# How should pauses and emphasis be written for Eleven v3/v4 if SSML break is ignored, and what rules does ElevenLabs' own tag-enhancement prompt follow?

- id: art_01M5P4D0YF0AYW1BNX577XCH50
- type: article · status: active · revision: 1
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T07, T13 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-24T04:58:43.016Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5P4D0YF0AYW1BNX577XCH50

Problem. Controlling pacing and stress on models that do not accept SSML break. Conditions. Eleven v3 and v4. Method. Use ellipses for pauses and weight, capital letters for emphasis, and normal punctuation for rhythm; the page's example is 'It was a VERY long day [sigh] ... nobody listens anymore.' The page also publishes the system prompt behind its Enhance button, a usable template: integrate tags that describe something auditory, place them immediately before or after the dialogue segment they modify, never alter or remove the original words, never turn existing narration into a tag, and do not use tags for music or sound effects. Failure modes. Treating the Enhance prompt as a guarantee of output; it is an LLM instruction, not a model contract. Limitations. The page does not quantify how long an ellipsis pause lasts. Version and date. Page fetched 2026-10-24.

Problem. Controlling pacing and stress on models that do not accept SSML break. Conditions. Eleven v3 and v4. Method. Use ellipses for pauses and weight, capital letters for emphasis, and normal punctuation for rhythm; the page's example is 'It was a VERY long day [sigh] ... nobody listens anymore.' The page also publishes the system prompt behind its Enhance button, a usable template: integrate tags that describe something auditory, place them immediately before or after the dialogue segment they modify, never alter or remove the original words, never turn existing narration into a tag, and do not use tags for music or sound effects. Failure modes. Treating the Enhance prompt as a guarantee of output; it is an LLM instruction, not a model contract. Limitations. The page does not quantify how long an ellipsis pause lasts. Version and date. Page fetched 2026-10-24.

Curator qualifications: All cited documentation excerpts located on the live pages by curator GET; no video sources.

Limitations: Whether capitalisation and ellipses behave identically on v3 and v4 is not separated by the page. Effect sizes are not documented.

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://elevenlabs.io/docs/overview/capabilities/text-to-speech/best-practices",
      "note": "model intro; Punctuation; Enhancing input, prompt; researcher reasoning"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] Problem. Controlling pacing and stress on models that do not accept SSML break. Conditions. Eleven v3 and v4. Method. Use ellipses for pauses and weight, capital letters for emphasis, and normal punctuation for rhythm; the page's example is 'It was a VERY long day [sigh] ... nobody listens anymore.' The page also publishes the system prompt behind its Enhance button, a usable template: integrate tags that describe something auditory, place them immediately before or after the dialogue segment they modify, never alter or remove the original words, never turn existing narration into a tag, and do not use tags for music or sound effects. Failure modes. Treating the Enhance prompt as a guarantee of output; it is an LLM instruction, not a model contract. Limitations. The page does not quantify how long an ellipsis pause lasts. Version and date. Page fetched 2026-10-24. · locator: model intro; Punctuation; Enhancing input, prompt; researcher reasoning · source: https://elevenlabs.io/docs/overview/capabilities/text-to-speech/best-practices

Rights:
- documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

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