How to Write Great Dialogue — Making Conversations Sound Real

- Why do you feel it's necessary to yak about bullsh*t in order to be comfortable? - I don't know. That's a good question.

- What makes dialogue great? - There's another great. - Does it sound natural?

- You used me so you could get out of L. A. - Or is it stylized beyond reality?

- I don't know what sort of cream they've put on you down at the morgue, but I want some. - Is it rapid-fire and witty? - That's a made-up word.

- All words are made-up. - Or minimalist and profound. - I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.

- Great dialogue has no single form. And yet, there are certain throughlines which make characters talking gripping. - What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss?

- Before we start chatting. - I'm just gonna have to get used to it. - Subscribe to StudioBinder and enable notifications to stay up to date on all our filmmaking videos.

Time for our monologue. - All right, you primitive screwheads, listen up. - Dialogue comes from the Greek 'dialogos' meaning conversation.

Its roots are 'dia' meaning through, and 'logos' meaning speech or reason. In his book, 'The Craft of Scene Writing', Jim Mercurio describes dialogue as a compressed version of what we hear in our everyday lives. It's like a highlight reel of how we talk.

The words are less important than the beats they represent. - You stay out of this, Glinda, or I'll fix you as well. - A modern audience is an experienced judge of dialogue.

They understand it more than any other element of storytelling. - There she is. The almost birthday girl.

- If dialogue is poorly written, an audience will immediately be taken out of the story. - He's got space dementia. - Great dialogue, meanwhile, can keep an audience enraptured from start to finish.

- Here's looking at you, kid. - As such, dialogue is one of a screenwriter's primary concerns and one of the first things they are judged on by a reader. - Don't judge me, monkey.

- Let's look at how to make sure your character's conversations are colorful and captivating. Beginning with developing a distinct voice. - We're American, okay?

- Okay. What kind of American are you? - Great dialogue must feel true to a character.

- No ticket. - And this means a writer must understand their character inside and out. Having a keen understanding of what they want to say and how they would say it.

Robert McKee writes, 'When we say a writer has an ear for dialogue, we mean he writes character specific talk'. Each of his characters speaks with a syntax, rhythm, tonality, and most importantly, word choices that no one but that character would use. - Nice talking to you, Billy.

- Because each of your characters are distinct, each of their voices should be distinct as well. - They want us to spray on some suck puppies' nut juice. - One rule of thumb for writing dialogue is to ask yourself if the character's names were withheld from the script would you still be able to tell who is talking?

- Oh, yes, sir. Bit me directly in the buttocks. They said it was a million-dollar wound, but the army must keep that money because I still ain't seen a nickel of that million dollars.

- In 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf', the four principal characters have very clearly defined voices. Marsha is brash and confrontational. - I hope that was an empty bottle, George.

You can't afford to waste good liquor. - George is verbose and playful. - How'd you like that for a declension, young man?

- Sir, I did not ask my question. - Nick is mild-mannered and deferential. - It's just that I don't like to become involved, uh, in other people's affairs.

- And Honey is innocent and sweet. - Oh, I don't know, dear. Uh, a little brandy, maybe.

Never mix, never worry. - These traits are infused in nearly every line of dialogue. - She was always coming at him.

I thought it was very embarrassing. - If you thought it was so embarrassing, what are you talking about it for? - I didn't want to talk about it at all.

- Oh, I wish I had some brandy. I love brandy. I really do.

- Good for you. It steadies me so. I used to drink brandy.

- He used to drink bourbon, too. - Shut up, Martha. - A defined voice is a key factor in characterization.

- This is a lovely room of death. Take care now, bye-bye then. - What a character says and doesn't say, tell us about who they are.

- If I'm not back in five minutes. Just wait longer. - In this scene from 'The Master', Dodd is characterized through his opening dialogue.

He is supremely confident and boastful but knows how to read people. - You're aberrated. - I'm not.

- You know what that means? - No. - You've wandered from the proper path, haven't you?

- 'Annie Hall' uses an opening monologue to even more directly establish its protagonist Alvy is a neurotic pessimist. - The other important joke for me is one that's usually attributed to Groucho Marx, but I think it appears originally in Freud's 'Wit and its Relation to the Unconscious. And it goes like this, I'm paraphrasing, I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member.

