Choosing a voice

Also called Voice selection, Picking a synthetic voice, TTS voice

A voice is part of who a person is. How to find one that fits their age, accent and gender, and why the person, not the carer, gets the final say.

What it is

Every talking device speaks with a synthetic voice, and most devices offer several. Choosing a voice means picking the one the person will be heard in, in shops, in class, on the phone, for years. It is one of the most personal settings on the device and one of the most often left at the default.

The choice is about identity as much as clarity. A nine-year-old girl from Leeds should not have to speak in the voice of a middle-aged man from California because that was the first one on the list.

Who it can help

Anyone who uses a speech-generating device, at any age. It matters most at moments of change: a first device, a move from child to adult services, a new school, or a change in how the person sees themselves. Teenagers in particular often want a different voice from the one chosen for them at six.

It also matters for people losing their own speech. Someone with motor neurone disease or facing a laryngectomy may be able to record their own voice first; see voice banking and message banking. That is a different route and a time-limited one, so ask early.

How it works

The voices come from the operating system of the phone, tablet or computer, not usually from the app. iOS, Android, macOS and Windows each ship a set of voices in British English, and more can be downloaded from the device's settings, often in higher quality than the defaults. An app that uses the device's voices (the Talk board does) will list whatever is installed, so installing a better voice in the settings makes it appear in the app.

Three things are adjustable on almost every device: which voice, how fast it speaks, and how high or low it sounds. Speed is worth trying first; the default is often slower than the person wants, and a faster voice reads as more confident. Pitch shifts an adult voice a little younger or older. See voice speed and pitch.

Try the voice in a real room, at a real distance, before deciding. Some voices that sound fine to the ear at the screen become mush across a classroom.

Getting started

This week, sit with the person and play the same sentence in every voice on the device. Let them react. If they cannot say which they prefer, watch for the one they lean towards or replay. Then set that voice and leave it unless they want it changed.

Go into the device's accessibility or text-to-speech settings and download the higher-quality British English voices. On most systems this is a free download and takes minutes.

Review the choice once a year, and always at a transition. A voice chosen at six is not a life sentence.

Where to get help

Communication Matters and the ACE Centre both advise on device set-up including voices. For voice banking before speech is lost, the MND Association has a clear route. AbilityNet publishes free guides to the accessibility settings on each operating system.