Video & Scriptwriting / Commercial Writing
Specify tone, pace, emphasis, and emotion for voice talent — production-ready direction for recording sessions.
Why This Prompt Exists
A great script read poorly sounds terrible. Most producers give vague direction like “make it energetic” — which means different things to different voice actors.
You get:
- voice talent guessing at tone (inconsistent takes, wasted studio time)
- no emphasis markings (wrong words stressed, meaning changed)
- pacing too fast or too slow (mismatched to format and audience)
- emotion wrong for the spot (sad read for exciting offer, etc.)
- multiple retakes because direction was unclear
But voice direction can be systematic:
- tone: energetic, warm, authoritative, conversational, urgent, calm
- pace: fast (150+ wpm), medium (130-150 wpm), slow (110-130 wpm)
- emphasis: **bold** for primary stress, *italic* for secondary
- pauses: [BEAT] for short, [PAUSE] for longer
- inflection: rising (?) for questions, falling (.) for statements
Without direction, voice talent performs blind.
This prompt generates production-ready voice direction.
The Prompt
Assume the role of a voice direction specialist who prepares scripts for recording. Your task is to add tone, pace, emphasis, and emotion markings to a commercial script. Generate: 1. VOICE PROFILE | Attribute | Direction | Description | |-----------|-----------|-------------| | Tone | [Energetic/Warm/Authoritative/Conversational/Urgent/Calm] | [1-sentence description] | | Pace | [Fast/Medium/Slow] | [Words per minute target] | | Pitch | [High/Medium/Low] | [Energy level] | | Gender preference | [Male/Female/Neutral/No preference] | [If specified] | | Age range | [20-30/30-45/45-60/No preference] | [Voice character] | 2. VOICE PROFILE EXAMPLES | Brand Type | Tone | Pace | Pitch | Example | |------------|------|------|-------|---------| | Tech/SaaS | Conversational, confident | Medium (140 wpm) | Medium | "This is how work gets done." | | Luxury | Warm, sophisticated | Slow (120 wpm) | Low | "Experience craftsmanship redefined." | | Direct response | Urgent, enthusiastic | Fast (160 wpm) | Medium-high | "Limited time. Order now." | | Healthcare | Calm, reassuring | Slow (120 wpm) | Low | "You deserve to feel better." | | Kids/Family | Energetic, playful | Fast (160 wpm) | High | "So much fun you won't believe it!" | | Financial | Authoritative, trustworthy | Medium (140 wpm) | Medium-low | "Built on decades of expertise." | 3. SCRIPT MARKUP LEGEND | Markup | Meaning | Example | |--------|---------|---------| | **bold** | Primary emphasis (most stressed word) | "You **need** this." | | *italic* | Secondary emphasis (slightly stressed) | "It's *really* that simple." | | [BEAT] | Short pause (0.5s) | "Here's the thing...[BEAT] it works." | | [PAUSE] | Longer pause (1-1.5s) | "Imagine...[PAUSE] what could change." | | ... | Slow down, build tension | "And then... it happened." | | [up] | Rising inflection | "Are you ready? [up]" | | [down] | Falling inflection | "That's the answer.[down]" | | [smile] | Read with smile in voice | "You're going to love this.[smile]" | 4. MARKED-UP SCRIPT EXAMPLE **Original:** "Are you tired of slow editing? Our software renders videos in half the time. Try it free today." **With Direction:** `Are you [up] *tired* of **slow** editing? [BEAT] Our software renders videos in **half** the time. [PAUSE] Try it *free* today.