Hi! I’m running into a critical issue with my outbound phone agent using GPT-4.1 and ElevenLabs custom professional voice clone. After the user confirms their name, the agent is reading through the entire script without pausing or giving the user a chance to respond — even though I’ve included directives and SSML breaks like and ellipses (...). Here’s what I’m trying to accomplish: • I want the agent to treat my prompt structure as a guide — not a block of dialogue to read straight through. • The script is designed with psychology-backed copy, so I use phrasing intentionally. That said, I want dynamic conversation flow, where the assistant waits after each sentence or question for the user to respond. • I know the ~ symbol makes the agent say the line verbatim. I’ve used it for key entry lines but now suspect it might be forcing the entire section to read without checking for user input. What I’ve tried so far: • Inserted after key lines. • Used tags and ellipses. • Added pacing reminders in the system prompt. • Enabled SSML parsing for ElevenLabs through Postman (which works for audio tone/pauses but not logic flow). Key question: How can I structure the script (or split it up) so that GPT-4.1 waits for user input after each response-required sentence, and doesn’t rush through the full script? Here’s a sample snippet of the script for reference: ~ “Hi {first-name}, this is Leo Wood, Broker-Owner over at Dream Realestate. Thanks so much for taking my call — do you have a quick couple of minutes to chat?” “Awesome! Well, the reason I’m reaching out is because I’m looking to grow our team, but I’m really focused on finding the right people — and based on what I’ve seen from you, I think there’s a good chance we might be a great fit.” Thanks

Try removing the "~" symbol from your script Based on multiple user reports, the "~" symbol (which makes the agent speak verbatim) may be preventing your agent from pausing for user input. Try this modified version of your script:

"Hi {first-name}, this is Leo Wood, Broker-Owner over at Dream Realestate. Thanks so much for taking my call — do you have a quick couple of minutes to chat?" <wait for user response>

If removing the "~" doesn't work, consider adjusting the

numWordsToInterruptAssistant

and

maxDurationSeconds

parameters to control the AI's pacing and waiting time. Sources: - [Discord Channel](https://discord.com/channels/1211482211119796234/1327662627882795059) - [Discord Channel](https://discord.com/channels/1211482211119796234/1334027136305991750)

Still need help from users that have had this issue ): I did all that, removing the ~ line

Remove the ~ symbols, use SSML for pauses, and implement conditional logic in Vapi to control conversational flow.