Add Pauses to Speech

This tutorial covers different ways to add pauses to your generated speech in Voice Creator Pro. Whether you are crafting a single line in the Lab or producing a full project, you have several options for controlling pause timing and placement.

Quick Pauses With Punctuation (Lab)

When working in the Lab tab, the simplest way to add pauses is with punctuation. The TTS model interprets punctuation as natural break points in speech, so you can use them to control pacing directly in your text.

How Different Punctuation Affects Pauses

Em dashes (——) are the most effective tool for adding pauses exactly where you want them. Insert two em dashes where you want the model to briefly hold before continuing. A comma produces a slight, natural pause similar to spoken punctuation, while em dashes create a more deliberate, attention-grabbing break.

Tips for Using Punctuation Pauses

• Place em dashes before key phrases to build anticipation. For example: The answer was right there —— hidden in plain sight.
• Use them sparingly. One or two per sentence is usually enough. More than three in a single sentence tends to sound unnatural.
• Contrast sentence length for dramatic effect. A short sentence after a longer one creates natural emphasis without needing extra punctuation.
• Match the mood. Fast-paced content needs fewer pauses, while contemplative or dramatic passages benefit from more.
• Experiment with placement. Moving a dash slightly earlier or later in a sentence can change how the pause feels. Generate a few variations to find the right rhythm.

For a deeper look at this technique, see the full guide: How to Add Pauses in Text to Speech.

Precise Pause Control (Projects)

For fine-tuned control over exactly how long a pause should be, use the Projects feature. Projects lets you set pause durations in milliseconds at specific points in your text.

Adding a Pause Before a Word or Phrase

1. Open the Projects tab and add your text by uploading a file (EPUB, PDF, DOCX, TXT) or pasting text directly.
2. Click into a segment to select it.
3. Highlight the word or portion of text before which you want to add a pause.
4. A Selection panel will appear on the right side.
5. In the Selection panel, change the Pause value to set the pause duration (in milliseconds) before the selected text.

This gives you exact control over pause length, down to the millisecond.

Adjusting Pauses Between Paragraphs and Segments

You can also control the default pauses that are inserted between paragraphs and between segments across your entire project.

1. Click the gear icon in the Projects tab to open Project Settings.
2. Under the Output section on the right, adjust:
   • Paragraph gap (ms) - the silence inserted between paragraphs (default: 300 ms)
   • Segment gap (ms) - the silence inserted between segments (default: 1000 ms)

These settings apply to all paragraphs and segments in the project. Shorter gaps create a faster pace, while longer gaps give listeners more time to absorb information between sections.

Which Method Should You Use?

Next Steps

• Text to Speech for generating speech in the Lab
• Projects overview for the full Projects workflow
• Project Settings for all project configuration options
• Generate Long-Form Audio for a complete long-form production walkthrough