Delivery styles
MAI-Voice-2.1 emotions and speaking styles
MAI-Voice-2.1 changes delivery through the SSML mstts:express-as element. Each voice supports its own set of styles, and they fall into three families.
<speak version="1.0" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/10/synthesis" xmlns:mstts="http://www.w3.org/2001/mstts" xml:lang="en-US">
<voice name="en-US-Olivia:MAI-Voice-2.1">
<mstts:express-as style="whispering">Okay. Nobody move. I think I just heard something.</mstts:express-as>
</voice>
</speak>1. Emotions
The broadest family: 19 styles from joyful to jealous, plus performance modes like whispering, shouting and softvoice. Use these for characters, games, ads and storytelling. Write the line so it matches the emotion — punctuation and word choice still shape the read.
| Style | SSML value | Voices |
|---|---|---|
| Angry | angry | 28 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Emily, Harry, Ethan… |
| Confused | confused | 28 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Emily, Ethan, Harper… |
| Determined | determined | 24 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Ethan, Harper, Olivia… |
| Disgusted | disgusted | 23 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Emily, Harry, Ethan… |
| Embarrassed | embarrassed | 28 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Emily, Ethan, Harper… |
| Excited | excited | 36 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Emily, Ethan, Harper… |
| Fearful | fearful | 23 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Emily, Harry, Ethan… |
| Happy | happy | 28 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Emily, Ethan, Harper… |
| Hopeful | hopeful | 26 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Ethan, Harper, Olivia… |
| Jealous | jealous | 21 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Emily, Ethan, Olivia… |
| Joyful | joyful | 29 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Emily, Harry, Ethan… |
| Regretful | regretful | 25 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Ethan, Harper, Olivia… |
| Relieved | relieved | 24 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Ethan, Harper, Olivia… |
| Sad | sad | 29 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Emily, Harry, Ethan… |
| Shouting | shouting | 19 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Ethan, Harper, Olivia… |
| Soft voice | softvoice | 24 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Ethan, Harper, Olivia… |
| Surprised | surprised | 27 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Emily, Harry, Ethan… |
| Whispering | whispering | 19 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Ethan, Harper, Olivia… |
2. Scenarios
Scenario styles set a professional register rather than a feeling. Audiobook and narrator keep a steady pace for long text; educational is clear and patient; agent and customer_call_center suit support bots and IVR.
| Style | SSML value | Voices |
|---|---|---|
| Agent | agent | 34 — Grant, Harper, Grant, Harper, Grant, Harper… |
| Audiobook | audiobook | 32 — Grant, Harper, Harper, Grant, Harper, Emily… |
| Call center | customer_call_center | 34 — Grant, Harper, Grant, Harper, Grant, Harper… |
| Educational | educational | 34 — Grant, Harper, Grant, Harper, Grant, Harper… |
| Narrator | narrator | 34 — Grant, Harper, Grant, Harper, Grant, Harper… |
3. Tones
A softer set used by some Spanish (Spain), Dutch, Russian, Thai and Turkish voices: warm, conversational tones such as friendlycheerful, caringempathy and nostalgic.
| Style | SSML value | Voices |
|---|---|---|
| Adventurous | adventurous | 8 — Marta, Sander, Lev, Masha, Krit, Nattapong… |
| Caring | caringempathy | 8 — Marta, Sander, Lev, Masha, Krit, Nattapong… |
| Curious | curious | 8 — Marta, Sander, Lev, Masha, Krit, Nattapong… |
| Encouraging | encouraging | 8 — Marta, Sander, Lev, Masha, Krit, Nattapong… |
| Excited | excited | 36 — Klaus, Mia, Isla, Emily, Ethan, Harper… |
| Friendly | friendlycheerful | 8 — Marta, Sander, Lev, Masha, Krit, Nattapong… |
| Nostalgic | nostalgic | 8 — Marta, Sander, Lev, Masha, Krit, Nattapong… |
| Reflective | reflective | 8 — Marta, Sander, Lev, Masha, Krit, Nattapong… |
| Disappointed | saddisappointed | 8 — Marta, Sander, Lev, Masha, Krit, Nattapong… |
| Serious | serious | 8 — Marta, Sander, Lev, Masha, Krit, Nattapong… |
Tips for better emotional reads
- Match words to the style. “We won!” reads joyfully more convincingly than a neutral sentence tagged joyful.
- Keep whispering and shouting short. Extreme styles are most natural on one or two sentences; split long scripts into several takes.
- Pick the voice first. If a style is missing for your language, look for that language’s emotion voice (for example Mei or Bo in Chinese, Kavya in Hindi).
- Leave neutral for facts. Prices, dates and instructions are clearer without a strong emotion.
Style lists from Microsoft Learn, checked 5 October 2026.