Voice Direction and Audio Tags control different parts of a performance.
Voice Direction uses natural language to shape the overall delivery: emotion, intent, pace, energy, emphasis, and speaking style.
Audio Tags place a specific vocal action or non-speech event at an exact point in the script: a sigh before an admission, a gasp after a discovery, or a laugh at the end of a line.
Use Voice Direction to explain the performance. Use Audio Tags to mark where a particular event should happen.
Voice Direction sets the performance; Audio Tags set the position
Consider this Voice Direction:
Speak with exhausted relief, as if reassuring someone after running to safety.
Then place the physical events in the script:
(gasps) I'm okay... (breathing heavily) Just give me a second. I made it.Listen: (gasps) and (breathing heavily)
The natural-language direction explains why the speaker sounds exhausted and relieved. (gasps) and (breathing heavily) specify exactly where those events occur.
A tag does not define the full emotional meaning by itself. The same (sighs) event might express relief, frustration, boredom, grief, or contentment depending on the Voice Direction and surrounding words.
Use the exact documented Audio Tag
For English speech, supported Audio Tags use exact documented forms such as:
I thought you had forgotten. (sighs) I'm glad you're here.Do not rewrite (sighs) as (sigh), [sighs], or a synonym. Audio Tags are exact control tokens, not free-form descriptions. Use the official Audio Tags documentation to find the complete supported list and copy the exact form required for your language.
Place the tag where the event should happen
Position changes how the listener interprets a line. Place tags at natural performance boundaries. Punctuation can create space for the voice to breathe, react, or change state.
Before the words
(sighs) Fine. I'll do it myself.Listen: sigh before the words
The sigh frames the sentence as reluctant or exhausted.
Between two thoughts
I knew the signal would return. (sighs) I just didn't expect it to call my name.Listen: sigh between two thoughts
The sigh becomes a transition.
After the line
Of course I remembered your birthday. (chuckles)Listen: chuckle after the line
The reaction changes how the previous claim is understood.
Use Voice Direction for the whole passage
Tags such as (whispers), (shouts), (screams), and (stutters) mark local events. If the entire passage should be tense, whispered, excited, or restrained, describe that in Voice Direction.
For example:
Voice Direction
Begin with tense, controlled narration. At the whisper, pull the listener closer and make the discovery feel dangerous to say aloud.
Script
I checked every room. (whispers) The door was already open.Listen: direction plus (whispers)
The instruction shapes the whole scene; (whispers) anchors the exact transition.
Use only the events the scene needs
Too many tags can make the performance feel mechanical.
Overloaded:
(gasps) I made it. (breathing heavily) I told you I would. (sighs) We're safe. (laughs)More focused:
(gasps) I made it. I told you I would. We're safe.Let Voice Direction carry the continuing emotional and physical state. Add another Audio Tag only when a new event needs a precise position.
The writing should also match the body. A gasping speaker will usually sound more natural with shorter phrases and clear breathing space:
(gasps) I ran from the station... The message went to the wrong address. I had to stop you.Audio Tags in other languages
This guide focuses on English Audio Tags. Other supported languages can use different localized tag words and syntax.
Do not translate an English tag yourself or assume that the English parentheses format applies. Copy the exact tag required for the spoken language from the official Audio Tags documentation, and place it where the event belongs naturally in that language's sentence.
If a tag does not work as expected
First confirm that the tag exactly matches the documented English spelling and parentheses. Then test it in a short sentence at a clear punctuation boundary.
If the event happens too early or too late, move the tag closer to the intended phrase and adjust the punctuation around it. If the result feels exaggerated or mechanical, remove extra tags and let Voice Direction carry more of the performance.
Audio Tags work best as precise positional controls. Direct the scene in natural language, then use the exact English tag to place the laugh, breath, pause, or reaction where the listener should hear it.