How to record a product demo video: plan, script, record, edit
By Zakaria Reziki · · 7 min read
A good product demo video shows one person doing one job in your product, with nothing in the way. Plan around that job, write a two-column script (what you say next to what's on screen), clean up your Mac, record each section separately with ⇧⌘5, and cut the waiting out in the edit. A short talking-head intro at the start makes it personal.
Plan the demo: one audience, one job
Before you write anything, finish this sentence:
For example: “This demo shows agency account managers how to send a client report in our tool, so they stop rebuilding it every Monday.” Everything in the video should serve that sentence. Settings pages, integrations and the feature you're proudest of all go unless the job needs them. If you have three audiences, make three videos.
Write a two-column demo script
A demo script has two tracks that have to line up: your words and the screen. Write them side by side so you know exactly which click goes with which sentence.
| # | What you say | What's on screen |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Every Monday, account managers rebuild the same client report. Here's how to do it once.” | Talking head, or the empty dashboard |
| 2 | “Start from the report template.” | Click Templates → Client report |
| 3 | “Pick the client, and this week's numbers fill in automatically.” | Select client; pause while data loads |
| 4 | “Add a one-line summary for the client.” | Type in summary field (pre-written text) |
| 5 | “Share the link. It always shows the latest version.” | Click Share → copy link |
| 6 | “That's the whole report. Try it with your own client this week.” | Finished report, then talking head |
Each row is one beat. Group rows into sections of 30–90 seconds; those become your recording units. Write the spoken column the way you talk. Our guide on how to write a teleprompter script covers the style.
Clean demo environment checklist
Viewers notice clutter, and a notification in the middle of a demo can mean a full retake. Before recording:
- Hide desktop icons. In System Settings, look under Desktop & Dock for the “Show Items” options and turn off showing items on the desktop.
- Turn on Do Not Disturb from Control Center, and quit Slack, Mail and Messages.
- Hide the Dock with ⌥⌘D if it isn't part of the demo.
- Use a clean browser profile with no personal bookmarks, extensions or autofill suggestions.
- Load demo data. Realistic but fake names, companies and numbers. Never a real customer's account.
- Know how to reset. Keep a way to return the account to its starting state, so every retake begins identically.
- Pre-type long text in a note and paste it. Typing on camera is slow, and typos mean retakes.
- Zoom the interface (browser zoom at 125–150%) so small UI stays legible when viewers watch in a smaller player.
- Close every tab and window you won't show.
How to record your screen on a Mac
Press ⇧⌘5 to open the Screenshot toolbar. Choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion (macOS Tahoe 26 adds Record Selected Window). Under Options, choose a microphone so your narration is captured. Stop with the Stop button in the menu bar or ⌃⌘Esc. In QuickTime Player, File > New Screen Recording (⌃⌘N) opens the same controls (Apple Support).
Recording a selected portion or a single window keeps your notes, script and menu bar out of the frame. Use the same region for every section so the clips match in the edit.
Voice at the same time, or voiceover afterwards?
For short demos, record screen and voice together. It sounds more natural, and pauses line up with clicks. For longer demos, try recording the screen silently first, following the right-hand column, then record the voiceover while watching it back. You can redo a sentence without redoing the clicks.
Where the talking-head intro fits
Open with 10–20 seconds of you on camera: who you are, who this is for, and what they'll see. Close with a few seconds on camera for the next step. Record these separately from the screen sections, and read them from a prompt placed right under the camera so you look at the viewer, not your notes. If the demo is going to one prospect as a quick message rather than a polished video, a single Loom is simpler: see how to record a Loom video with a script.
Cuey covers both halves of a demo. For the intro and outro, Follow mode listens and advances as you read, and waits if you pause. For the screen sections, Notes mode lets you step through the beats from your left-hand column manually. Keep the prompt outside the region you're recording.
Pacing: slower than feels natural
- Let the screen settle. After each click, wait about a second before talking about what appeared.
- Move the cursor on purpose. Glide to the target and stop. Don't circle things or wiggle while you talk.
- Don't narrate every click. Say why, not “now I click here.” The screen already shows what.
- Leave two seconds of silence at the start and end of each section. Those are your edit handles.
For spoken pace, see teleprompter words per minute. Demos usually want the slower end of the range, because viewers are reading the screen while they listen.
Retakes: redo the section, not the whole demo
- Reset the product to the section's starting state.
- Start recording, wait two seconds, and run the section.
- If something breaks, stop, reset and retake that section only.
- Name files by section and take (for example
03-share-take2.mov) so the edit is just assembly.
The same approach works for longer videos: the section-by-section method in how to record a YouTube video with a script carries over directly.
Editing tips for demo videos
- Cut the waiting. Remove loading spinners and page loads, or speed them up.
- Zoom in on small UI. Scale up on the button or field you're talking about, then back out.
- Add captions. They help anyone watching with the sound off.
- Label key moments with short on-screen text that matches the words in your UI.
- Trim the ends. Start on the first spoken word and end right after the call to action.