### Answer To make the voice sound more enthusiastic at certain parts, you have several options: 1. Enable Expressive Mode Set

enable_expressive_mode

to

true

and include

"excited"

in the

expressive_emotion_tags

array [(1) ]() [(2) ]() [(3) ]() . This allows the agent to add expressive voice tags to the audio it generates:

javascript
{
  "enable_expressive_mode": true,
  "expressive_emotion_tags": [
    "excited",
    "happy",
    "empathetic"
  ]
}

2. Customize Expressive Guidance Use

expressive_mode_prompt

to provide custom instructions on when to use the

[excited]

tag :

javascript
{
  "expressive_mode_prompt": "Use [excited] when sharing good news or positive updates."
}

3. Set Voice Emotion For supported TTS providers (Cartesia and Minimax) , you can set the overall

voice_emotion

to

"happy"

to create a more upbeat tone :

javascript
{
  "voice_emotion": "happy"
}

The expressive mode approach gives you the most control, as the agent can dynamically insert enthusiasm markers like

[excited]

or

[happy]

at appropriate moments in the conversation based on context .

​ To learn more, see the sources I considered: [[1] Create Voice Agent](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/create-agent) [[2] Create Draft Agent Version](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/create-agent-version) [[3] Get Voice Agent](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/get-agent) ​

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

### Answer You can find the Expressive Mode setting in two places: In the Dashboard: 1. Open the voice selector in your agent [(1) ]() 2. Pick a platform voice (Expressive Mode is unavailable for custom or third-party voices) 3. Switch on the Expressive mode toggle 4. Choose the emotions the agent is allowed to use under Auto emotion tags Via API: When creating or updating an agent, use the

enable_expressive_mode

parameter [(2) ]() [(3) ]() :

javascript
{
  "enable_expressive_mode": true,
  "expressive_emotion_tags": [
    "empathetic",
    "excited",
    "sigh",
    "clear throat",
    "emphasis"
  ],
  "expressive_mode_prompt": "Use [sigh] for thoughtful pauses and [excited] for good news."
}

[(2) ]() , [(3) ]() The

enable_expressive_mode

is the master toggle - when set to

true

, the agent may add expressive voice tags to the audio it generates [(2) ]() [(3) ]() . You can then select specific emotion tags from options like

empathetic

,

excited

,

happy

,

curious

,

surprised

,

sigh

,

clear throat

,

pause

,

long pause

, and

emphasis

.

​ To learn more, see the sources I considered: [[1] Expressive Mode: add emotion and emphasis to agent speech](https://docs.retellai.com/build/expressive-mode) [[2] Update Voice Agent](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/update-agent) [[3] Get Agent Versions](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/get-agent-versions) ​

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

### Answer To make your welcome message sound warmer and more enthusiastic, you can place expressive tags directly in your welcome node text [(1) ]() . Update your welcome message to:

[happy] Thank you for calling NVISION Eye Centers. This is Emma at the front desk. How can I help you today?

The

[happy]

tag will be spoken with a happy delivery and shapes the audio without being read aloud literally . The tag is removed from the spoken text and doesn't appear in the transcript . Additional options: You can also use

[excited]

for even more enthusiasm, or combine tags strategically:

[happy] Thank you for calling NVISION Eye Centers. This is [emphasis] Emma at the front desk. How can I help you today?

Make sure Expressive Mode is enabled on your agent (toggle it on in the voice selector for platform voices) , and consider adding

happy

and

excited

to your Auto emotion tags . For the welcome specifically, manually placing the tag gives you precise control over that first impression .

​ To learn more, see the sources I considered: [[1] Expressive Mode: add emotion and emphasis to agent speech](https://docs.retellai.com/build/expressive-mode) ​

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

### Answer Based on the available sources, if

[happy]

didn't have much effect, you can try these alternative expressive tags for your welcome message [(1) ]() : More energetic options: -

[excited]

- For a more enthusiastic delivery -

[emphasis]

- To stress specific words that matter Example combinations:

[excited] Thank you for calling NVISION Eye Centers. This is Emma at the front desk. How can I help you today?

Or place emphasis on key words:

[happy] Thank you for calling NVISION Eye Centers. This is [emphasis] Emma at the front desk. How can I help you today?

Available emotion tags include: [(1) ]() [(2) ]() [(3) ]() [(4) ]() -

empathetic

-

excited

-

happy

-

curious

-

surprised

Tips for better results: [(1) ]() - Pick a small set of tags that matches your use case rather than enabling everything - Make sure you've enabled Expressive Mode and selected your preferred tags in the Auto emotion tags setting - The agent uses tags sparingly and only when they fit, so

[excited]

might give you the warmer tone you're looking for

​ To learn more, see the sources I considered: [[1] Expressive Mode: add emotion and emphasis to agent speech](https://docs.retellai.com/build/expressive-mode) [[2] Get Voice Agent](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/get-agent) [[3] Update Voice Agent](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/update-agent) [[4] Create Voice Agent](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/create-agent) ​

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