That's the key joke of my adult life in terms of my relationships with women. - How a character speaks can also be informed by their motivation. In other words, what they want will affect what they say and how they say it.

- Hey. - What? - I just want to take another look at you.

- You're sheltering enemies of the state, are you not? - Quentin Tarantino, describes how he took this approach with Colonel Lander, who has some of the most iconic dialogue of the 21st century. - Ooh, that's a bingo!

- He is a detective. That's first and foremost where he's coming from. He's a detective, and everything he does is some version of an interrogation.

And every piece of interrogation is a piece of theater or mind game with the participant. - Of course, how a character's voiced is also affected by their cultural and historical context. - Look, you, I love thee marvellous well.

But tis God alone, not man, what knows who is the son of Abraham and who is not, who is good and who is evil. - This is a guiding rule for Robert Eggers, who does extensive research in order to develop his character's dialects. He explains how he wrote the dialogue for 'The Witch'.

- Like, luckily, because it's early modern English, that's the period of Milton and Shakespeare and Spencer. So there's many books about and, and thesauruses with the vocabulary and the rules which was incredibly helpful. But I also read tons and tons and tons and tons of primary source material and made my own thesaurus.

As Eggers work shows us, while characters should have their own voices, you as a screenwriter can also have your own general voice for your piece. This can ensure you maintain a tonal coherence throughout your film. - Aye, sir.

- You're too slow. You a dullard? - No, sir.

- Fool me. - Take the work of Aaron Sorkin, for example. His characters have distinct perspectives and cadences.

But he infuses his dialogue with a distinct rhythm and repartee. - You don't think I deserve your attention? - I think if your clients want to sit on my shoulders and call themselves tall, they have a right to give it a try.

But there's no requirement that I enjoy sitting here listening to people lie. - You have part of my attention. You have the minimum amount.

The rest of my attention is back at the offices of Facebook where my colleagues and I are doing things that no one in this room, including and especially your clients, are intellectually or creatively capable of doing. Did I adequately answer your condescending question? - He is careful to make his dialogue a delight to listen to, no matter who is talking.

- What does Bill Gates have against me? - I don't know. You're both out of your minds.

Listen to me. - He dropped out of a better school than I dropped out of. And he's a toolbag.

I'll tell you why. - He notes, What the words sound like is as important to me as what the words mean. - We're not a pit crew at Daytona.

This can't be fixed in seconds. - You didn't have seconds. You had three weeks.

The universe was created in a third of that time. - Well, someday you'll have to tell us how you did it. - Establishing your and your character's voices is only one part of creating great dialogue.

- Welcome to Earth. - Since talking for talking's sake can only get you so far. - I'm sorry, what are we talking about here?

- Your character's words should also deliver information. - Hello Austin, I'm Basil Exposition with British Intelligence. - Unlike our day-to-day conversations, all dialogue should serve a purpose or ideally multiple purposes.

- 30 years ago, lightning struck that clock tower and the clock hasn't run since. - First and foremost, a dialogue can be used for exposition. - Explain it to me then.

- In 'Spotlight', writers Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy use Marty, a newcomer to the Boston Globe, to elicit exposition from other characters. - Technically, we wouldn't sue the church. We'd file a motion to lift the seal on those documents.

- The church will read that as us suing them. So will everybody else. - Good to know.

- In this scene, McCarthy and Singer establish what the Spotlight team does. But it doesn't feel unnatural. - Are you familiar with Spotlight?

- No, not particularly. - Well, we are a four-person investigative team. We report to Ben Bradley Jr.

And we keep our work confidential. - Marty is a new editor looking for ways to cut costs. And the nature of Spotlight's work makes it an easy target.

- What are you working on now? - We just put out a piece on a shoddy construction outfit. And right now we're really just, uh trolling around for our next story.

- This adds tension while delivering key information and characterizing Marty as thoughtful and not antagonistic. - Once we settle on a project, we could spend a year or more investigating it. Is that a concern?

- Not necessarily. Um, but from what I understand, readership is down, internet is cutting into the classified business, and, I think I'm gonna need to take a hard look at things. - Arguably the fastest way to provide exposition is through voiceover.

But it's best to use this strategy carefully, so as not to overwhelm the audience or seem lazy. - And the number one movie in the country was called 'Ass'. - With 'Clueless', Amy Heckling uses an opening voiceover to establish Cher's life and lifestyle.

