Talk script template in Markdown: opening, points and close

A talk script, as this post uses the term, is one .md file you write before you speak to a group for a few minutes, for example at a team meeting. It holds your first two sentences and your last sentence word for word, your points as numbered lines with one example on each, and a few questions people may ask, each with a short answer.

After this come the template, one or two sentences per part, a sample for an invented company, five tips for a short script, and a way to name the file. Every part is plain text, so you can write the script in a text editor you have on hand, and you install nothing.

How a talk script differs

Here a talk script means one .md file per talk. You write it ahead of time, and then you say its words out loud to the people in the room. Its parts follow the order you plan to speak in: the opening, the points, the closing, and then the questions that may come up after you finish.

A memo is a different kind of file. The memo template sets up a written file that one person writes for a group, and the group reads it. A talk script is the text one person says out loud, so its opening and its closing are spelled out as spoken sentences.

An agenda is different again. The meeting agenda template lists the topics of a whole meeting, naming who leads each topic and its length in minutes. A talk script holds what one person says during one of those topics.

Talk script template to copy

The fenced block that follows holds this post's template. Put it in a new, blank .md file, then type your own wording over each placeholder.

# Talk: name of the talk

- For: the meeting or group you speak to
- Length: N minutes
- Date: YYYY-MM-DD

## Opening

The first sentence you say, written out in full. The second sentence, also in full.

## Points

1. First point in one line, with one example
2. Second point in one line, with one example
3. Third point in one line, with one example

## Closing

The last sentence you say, written out in full.

## Likely questions

- A question someone may ask? A short answer.
- Another question someone may ask? A short answer.

From the title down, the parts are:

• Title line. This level-one heading opens on the word Talk and ends with the talk's name.
• For. The meeting or the group of people you speak to.
• Length. The number of minutes you plan to speak.
• Date. The day you give the talk, written year first.
• Opening. Your first two sentences, spelled out in full as you plan to say them.
• Points. One numbered line per point, with one example on the same line.
• Closing. Your last sentence, spelled out in full.
• Likely questions. One dash line per question someone may ask, with a short answer after the question mark.

The three header lines below the title make up a dash list, and the points form a numbered list. For how the first number of a numbered list sets where its count starts, see the numbered lists post.

The opening and the closing are plain paragraphs of full sentences. The guide to paragraphs and blank lines shows how one blank line ends a paragraph and starts the next.

Sample talk script for Doe Holdings

None of this sample is real. Doe Holdings is an invented company, and nobody in it has a name besides Jane Doe and her colleague John Doe. At a team meeting, Jane Doe welcomes the team to a new floor of the building on their first day there.

# Talk: welcome to the fourth floor

- For: the team meeting on the new floor
- Length: 5 minutes
- Date: 2026-11-02

## Opening

Good morning, and welcome to the fourth floor. I'm Jane Doe, and I have three short points about the move before John Doe takes over.

## Points

1. You keep your desk group from the old floor; for example, I still sit next to John Doe.
2. You can use the new kitchen at the end of the hall; for example, I made tea there this morning.
3. You get your door key from John Doe at the front desk; he gave me mine this morning, for example.

## Closing

That's all from me, so I'll hand over to John Doe now.

## Likely questions

- Can I still use the old kitchen? No, John Doe has locked the old floor.
- Do I keep my desk group? Yes, you keep the group you had on the old floor.
- Who do I see about a lost key? John Doe, at the front desk.

The sample's header gives the talk 5 minutes and dates it 2026-11-02. Jane Doe writes out her two opening sentences and her one closing sentence in full, the way she plans to say them. All three numbered points fit on one line apiece, and each gives one example marked by the words "for example".

The Likely questions heading holds three dash lines. Each one pairs a question someone at the meeting may put to Jane Doe with a short answer she can give.

Tips on a short script

Here the template's aim is a short script. The five tips below rest on the template's lines, the sample's lines or both:

• Two opening sentences. The template's Opening placeholder holds two sentences, and Jane Doe's opening is two sentences long.
• One line and one example per point. Each point line in the template asks for one example, and each of the three sample points gives one on its single line.
• One closing sentence. The Closing heading holds one sentence in the template and one in the sample.
• Questions as short dash lines. Under the Likely questions heading, a dash line holds one question and a short answer, as in the three sample lines.
• A length at the top. The Length line puts a number of minutes in the header, and in the sample it reads 5 minutes.

Picking a name for the file

This template keeps one .md file per talk, in a talks/ folder. Talk scripts collect over time, one file for each talk, so this template opens each name with the talk's date, year first, and then a few words about the talk: talks/2026-11-02-fourth-floor-welcome.md. That file name holds 2026-11-02, which is also the date in the sample's header.

The Markdown file naming guide covers why, for files that build up over time, a year-first date leading each name lines the names up by date.

Where Sashmark fits

Planned as a combined Markdown reader and Markdown editor for desktop use, Sashmark is aimed at people handling Markdown that comes from AI agents. Not one piece is out yet, and each part is in development. Sashmark is being planned for sets of .md files, such as a project folder that holds talk scripts along with other Markdown files.

See the planned features, the help pages and the roadmap for where each part stands.

Visit sashmark.com.