How to Add Multiple Text-to-Speech on TikTok

Adding a single text-to-speech voice to your TikTok is easy, but layering multiple distinct voices to create conversations, skits, or dynamic narration is how you really make your content stand out. This guide breaks down the simple but powerful trick of using multiple text-to-speech voices in a single video. We'll cover everything from the basics to advanced tips for creating compelling audio narratives without saying a word yourself.

Why Use Multiple Text-to-Speech Voices on TikTok?

Before jumping into the "how," let's touch on the "why." Adding more than one computer-generated voice might seem like a small detail, but it unlocks a huge range of creative possibilities that can significantly boost your video's performance and audience engagement.

• Create Engaging Dialogue and Skits: You can stage a full conversation between two or more "characters" without needing other people or doing complicated voice-over work. Think of funny skits between your pets, inanimate objects, or different sides of your own personality.
• Enhance Storytelling: Use one voice for the main narrator and another for character quotes, thoughts, or punchlines. This separation makes your story clearer and more dynamic, helping hold your viewer's attention from beginning to end.
• Add Emphasis and Tone: You can use a standard voice for informational parts of your video and switch to a more energetic or dramatic voice to emphasize a key point or a shocking reveal. It's an audio version of using bold text.
• Improve Accessibility: Giving different pieces of on-screen information distinct voices helps viewers, including those with visual impairments, follow along more easily. It differentiates between speakers or topics, making your content more organized and accessible.

The Foundation: Adding Your First Text-to-Speech Voice

If you're new to the text-to-speech feature, let's do a quick refresher. You can't use multiple voices until you've mastered adding one. Fortunately, it only takes a few seconds.

1. Record or upload your video clip into the TikTok editor.
2. Tap the "Text" tool (the "Aa" icon) in the right-hand editing menu.
3. Type out the text you want to be read aloud.
4. With the text box on your screen, tap the icon of a person speaking (it says "Text-to-speech").
5. Browse through the available voices and tap to preview them. Once you find one you like, tap "Done."

That's it. TikTok will now generate the audio and play it when that text appears on screen. Now, let's build on that foundation to add our second, third, and fourth voices.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Adding Multiple Text-to-Speech Voices

The secret to using multiple text-to-speech voices in one video isn't hidden in some secret menu. It all comes down to mastering one feature: "Set duration." This tool allows you to control exactly when each piece of text appears and disappears, which is the key to timing your different synthesized voices.

Follow these steps carefully. We'll create a simple two-voice conversation.

Step 1: Record Your Video &, Add the First Line of Dialogue

Start as you normally would. Record your video or upload it from your camera roll. Once you're in the editing screen, tap the "Text" icon. Type out the first character's line. For our example, let's type:

"Should we do it?"

Step 2: Assign the First Voice

Tap your text to select it, then tap the "Text-to-speech" icon. Select a voice for your first character. Let’s pick the voice known as "Jessie." Tap "Done." You'll now hear Jessie reading your first line.

Step 3: Set the Duration for the First Text/Voice

Here comes the most important step. Tap on your text box again. This will bring up a small menu with options like "Edit," "Text-to-speech," and "Set duration." Tap "Set duration."

This opens a timeline editor at the bottom of your screen showing your video clip and a red bar representing your text. Drag the ends of this red bar so it only covers the portion of the video where you want this first line to be heard. For a quick back-and-forth conversation, you probably want it to last just 2-3 seconds.

Once you are happy with the timing, tap the checkmark in the bottom-right corner.

Step 4: Add and Position the Second Line of Dialogue

Great. Now tap the "Text" icon again to add your second line of dialogue from a different character. For our example, type:

"Absolutely. Let's go."

You can move this text box to a different part of the screen to visually separate the two speakers. You can also give it a different color or font style.

Step 5: Assign the Second Voice

Tap your new text box to select it. Don't forget this step! Then, tap the "Text-to-speech" icon once more. This time, choose a different voice. Let's pick the deep voice, "Serious." Tap "Done."

Now, when you play the video, you'll probably hear both voices talking over each other. Don't worry, we'll fix that next.

Step 6: Set the Duration for the Second Text/Voice

Just like before, tap your second text box and select "Set duration."

In the timeline editor, you'll see the red bar for your first text block in its place. Drag the handles of the timeline for your new text block so it starts right after the first one ends. Make sure there's no overlap between the two.

Tap the checkmark. Now play your video back. You should hear "Jessie" say the first line, which then disappears, followed by "Serious" delivering the second line. You’ve successfully created a two-voice dialogue!

You can repeat this process as many times as you want, layering in additional voices to build out scenes, arguments, or entire short stories.

Advanced Tips and Creative Strategies

Once you've mastered the basic technique, you can elevate your content with some more advanced strategies.

Think Like a Screenwriter

Give your characters consistent voices across your videos. If your dog "speaks" with the "Trickster" voice in one video, keep using it. This builds a recognizable personality that your audience will connect with. A consistent 'narrator' voice can also give your content a signature style.

Master Your Pacing

Natural conversation isn't instantaneous. Leave tiny gaps (0.2-0.5 seconds) between your text durations to create a more realistic comedic or dramatic pause. Go back into the "Set duration" editor for each text block and finely tune the start and end points until the rhythm feels perfect.

Blend TTS with Your Own Voice

Record a video with your own voiceover narration and use TTS to voice the internal monologue of a subject in your video. For example, if you're filming a "day in the life" video, use your voice to explain what you're doing, and add a TTS thought bubble above your head with a different voice commenting on the situation.

Combine TTS With Trending Sounds

Your multi-voice dialogue doesn't have to be the only audio. You can still add a trending song or sound in the background. Simply go to the "Sounds" menu and add your music. Then, tap "Volume" and lower the "Added sound" so it's faint enough not to overpower your dialogue. This can give your scene a more cinematic feel.

Common Problems and How to Fix Them

Sometimes things don't go perfectly on the first try. Here are the most common issues and how to solve them.

• The voices are overlapping.
  This is the most frequent issue and it almost always means the durations are off. Tap on each piece of text individually, select "Set duration," and carefully check your timeline. Make sure the red bars for each piece of text are sequential and do not overlap at all, not even by a fraction of a second.
• The text disappears before the voice is finished speaking.
  This is another duration problem. The length of the red bar in the "Set duration" editor controls both how long the text is visible and how long the audio clip plays. If you make the duration too short, it will cut the voice off. Just go back into the editor and extend the duration until the full line is read.
• I can't find a specific voice I've heard others use.
  TikTok frequently adds, removes, and changes the available text-to-speech voices. Availability can also vary by region and the language your device is set to. If you can't find a specific voice, try updating your app or experimenting with the ones that are available to you.

Final Thoughts

Layering multiple text-to-speech voices is a powerful storytelling tool that transforms simple videos into captivating skits and narratives. The key is mastering the "Set duration" feature to precisely control the timing of each text and voice clip, ensuring they play one after another instead of all at once.

Nailing these creative editing techniques is one piece of the puzzle, but consistently creating, scheduling, and publishing your content is how you really build a following. When we were developing Postbase, we were obsessed with creating a platform that’s as modern and video-focused as TikTok itself. Our visual content calendar lets you plan out your complex videos and see how they fit alongside your content for every other platform, while our reliable scheduling ensures your videos actually go live when they're supposed to - no more posts mysteriously failing to publish.