search
Ctrlk
HomeStudioTutorialsBlog

Copy of Voice emotion control

Add emotion, reactions, and delivery direction to your generated speech. How you write your prompt directly controls how the voice performs.

Morphic supports two speech models — ElevenLabs and MiniMax. Each uses a different syntax for emotion control. Select your model, then write your prompt using the format below.

hashtag
ElevenLabs

ElevenLabs uses bracket tags written directly in your prompt. Wrap any emotion, reaction, or direction in square brackets and the model will interpret it as a performance cue — not spoken text.

hashtag
How it works

[tag] Your dialogue text here.

Tags affect everything after them until a new tag appears. You can combine multiple tags and place them anywhere in your text.

[excited] We just hit a million users!
[whispers][tense] Don't let them hear you.
[tired] I've been working for 14 hours straight. [sigh] I can't even feel my hands anymore.

hashtag
You can use any tag

ElevenLabs is open-ended. There is no fixed list — write any emotion or direction inside brackets and the model will try to interpret it. Tags like [jealous], [romantic], [awkward], [suspicious tone], or [continues after a beat] all work.

The tags below are commonly used and reliably effective, but you're not limited to them.

hashtag
Emotions

[excited] · [happy] · [cheerfully] · [sad] · [sorrowful] · [angry] · [nervous] · [frustrated] · [calm] · [tired] · [curious] · [sarcastic] · [playful] · [mischievously] · [deadpan] · [flatly]

Nuance: [hesitant] · [relieved] · [tense] · [warm] · [resigned tone] · [stammers] · [regretful] · [sympathetic] · [reassuring] · [professional] · [questioning]

hashtag
Reactions

Non-verbal sounds that add realism.

[laughs] · [giggles] · [sigh] · [gasps] · [gulps] · [crying] · [clears throat] · [light chuckle]

hashtag
Delivery

[whispers] · [shouts] · [quietly] · [loudly] · [rushed] · [drawn out] · [dramatic tone]

hashtag
Accents

Switch accents without changing voice.

[American accent] · [British accent] · [French accent] · [Southern US accent] · [strong Russian accent] · [strong X accent]

hashtag
Characters

[pirate voice] · [old man voice] · [robot voice]

hashtag
Multi-character dialogue

[interrupting] · [overlapping]

hashtag
Pauses

ElevenLabs does not support explicit pause durations. Pause length is inferred from context, tags, and punctuation:

Write this
Effect

[pause]

Dramatic silence (model decides length)

...

Hesitant trailing pause

—

Short, sharp pause

ALL CAPS

Emphasis on the word

New paragraph

Clear pause + intonation reset

hashtag
Tips

  • Tags work best when they match the text. "No... please [crying] don't go." works better than adding [crying] to neutral text.

  • Combine tags: [whispers][tense] or [hesitant][nervous].

  • The voice you choose matters — a calm voice won't shout well, and a hyped voice won't whisper well.

  • Use Creative or Natural stability for best tag responsiveness. Robust is more consistent but less expressive.

  • Prompts under ~250 characters may produce inconsistent results. Longer is better.

hashtag
MiniMax

MiniMax uses parenthetical sound tags in your prompt and a separate emotion selector in Morphic's UI.

hashtag
Emotion

Select the emotion from the dropdown when generating. This sets the overall tone of the entire output.

Emotion
Effect

Auto

Model reads the text and picks the best emotion (default)

Happy

Upbeat, positive

Sad

Downcast, melancholic

Angry

Forceful, aggressive

Fearful

Anxious, scared

Disgusted

Repulsed, averse

Surprised

Startled, astonished

Calm

Relaxed, serene

Fluent

Clean, broadcast-style — ideal for news or technical narration

Neutral

No emotional bias

hashtag
Sound tags

Add non-verbal sounds directly in your prompt using parentheses. These are preset only — only the tags listed below are supported.

Tag
Tag
Tag

(laughs)

(chuckle)

(coughs)

(clear-throat)

(groans)

(breath)

(pant)

(inhale)

(exhale)

(gasps)

(sniffs)

(sighs)

(snorts)

(burps)

(lip-smacking)

(humming)

(hissing)

(emm)

(whistles)

(sneezes)

(crying)

(applause)

(yawns)

Unlike ElevenLabs, you cannot invent custom tags. Writing (nervous) or (jealous) won't work — the model will speak them as text. Use the emotion selector for emotional tone.

hashtag
Pauses

Insert timed silences using <#x#> where x is seconds (0.01–99.99).

hashtag
Tips

  • Use sound tags sparingly — too many can sound unnatural.

  • Set emotion to Auto for most cases. Override manually when you need consistent tone across long text.

  • Punctuation matters — commas and periods guide the model's pacing and intonation.

Last updated