- Okay, you're probably going, is this like an Noxema commercial or what? But seriously, I actually have a way normal life for a teenage girl. I mean, I get up, I brush my teeth, and I pick out my school clothes.

But because the narration is infused with humor and Cher's distinct voice, it doesn't feel dry. Or overwhelming. - Wasn't my Mom a Betty?

She died when I was just a baby. A fluke accident during a routine liposuction. - Having a character deliver exposition can be risky.

And when done poorly constrain believability. - Oh, what would Mom and dad say? - I don't know.

They're, they're gone. - They died when I was three, remember? - McKee describes this common pitfall, To convenience the writer, characters tell each other what they already know, so the eavesdropping reader audience can gather in the information.

This false behavior causes the reader audience to lose empathy. - This is Katana. She's got my back.

She can cut all you in half with one sword stroke, just like mawing the lawn. I would advise not getting killed by her. Her sword traps the souls of its victims.

- Beyond exposition, dialogue should also push story forward. This can take many different forms. - Call came in with impeccable timing.

Right as I was driving here to ground your ass once and for all. - In 'Malcolm X', the exchange in this scene redirects Malcolm's arc. - I think you got more sense than any cat in this prison.

Why the hell don't you use it? - He doesn't admit out loud that Benbery is making compelling points. But by the end, it's clear he's softened to what he's saying.

This conversation marks Malcolm's transformation into a civil rights leader. - Elijah Muhammad can get you out of prison. Out of the prison of your mind.

But maybe all you want is another fix. - Dialogue can also push a story forward more subtly. This conversation in 'Juno' is relatively innocuous.

But it establishes who Juno is looking for to adopt a child. - Juno, you're totally not even listening to me. - No, I heard you.

I just like, I don't want to give the baby to a family that describes themselves as wholesome. Why? Well, I don't know, I just want something a little more edgier.

- And ends with them finding a potential match. - Oh, Juno, how about this one? - They were Mark and Vanessa Loring, and they were beautiful even in black and white.

- Often, great dialogue serves many functions at once. Characterizing, delivering exposition, and pushing the story forward. He murders them, but not in person.

The key is not to let these functions bog down the actual language, and not to over-rely on dialogue to serve them. As John Truby notes, most writers ask their dialogue to do the heavy lifting, the work that the story structure should do. The result is dialogue that sounds stilted, forced, and phony.

- I got the results of the test back. I definitely have breast cancer. - The character's dialogue doesn't exist in a vacuum.

A writer must also consider how different characters lines fit together to create dynamic conversation. - You want answers? - I think I'm entitled.

- You want answers! - I want the truth! - You can't handle the truth!

- Creating a compelling back-and-forth in a script requires multiple elements. The first is conflict. No two characters have the exact same viewpoint on the world.

And these contrasting viewpoints should underscore conversations. - You owe me money, blacksmith. - How do you figure?

- My horse threw a shoe. Seeing as you was the one that done the shoe and I say that makes you responsible. - Well, since you never paid me for the job, I say that makes us even.

- Sometimes, characters are diametrically opposed, creating a more adversarial exchange. - But you're still not having any fun! - In 'Marriage Story', this explosive argument is rooted in differing viewpoints.

Charlie and Nicole believe the other person is at fault in their ill-fated marriage. And this creates a snowballing effect of accusations which devolve into insults. - You're being so much like your father.

- Do not compare me to my father! - I didn't compare you to him. I said you were acting like him.

- You're exactly like your mother. Everything you're complaining about her, you're doing. You're suffocating Henry.

- First of all, I love my mother. She was a wonderful mother. - Just repeating what you told me.

- Secondly, how dare you compare my mother to my mother? I may be like my father, but I am not like my mother. - You are!

- This scene is so effective. Because the characters are hurt that the other can't see their point of view. This creates more clarity to the conversation than if it were based in a generalized anger.

- You think you found some better opposite guy than me? And in a few years, you rebel against him! Because you need to have your voice!

But you don't want a voice! You just wanna f*cking complain about not having a voice. - I think about being married to you and that woman is a stranger to me.

- Of course, conflicting point of views don't need to result in arguments of this intensity. - Come on, throw in a book. - Uhuh, I don't tip.

