with invented brands. Record them and put them on your reel. Just don't resell them as scripts.
How many clips go on a commercial demo?
Usually 6 to 8 short clips, each sounding like a different spot. Cut each one down to its best line or two.
Should I record my demo at home?
Record your practice takes at home as much as you like. When you want a finished reel with music and a proper mix, a producer helps. Our demo team does commercial and audiobook demos.
Should every clip be a different voice?
No. Every clip should be your real voice in a different situation. Different mood, different industry, different listener.
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.
