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We are excited to announce the launch of updated product names, logos, and headers within our user interfaces as part of the CivicPlus® Solution Rebranding initiative. These changes mark the first step toward creating a cohesive and seamless user experience across all solutions in our portfolio. As part of this transition, users may notice minor design updates. While the functionality you rely on remains unchanged, we are in the process of updating screenshots and other resources on our Help Centers to reflect the new branding. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to complete these updates.

Text-to-Speech Best Practices for Internal and Public Alerts

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Text-to-Speech is rendered, or performed, by a computer. To get the best quality text-to-speech conversion, it helps to know some basic best practices for message creation. This article talks about best practices to make sure your internal and public alerts are easy to understand.

 

Important Notes

  • Punctuation and spelling have the most significant impact on any text-to-speech conversion.
  • We recommend that you send test messages to yourself to preview any voice messages that will use text-to-speech.
  • Voice messages should not exceed 30 seconds to 1 minute in length.

 

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Introductions & Conclusions

Always include an introduction at the beginning of your message and a conclusion at the end. This gives authority to your message.

 

Example:

  • Message beginning: "This message is from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office."
  • Message ending: "This concludes this message from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office."

 

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Grammar & Punctuation

Use clear, short, and complete sentences that are well-formed, and avoid abbreviations if possible. Use a single space to separate words. To end a sentence, use a period, question mark, or exclamation point followed by one space.

 

Example:

  • Height: Instead of 5’10”, type 5 feet 10 inches or 5 ft. 10 in.
  • Time: If you need to include a time, format 3:00 pm or 3 pm, not 3:00

 

Use correct spelling, unless you are doing it for phonetic reasons.

 

Use extra spaces, commas, and semicolons to slow down the message or create a pause between words or letters (such as license plate numbers or phone numbers).

 

Example:

  • H C 9 3 7 5 or H,C,9,3,7,5

 

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Web Addresses

Use commas and spaces to ensure website addresses are pronounced correctly.

 

Example:

  • www.alertsense.com looks like w w w dot alert sense dot com

  • To include pauses: w,w,w,dot,alert.sense,dot,com

 

Note: If there are web addresses that will appear in your voice messages frequently, you should use the Custom Pronunciation feature to add those web addresses to the Pronunciation Table so that text-to-speech will convert it and say it correctly automatically.

 

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Pronunciation

Some proper names, places, cities, states, or locations might be mispronounced or may be pronounced differently in your area than how the computer does it. In those instances, you may need to insert a phonetic spelling instead.

 

Example:

  • In the town of Bellefontaine, Ohio, for instance, the locals say it as BELL-FOWN-TIN, not BELLY-FON-TANE or Owyhee would be O Y hee.

 

Note: If there are common words that might be mispronounced in your area, you should use the Custom Pronunciation feature to add those words to the Pronunciation Table so that when a word is typed correctly, text-to-speech will convert it and say it correctly automatically.

 

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Phone Numbers

Phone numbers should be typed in a 10-digit format, including parentheses or dashes. This way, the number is read properly.

 

Example:

  • (208) 639-6770 or separately such as 208-639-6770

 

911 needs to be spaced out as 9 1 1 with spaces between each number.

 

Note: If there are phone numbers that will appear in your voice messages frequently, you should use the Custom Pronunciation feature to add those phone numbers to the Pronunciation Table so that text-to-speech will convert it and say it correctly automatically.

 

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Other Suggestions

The text-to-speech process can be made easier by creating pre-defined templates for common emergencies or notifications that contain the main parts of the message, requiring a small customization based on the incident, before they are sent.

 

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Resources

 

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