Text to speech with pauses. Silence, exactly where you want it.

A pause is a small piece of text in square brackets. Put it where you want silence. Write the length after the word “pause”, as a number with s for seconds or ms for milliseconds.

You do not have to type it. The Pause button above the script box inserts [pause 1s] where your cursor is, and you edit the number.

Clonylab gives you two ways to control silence. They do different jobs, and you will often use both.

A good habit: set the slider first for the overall rhythm, then add tags only for the moments you want longer than the slider’s gap.

Each is under 150 characters, so it works on the free plan.

• Too many pauses. Silence loses its effect when it is everywhere.
• Long pauses by default. Start at half a second and add time only if it sounds rushed.
• Writing the length in words. [pause 2 seconds] is read aloud. Use [pause 2s].
• Pausing after the slider already did. The Sentence pause slider adds a gap after every sentence, so a short tag there may be enough.

Other tags, such as [slow] and [loud], are on the AI voiceover generator page.

Each line is under 150 characters, so it works on the free plan.

• Learners and new listeners need longer gaps after new ideas.
• Busy listeners want a quick pace and short beats.
• Listeners on the move need clear pauses between facts.
• Phone-style messages work best with a short pause between each detail.

Pick a starting point, listen, and change one number at a time.

• The tag: [pause 1s] or [pause 400ms], up to 10 seconds.
• The button: Pause above the script box inserts the tag for you.
• The slider: Sentence pause sets the gap after every sentence.
• The habit: set the slider first, then add tags only where you want more.
• The format: write [pause 2s], not [pause 2 seconds].
• The limit: on the free plan, keep each script under 150 characters.

Silence is the cheapest way to make a voice-over sound human. Try one pause before a key line and listen to the difference.

• Learn all the tags: AI voiceover generator.
• Pick a voice: AI voice generator.
• Download your file: text to speech MP3.

1. 1

   Generate it with no tags

   Listen to the plain reading first, so you know what you are changing.

2. 2

   Set the Sentence pause slider

   Move it until the overall rhythm feels right. This fixes most scripts without a single tag.

3. 3

   Add tags in two or three places

   Put [pause 500ms] or [pause 1s] only where you still want more silence, such as before a key point.

4. 4

   Listen again, then stop

   If it sounds good, leave it. More pauses rarely make it better.

Pause tags are silence, so they sound the same in every voice. But each voice has its own natural pace, and a pause that fits a quick voice can feel long in a slow one. If you change voice, listen again.

You can also change voice inside one script, with a voice tag such as [Adam] or [Emma]. A short pause before the change gives the listener time to notice the new speaker. The AI voice generator page lists the voices.

Questions about pauses in text to speech