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MrugeshJani's avatar
MrugeshJani
Community Member
28 days ago
Solved

SSML Sounds Flat—Am I Using the Tags Correctly?

I’ve been experimenting with SSML formatting, but the audio output still sounds flat and doesn’t reflect the emphasis or pacing I expected. Could someone take a look at my SSML code and let me know whether I’m using the tags correctly or if there’s something I should adjust?

Sscreenshot of Text-to-Speech pop-up screen:

 

advice
Articulate 360
e-learning development
other
  • LaurenDuvall's avatar
    LaurenDuvall
    27 days ago

    Hi MrugeshJani! Great question! Thanks for sharing your SSML! Your syntax looks solid, so you’re on the right track.

    What you’re noticing comes down to how different text-to-speech voices handle SSML. Storyline 360 supports SSML, but how each tag sounds can vary by voice.

    A few things to keep in mind:

    • Some voices apply <emphasis> lightly or skip it
    • rate="x-slow" often sounds similar to slow
    • Pitch and tone changes aren’t always noticeable

    To get better results, try this:

    • Add pauses using <break time="400ms"/>
    • Use rate="slow" for more consistent pacing
    • Break text into shorter chunks with punctuation or line breaks

    For more natural expression, AI Audio voices are a great option. They tend to respond better to SSML and need less tweaking to sound polished.

    Hope this helps! Let us know how it goes

2 Replies

  • LaurenDuvall's avatar
    LaurenDuvall
    Staff
    27 days ago

    Hi MrugeshJani! Great question! Thanks for sharing your SSML! Your syntax looks solid, so you’re on the right track.

    What you’re noticing comes down to how different text-to-speech voices handle SSML. Storyline 360 supports SSML, but how each tag sounds can vary by voice.

    A few things to keep in mind:

    • Some voices apply <emphasis> lightly or skip it
    • rate="x-slow" often sounds similar to slow
    • Pitch and tone changes aren’t always noticeable

    To get better results, try this:

    • Add pauses using <break time="400ms"/>
    • Use rate="slow" for more consistent pacing
    • Break text into shorter chunks with punctuation or line breaks

    For more natural expression, AI Audio voices are a great option. They tend to respond better to SSML and need less tweaking to sound polished.

    Hope this helps! Let us know how it goes