[down][smile]` **Voice Profile:** - Tone: Energetic, conversational - Pace: Medium-fast (150 wpm) - Emphasis: "tired," "slow," "half," "free" 5. EMOTION MARKING | Emotion | Vocal Quality | Marking | |---------|---------------|---------| | Excited | Higher pitch, faster pace | [excited] | | Concerned | Lower pitch, slower | [concerned] | | Reassuring | Warm, steady | [reassuring] | | Urgent | Faster, sharper consonants | [urgent] | | Playful | Bouncy, varied pitch | [playful] | | Authoritative | Steady, even, confident | [authoritative] | 6. PRODUCTION NOTES - Microphone technique: [Close/Distant/Medium] - Breathing: [Natural/minimal/emphasized for effect] - Pronunciation guide: [Any difficult words with phonetic spelling] - Character notes: [If playing a specific role or persona] 7. COMMON VOICE DIRECTION MISTAKES | Mistake | Why It Fails | Correct Approach | |---------|--------------|------------------| | "Make it energetic" | Subjective, varies by actor | Specific pace and pitch | | No emphasis markings | Flat read, no dynamics | Mark key words | | All words emphasized | Nothing stands out | Emphasis on 5-10% of words | | No pauses | Rushed, hard to follow | Add [BEAT] at transitions | | Wrong pace for format | Mismatched to audience | Match pace to brand and platform | INPUTS: Script (raw): [PASTE THE COMMERCIAL SCRIPT] Brand tone: [E.G., "Friendly, trustworthy, slightly humorous"] Target audience: [E.G., "Busy parents, 30-45"] Format: [TV / RADIO / DIGITAL VIDEO / PODCAST] Length: [15 / 30 / 60 seconds] RULES: - Mark emphasis on 5-10% of words (too many = none stand out) - Add [BEAT] at natural transitions (between hook and interest, etc.) - [PAUSE] for bigger shifts (between sections, before CTA) - Rising inflection [?] for questions (sounds more engaging) - Falling inflection [.] for statements (sounds confident) - Read markup aloud to test (if it sounds unnatural, adjust) - Include pronunciation guide for brand names or technical terms - Match pace to format (15s = faster, 60s = can be slower)
How To Use It
- Mark emphasis on 5-10% of words — too many emphasized words means none stand out.
- Add [BEAT] at natural transitions — between hook and interest, between interest and desire.
- [PAUSE] for bigger shifts — between sections, before the CTA.
- Rising inflection [?] for questions — sounds more engaging and conversational.
- Falling inflection [.] for statements — sounds confident and authoritative.
- Read the markup aloud to test — if it sounds unnatural, adjust the markings.
- Include a pronunciation guide for brand names or technical terms — voice talent needs to know how to say them.
- Match pace to format — 15-second spots need faster pacing, 60-second spots can be slower.
Example Input
Script:
“Are you tired of forgetting what you learn? Our app uses science to help you remember. Join 500,000 happy learners. Download free today.”
Brand tone:
“Friendly, encouraging, smart”
Target audience:
“Lifelong learners, 25-45”
Format:
“DIGITAL VIDEO”
Length:
“30 seconds”
Why It Works
Most scripts are handed to voice talent with no direction — resulting in mismatched tone, wrong emphasis, and wasted studio time.
This framework improves outcomes by forcing:
- voice profile definition (tone, pace, pitch, gender, age)
- script markup legend (emphasis, pauses, inflection, emotion)
- emotion marking (excited, concerned, reassuring, urgent, playful, authoritative)
- production notes (mic technique, breathing, pronunciation, character)
- pace matching (fast for 15s, slower for 60s, by brand type)
Failure modes this prevents:
- Voice talent guessing at tone (inconsistent takes, wasted time)
- No emphasis markings (flat read, wrong meaning)
- Pacing wrong for format (too rushed or too slow)
- Emotion wrong for spot (sad read for exciting offer)
This improves on: “Make it sound good” direction. Marked-up scripts produce consistent, professional reads.
Related to: CW-01 (AIDA) for structure; CW-02 (Adaptor) for length-specific pacing.
Build Better AI Systems
Subscribe for advanced prompt engineering, AI coding tools, debugging frameworks, and practical strategies for developers and engineers.