How to Add Pauses to Your Script

Learn the correct way to add pauses and breaks in your hypnosis scripts for predictable, professional audio pacing.

5 min read|pausesbreaksnotationformattingessentialbeginner

How to Add Pauses to Your Script — walkthrough

Prerequisites

•Basic understanding of the script editor
•An existing or new script to edit

Step-by-Step Guide

Understanding Pause Cues

Hypnothera uses bracket cues for pauses across web and mobile. Use [break] for a short pause and [long-break] for a longer pause. These cues are interpreted during audio generation.

Using the Pause Tool

The easiest way to add pauses is the 'Pause' tool in the section toolbar (beneath the section text, alongside Tone and Cue). Place your cursor where you want the pause, then use it to insert a [break] or [long-break] cue. Inserted cues show up as small pills inline in your text.

Use Bracket Cues

Always write pauses as [break] or [long-break] in your script. Legacy tags like <break time="3s" /> are still recognized for older scripts, but new editing should use bracket cues.

Emotion and Tone Cues

You can also add emotion and tone cues such as [calm], [relaxed], [empathetic], [soft tone], or [whispering]. Sentence-level cues usually work best near the beginning of the sentence they should affect.

What Does NOT Work for Pauses

Common mistakes that will NOT create reliable pauses: 1) Ellipsis (...) - these create unpredictable, inconsistent pauses. 2) New lines or blank lines - these are ignored by the text-to-speech system. 3) Multiple spaces - these are also ignored. 4) Dashes or double-dashes (--) - while Fix notation can convert these, bracket cues are preferred.

Why Ellipsis Don't Work

Many users expect '...' to create pauses, but text-to-speech systems interpret ellipsis inconsistently. Sometimes it creates a tiny pause, sometimes a longer one, and sometimes no pause at all. This leads to audio that doesn't match your expectations. Use [break] instead for an explicit short pause.

Why New Lines Don't Work

Pressing Enter to create blank lines in your script does NOT create pauses in the audio. The text-to-speech system reads the text continuously regardless of line breaks. If you want a pause between paragraphs, add an explicit cue like [long-break].

Recommended Pause Durations

For hypnotherapy scripts: use [break] for brief pauses between phrases and [long-break] for transitions, deeper relaxation points, and moments where the listener needs time to imagine scenes.

Using Fix Notation

If you've already written a script with ellipsis, blank lines, old break tags, or parenthesis pause notation, use the 'Fix notation' button. This tool converts common pause styles to bracket cues and fixes other formatting issues. Review the changes before applying them.

Best Practices

Place pause cues after complete sentences or phrases. Use consistent cue choices for similar moments in your script. Don't overuse pauses - too many can make the audio feel disjointed. Test your script by generating audio and listening to ensure the pacing feels natural.

Tips & Best Practices

Use [break] for short pauses and [long-break] for deeper pauses
Never use ellipsis (...) if you want predictable pause timing
New lines and blank lines do NOT create pauses - always use bracket cues
The 'Fix notation' feature can convert your ellipsis to bracket pause cues
Use bracket cues for every voice
For deep relaxation moments, use [long-break]
Place pause cues after sentences, not in the middle of them
Listen to your generated audio to verify the pacing is correct

Troubleshooting

Problem: Pauses are inconsistent or unpredictable

Solution: You're likely using ellipsis (...) or legacy pause notation instead of bracket cues. Replace those pauses with [break] or [long-break], or use the 'Fix notation' button to do this automatically.

Problem: No pauses where I expected them

Solution: New lines, blank lines, and multiple spaces do NOT create pauses. Add explicit [break] or [long-break] cues where you want pauses.

Problem: Audio sounds rushed without enough pauses

Solution: Add [long-break] between major sections and after important suggestions. Use [break] for lighter phrase-level pauses.

Problem: Pause cues appear as spoken text in the audio

Solution: Use bracket cues exactly, such as [break], [long-break], [calm], or [whispering]. Avoid malformed cues or old provider-specific syntax.

Problem: I have too many ellipsis to convert manually

Solution: Use the 'Fix notation' button in the script editor. It will automatically find and convert ellipsis to bracket pause cues.