How to use text to speech like a pro
As text-to-speech technology advances, there are more and more opportunities to add variety to the result. If previously it was mostly a robotic reading of the text, now any user can create a script for an audio track that sounds like a real person recorded them reading it.
Of course, this requires some effort on the part of the user, but knowing how to use text to speech is not as difficult as it might seem. If you’re interested in trying to make your own realistic-sounding reading of a script, try the TTS tricks below!
Choose a good TTS engine
This may not seem that important at first, but having a wide variety of settings will greatly help in creating unique scripts. As such, it’s best to use advanced engines such as Google Text-to-Speech, Amazon Polly, or Microsoft Azure Text to Speech that provide high-quality audio, close to natural pronunciation, and various features that help to make the result more distinct.
Change voice parameters
First, choose the appropriate type of voice for your audience and goals – male, female, child, or other, depending on the TTS voice options available. Then, adjust settings such as speed, tone, and volume to make the sound of the voice more natural and appropriate for the context.
Edit text for voiceover
This is an important step in creating text-to-speech scripts voiced with emotions. Use commas and periods – this will help set the correct intonation and indicate pauses and ends of sentences. Also include exclamation points and question marks to indicate emotional and intonation changes, as well as quotation marks for quotations and parentheses for additional explanations to ensure TTS conveys meaning correctly.
Break the text into paragraphs
It will make information easier to understand and improve fluency. You can also group sentences according to their meaning so the TTS can intonate correctly. Additionally, creating short prompts at a time may be a better solution so that the AI can focus on a small piece of text, which will also be easier to correct in case of errors.
Use tags
SSML (Speech Synthesis Markup Language), if supported by your TTS engine, can help you manage intonation, pauses, stress, and other aspects of pronunciation. For example, you can insert tags to indicate pauses of varying lengths, such as break time="500ms" for a pause of 500 milliseconds. There are also tags for changing the speed and tone of the voice, for example, prosody rate="slow" to slow down speech.
Use pronunciation dictionaries
Some TTS engines allow using custom dictionaries to indicate the correct pronunciation of complex or specialized words, which can be useful when you’re writing a script about a niche topic.
Combine with the real voice
In some cases, TTS engines allow you to use samples with live voice acting to synthesize the result based on them. Using this type of text-to-speech in a video can be a huge time saver if you’re making a project that needs you to read a lot of text.
Test and get feedback
Test voiced content on a small group of users or friends to get feedback and improve its quality. Make adjustments to your speech scripts and TTS settings based on the feedback you receive.
FAQs
What is the average speaking rate for TTS?
The speech speed of text-to-speech technology averages about 150–180 words per minute. This value may vary depending on the specific TTS engine and user settings.
How many characters are there in 1 minute of TTS?
Since this depends on the fine-tuning of the pronunciation speed and the engine used, there is no exact number. However, if we take an average speed, the TTS engine speaks approximately 750–900 characters per minute (including spaces).
Are there ways to format text-to-speech scripts?
Simple things like using punctuation and breaking up text into paragraphs when writing a script can significantly improve the quality of voice acting and make it more natural and understandable. In addition, some TTC tools can use tags for pauses, changes in speed, and tone of voice.
Conclusion
Text-to-speech technology opens up great opportunities to improve content accessibility, automate processes, and create new formats for interacting with users. Effective use of TTS requires choosing a quality tool, setting parameters, and paying attention to text preparation. With these guidelines in mind, you can maximize the potential of TTS in a variety of areas and achieve great results.
