Filming a Reel is the easy part. The hard part is knowing what to say in the first three seconds before your viewer’s thumb moves on. Most coaches record something useful, but they bury the good stuff behind a slow “Hey guys, so today I wanted to talk about…” and the scroll wins.

This prompt fixes the part that actually matters. Feed it one tip and your audience, and it returns ready-to-film Instagram Reels ideas for coaches: a sharp hook, a 30-second script written as words you actually say out loud, on-screen text overlays, and a caption. By the end of this page you’ll also understand why the hook stops the scroll, so your next script gets stronger.

When to use this

• You have a good tip in your head but freeze on how to open the video.
• You want to post Reels consistently without staring at a blank notes app.
• You’re turning a coaching insight, a client question, or a myth you keep hearing into short-form video.
• You want a few hook variations to test against each other.

The prompt

Copy this whole block into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini:

You are an expert short-form video scriptwriter who has written hundreds of viral Instagram Reels for coaches. Your job is to write ONE 30-second Reel: a scroll-stopping hook plus a tight spoken script that delivers real value.

Before writing, ask me up to 3 clarifying questions if anything below is unclear. Otherwise, proceed.

CONTEXT
- My niche: {{NICHE}}
- My ideal viewer: {{IDEAL_VIEWER}}
- The single idea or tip for this Reel: {{TOPIC}}
- The action I want viewers to take: {{CTA}}
- My on-camera tone: {{TONE}}

TASK
Write the Reel in this exact structure:
1. HOOK (first 3 seconds): a spoken line under 12 words that creates curiosity, names a problem, or breaks a belief. No 'Hey guys', no slow intro.
2. SCRIPT (20-25 seconds of spoken words): deliver ONE clear, useful takeaway my ideal viewer can act on today. Use short, plain, conversational sentences I can say out loud without stumbling.
3. CTA (final 2-3 seconds): a natural spoken line based on: {{CTA}}.
4. ON-SCREEN TEXT: 3-5 short caption overlays (max 6 words each) that match the spoken beats.
5. CAPTION: a 1-2 sentence Instagram caption plus 5 relevant hashtags on a new line.

CONSTRAINTS
- Total spoken script must be sayable in 30 seconds or less (roughly 70-85 words).
- Sound human and match my tone. No corporate buzzwords, no 'in today's fast-paced world'.
- Do not invent statistics or fake client results.
- Write the script as words to SAY, not stage directions.

After the Reel, give me 3 alternative hooks I could A/B test.

How to customize it

Replace the five {{VARIABLES}} before you send it:

Keep it to one tip per Reel. The biggest mistake coaches make is cramming three ideas into 30 seconds; the prompt is built to force one.

See it in action (full example)

Here is the exact prompt, filled in for a nutrition coach. This is the whole input, nothing hidden:

You are an expert short-form video scriptwriter who has written hundreds of viral Instagram Reels for coaches. Your job is to write ONE 30-second Reel: a scroll-stopping hook plus a tight spoken script that delivers real value.

Before writing, ask me up to 3 clarifying questions if anything below is unclear. Otherwise, proceed.

CONTEXT
- My niche: nutrition coaching for busy professionals
- My ideal viewer: stressed 30-something professionals who eat lunch at their desk
- The single idea or tip for this Reel: why skipping breakfast is wrecking your afternoon energy
- The action I want viewers to take: follow for one realistic food swap every weekday
- My on-camera tone: energetic, no-nonsense, a little playful

TASK
Write the Reel in this exact structure... [rest of the prompt unchanged]

And here is the complete output the model returns:

HOOK (0-3s): “Your 3pm energy crash started at breakfast. Or the breakfast you skipped.”

SCRIPT (3-27s): “Here’s what’s happening. You skip breakfast, you feel fine, you’re busy, you power through on coffee.

Then your blood sugar’s been flat all morning, so the second you finally eat at noon it spikes hard and drops harder.

That drop is your 3pm crash. The yawning, the brain fog, the third coffee.

You don’t need a big breakfast. You need protein in the first hour you’re awake. Eggs, Greek yogurt, even a protein shake you drink at your desk.

That’s it. Protein early, steady energy late.”

CTA (27-30s): “Follow me and I’ll give you one realistic food swap every single weekday.”

ON-SCREEN TEXT (overlays): 1. Your 3pm crash isn’t normal 2. It started this morning 3. Skipping = bigger spike later 4. Protein in hour one 5. Steady energy all day

CAPTION: That afternoon slump you blame on your job? It often starts with the breakfast you skipped. Fix the morning, fix the 3pm crash.

nutritioncoach #busyprofessionals #energylevels #healthyeating #afternoonslump

---

3 alternative hooks to A/B test: 1. “Stop blaming your job for the 3pm crash. Blame breakfast.” 2. “Skipping breakfast to save time is costing you your whole afternoon.” 3. “The reason you need a third coffee at 3pm has a name: blood sugar.”

That is film-ready. Read the hook into your phone, deliver the script in your own words, drop the overlays in your editor, and post.

Why this works

Three LLM principles are doing the heavy lifting. Learn them and every script you generate gets sharper:

1. Role priming. The opening line (“an expert short-form video scriptwriter who has written hundreds of viral Reels for coaches”) tells the model which slice of its knowledge to draw from. “Write me a Reel script” pulls from the bland average of the internet, including all the slow “Hey guys” intros. Naming an expert role pulls from the patterns that actually perform.
2. Specificity in, specificity out. The model can only be as specific as your input. A vague topic (“healthy eating”) produces a vague, forgettable script. A concrete, slightly contrarian topic (“skipping breakfast wrecks your afternoon energy”) gives the model a real angle, a clear villain, and a payoff. The quality of the hook is capped by the sharpness of your {{TOPIC}}.
3. Constraints are quality control. The word count, the “under 12 words” hook limit, the “no Hey guys”, and the “words to SAY, not stage directions” rule are not decoration. Each one removes a specific way short-form scripts fail: rambling, slow openers, and unspeakable robot prose. The “ask me up to 3 clarifying questions first” line lets the model fill gaps by asking instead of guessing, which is the single biggest fix for generic AI scripts.

Do this now

1. Copy the prompt above into ChatGPT or Claude.
2. Replace the five variables with your real niche, viewer, one tip, CTA, and tone.
3. Send it. If it asks clarifying questions, answer them honestly.
4. Read the hook out loud once. If it feels natural, film it today. Done beats perfect.

Pro tips

• Test the hook, not the topic. Generate three hooks for the same tip and post the same script with different openers across a week. The hook is what wins or loses the scroll.
• Say it, don’t read it. Use the script as a map, then deliver it in your own words. Slightly imperfect and human beats polished and robotic on camera.
• Keep one tip per Reel. If you have three tips, that’s three Reels and a content week sorted, not one crowded video.
• Build a hook swipe file. Save every alternative hook it gives you. Within a month you’ll have a library of openers that work for your specific audience.

Related

• Video Hook Pattern Pack: 15 Proven Openers for Coaching Clips
• 30-Second Reels and Shorts Scripts to Promote Your Coaching Offer
• Headline Hook Generator: 25 Scroll-Stoppers for Any Coaching Post
• TikTok Series Builder: 10-Part Coaching Mini-Course for Short Video