- In this famous opening conversation from 'Reservoir Dogs', each character voices their own opinion, propelling the back and forth, while also introducing us to the ensemble. - You don't care they're counting on your tips to live? - You know what this is?

It's the world's smallest violin playing just for the waitresses. - You don't have any idea what you're talking about. These people bust their ass.

This is a hard job. - So is working at McDonald's, but you don't feel the need to tip them, do you? - Differing points of view may not result in arguments at all, but rather add texture to a conversation.

In 'Before Sunrise', the characters are enamored by each other's ways of looking at the world. In this scene, they are surprised by each other's answers to their questions, and may even disagree with them. But this only deepens their attraction.

This is more compelling and realistic then if they simply agreed on everything. - I mean, yes, I have told somebody that I loved them before and I admit it, you know, but was it totally, uh, unselfish, giving love? Was it a beautiful thing?

Not really. You know, it's like, love I mean, I, I don't know. You know?

- Conversations can also be given depth when characters have conflicting goals. McKee writes, any and all words said by a character to herself or to others, is an action taken to satisfy a need or desire. - This makes you my competitor.

- No. No, it's not like that. - It is like that, boy.

- When these desires don't align, tension and dialogue is created. This exchange in 'Casino' is powered by two very simple conflicting agendas. Ace wants to distance his business from Nikki.

And Nicky wants to stay in the business. - You want me to get out of my own f*cking town? - Yeah, I said let the bull blow over for a while so I can run the casino.

Anything goes wrong with the casino, it's my ass. It's not yours, it's my ass. - I don't know whether you notice or not, but you only have your f*cking casino because I made that possible.

- Conversations can also be elevated using subtext. Characters may be talking about one thing, but they are meaning something else entirely. - As you wish.

- In 'Lady Bird', both the protagonist and her Mom want to improve their relationship. But they both are unable to communicate that. - I wish that you liked me.

- Of course, I love you. - But do you like me? - Greta Gerwig explains.

People always use words to not say what they mean. They constantly use language to avoid saying the things that are true. When her Mom is yelling at her about the room, what she wants to say is, I'm scared.

And she can't say that. So she says, Why do you never clean up your room? - You can't leave your room like this.

- I didn't. - None of these things were put away right. They aren't nice, Christine.

- I put my clothes away. My name is Lady Bird. Don't lie to me.

This, this uniform, this is gonna look like trash on Monday. This isn't right. We can't treat our clothes like this.

I don't know what your wealthy friends do. Why do you care what I do to my clothes? When writing a back and forth rhythm should also be considered.

Are the characters talking over one another? - You think I'm stupid? You think I'm stupid?

- Or are there long pauses between lines? - Smells good. What is it?

Barbecue chicken? Wes Anderson is famously particular about his dialogue's rhythm, giving his exchanges an almost musical quality. - How many rockets you up to Penegal?

- Sixteen and a half, sir. - Is that enough for the hullabaloo? Isaac, go fetch another pint of gunpowder from the armory shed.

- Redford, pull! How fast were you just going? - Safe to test, sir.

- Come again? - The vehicle appears to be in good working order. I'm just checking it for.

. . - Reckless cycling.

Second warning. Next time I take away the key. - This rhythm is dictated in his screenplays.

- What do you little princesses want to drink? - Oh, we're not princesses. I'm a vampire.

I'm a mummy in Egypt took our fairies alive and came back alive with his head chopped off. I'm a fairy. - How about a glass of strawberry milk?

- Above all else, a writer will know if a conversation is working or not working once they hear it out loud. - I didn't want to do this in front of everybody. - So read your script to yourself.

Or better yet, host a table read. - Well, glad to see you're up and about. - How are you feeling?

- A little bit better. - Like most elements of screenwriting, great dialogue comes from fully realized characters. - She's my Rushmore, Max.

- If you know how your character talks. . .

- Do or do not. There is no try. - What your character knows.

. . - I know it was you, Maury.

- How they view the world and what they want. . .

- The world is a business, Mr Bale. - Great dialogue will come. - Listen to them.

Children of the night. What music they make. - Ready to get your characters conversing?

Start your screenplay with StudioBinder's screenwriting software. Until next time, walk the walk. And most importantly, talk the talk.

- He had to expect a reaction. - I don't, I don't really have too much to say right now. What's that?