### Answer Thanks for flagging this. Community members have reported similar issues—the spaced dash method (

- -

) can sometimes cause unexpected sounds or words with certain TTS providers and voices. [(1) ]() The official documentation states that spaces around the dash are important for proper pausing behavior:

The number is 2 - 1 - 3 - 4

[(2) ]() For longer pauses, multiple dashes with double spaces between them are recommended:

The number is 2 - - - - 1 - - - - 3
// Notice the double spaces between the dashes

However, if you're experiencing random words being introduced, some workarounds community members have found helpful include: - Using SSML tags (if using ElevenLabs) :

<break time="1.0s" />

with a maximum of 3-3.5 seconds [(1) ]() - Wrapping in a

<speak>

tag or adjusting the prompt to use natural language pauses - Using a custom function that calls a webhook with a delay, which some users report works more reliably If the dash method continues to produce unexpected results, I'd recommend reporting this directly to the Retell AI team so they can investigate the behavior with your specific TTS provider and voice configuration.

​ To learn more, see the sources I considered: [[1] Inserting a pause in the converation](https://community.retellai.com/t/inserting-a-pause-in-the-converation/268) [[2] Add pause or read slowly](https://docs.retellai.com/build/add-pause) ​

Feel free to tag @AI Evy with additional questions. I also appreciate feedback, it helps me improve.