I’m YouTube scriptwriter and retention consultant with over three years of professional experience helping creators turn strong ideas into videos that actually hold attention.
My scripts have generated nearly 50 million views across a range of channels and genres, not by chasing clickbait but by blending narrative craft with a deep understanding of how and why audiences stay engaged.
Before turning my attention full-time to digital content, I spent many years as an academic, specialising in language, emotions, and human psychology.
I taught and researched in the humanities, exploring how language expresses feeling and shapes understanding, eventually becoming Distinguished Professor of Humanities and Liberal Arts at Woxsen university, India.
That work that culminated in my book A Human History of Emotion: How the Way We Feel Built the World We Know, published by HarperCollins and translated internationally. My second bool, Emotopia, is coming soon.
My academic expertise - from emotional theory to linguistic nuance - is now woven into everything I do for creators, giving me a unique lens on how narrative structure, word choice, and emotional pacing interact with viewer behaviour.
Today I help creators who are serious about audience retention from long-form history and finance channels to documentary and commentary formats.
I’m fascinated by what makes viewers stay, rewind, and return, and I specialise in practical, scientifically grounded strategies that align script with viewer psychology and YouTube’s algorithm.
Whether you want stronger hooks, cleaner narrative momentum, or scripts that sound unmistakably like you, my approach is about more than words on a page. It’s about building content that earns attention and keeps it.
Hi, I’m Professor Richard Firth-Godbehere, PhD
My Guiding Principles
Retention is structural, not cosmetic
If a video loses viewers, the problem is almost always in the underlying shape of the script, not the thumbnail, title, or pacing tweaks.
Voice matters more than formulas
The best scripts sound unmistakably like the channel they belong to, not like a template or a framework.
Scripts are written to be heard, not read
Every line should survive narration, feel natural aloud, and support momentum when spoken.
Long-term growth beats short-term spikes
Sustainable channels are built on trust, consistency, and structure, not viral tricks.
Attention has to be earned, then repaid
Strong hooks create curiosity, but real retention comes from delivering on what the opening promises.
Emotion drives understanding
Viewers stay when ideas are emotionally legible, when the script guides them through tension, clarity, and payoff.