Text to Speech SSML tag

Hi John, 

Thanks for reaching out and sharing what you would like to see in the Text to Speech options.

The ability to use SSML has been included in the feature request and this conversation has been tagged so that we can share any updates with you here.

I see lots of different requests going on here, but I might have a solution for you, but it requires going to the source that Storyline uses, Amazon Polly.  To make things a bit simpler, I’ve created an application that addresses many of the things here:

• Adjust the overall speed of your files with one setting
• Adjust the overall pause duration for commas
• Add your own SSML to get more finer nuanced, naturally sounding results and as necessary, correct the pronunciation of words
• Neural voices
• Batch process your files

Here’s what you do:

1. Get an Amazon Polly account (yes, there is some cost involved but doesn’t seem that prohibitive) (https://aws.amazon.com/polly/)
2. Save your scripts as separate files (MS-Word or Text)
3. Download HeroVoice TTS from the Microsoft Windows Store (fully functioning 15-day free trial)
4. Encode your files with HeroVoice TTS – apply a global setting for speed and even comma duration so your files are consistent.
5. Select the voice you want – these are the same as you’ll find in Storyline today including Neural voices (which aren’t currently available in Storyline)
6. Load each audio file into Storyline

Hi Badrul,

No updates to share on this request, but our team is actively tracking this one. I'll be sure to add your plus to the list of folks who have requested it and update you when there is any news to share!

Please add SSML support. The neural voices are a great addition but without SSML it's just not very useable.

Hi, I've updated and am testing out. I wanted to change the pitch of a voice.

<speak>
<prosody pitch="x-low">This text has extra low pitch</prosody>
</speak>

When try the above, and click Insert, get error message that need to verify SSML tags are correct and supported for the selected voice. I think tags are correct for pitch. When I look at the Articulate SSML page, pitch appears to work for only Standard voices. The dropdown in my Insert Text-to-Speech, appears to only show Neural voices. How do I switch to Standard voices?

Also, just to confirm, you will only hear the changes to the voice when you publish? not in Preview?

Thanks!

Thanks Jose. So, I now understand <prosody> used for pitch will only work for Standard Voices. However, I can see there are no English (USA) standard voices?

Hi Pascal,

Thanks for reaching out and sharing what you would like to use for your project.

Additional options and editing tools for text to speech is a feature request that we are tracking.

I'm adding this conversation to the report so that we can update you here with any news we have to share.

@Leslie McKerchie,

It seems that SL360 is using Polly for TTS. Can you apply their SSML coding?

Hi there!

We don't have any noted workaround for this issue, but I see that it's been added as a feature request. 

I'll give the community a chance to share their wealth of knowledge! 

Yes, the voices in Storyline TTS do sound very much like the Polly voices.

I have used both the TTS feature in Storyline and Polly with SSML from the Amazon Polly website.  When using Polly, the only option I have found is to save the Polly speech as a file external to Storyline and import it using Insert Audio.

Storyline TTS is so darn convenient, being able to integrate with notes and to make almost instant updates.  For me it is not worth the hassle of using files from Polly.

If a client tells me "I don't like the way the voice says that word,"  I am kind of concerned, but not overly so, because the goal of the training can still be met.  If a client tells me "I don't understand that sentence at all," I am much more concerned, because the training is not working.  When this happens I will explore other options for making the speech more clear. Starting with rewording or using phonetic spelling in Storyline, but using another speech generator if I absolutely must.

I have had demonstrations with SMEs and stakeholders to show how fast and accurately I can work and make updates using Storyline TTS.  I point out that having a strange sounding word every now and then is a small price to pay against those benefits.

If there is a way to use SSML in Storyline, I would love to learn about it.