# Make complex texts more listenable

Published: 2025-08-06T00:00:00.000Z
Canonical: https://wow.pjh.is/journal/raycast-format-text-for-tts

If you want to listen to a text with a complex structure, a bit of pre-formatting can make it much easier to follow.

Here's a quick way to do that with [Raycast](https://www.raycast.com/), and then listen with [ElevenReader](https://elevenreader.io/):

[Loom video](https://www.loom.com/share/d2c087c823624f149f64547bb1daba88)

It takes a couple of seconds to [install the Raycast command](https://ray.so/prompts/shared?prompts=%7B%22highlightEdits%22%3Atrue%2C%22creativity%22%3A%22low%22%2C%22model%22%3A%22google-gemini-2.5-flash-lite%22%2C%22prompt%22%3A%22Please%20re-format%20the%20following%20text%20for%20optimal%20text-to-speech%20delivery%2C%20without%20altering%20the%20actual%20wording.%20Apply%20the%20guidelines%20below%3A%5Cn%5Cn1.%20Insert%20full%20stops%20or%20other%20appropriate%20punctuation%20wherever%20a%20natural%20pause%20is%20needed%20\(for%20example%2C%20before%20and%20after%20headings%2C%20between%20sections%2C%20at%20the%20start%20and%20end%20of%20lists%2C%20after%20list%20items%2C%20and%20between%20clauses%20that%20currently%20lack%20punctuation\).%5Cn%5Cn2.%20Remove%20elements%20that%20are%20impractical%20to%20read%20aloud%20\(tables%20of%20contents%2C%20footnotes%2C%20footnote%20markers%2C%20running%20headers%2C%20figures%2C%20tables%2C%20etc.\).%20Where%20the%20omitted%20material%20is%20important%2C%20insert%20a%20brief%20note%20such%20as%20%E2%80%9C%5BTable%20removed%20%E2%80%93%20quarterly%20sales%20data%5D%E2%80%9D.%5Cn%5Cn3.%20Precede%20every%20heading%20with%20the%20text%20%E2%80%9CHeading%3A%20%5Bheading%20text%5D%E2%80%9D%20so%20that%20listeners%20hear%20an%20explicit%20cue.%5Cn%5Cn4.%20Before%20each%20numbered%20or%20bulleted%20list%2C%20state%20%E2%80%9CThe%20following%20list%20contains%20%E2%80%A6%20items.%E2%80%9D%20After%20the%20final%20item%2C%20state%20%E2%80%9CEnd%20of%20list.%E2%80%9D%5Cn%5Cn5.%20Apply%20any%20other%20reasonable%20adjustments%20that%20would%20improve%20clarity%20and%20listener%20comfort%20\(but%20do%20not%20alter%20wording\).%5Cn%5CnReturn%20only%20the%20transformed%20text.%5Cn%5CnHere%27s%20the%20text%3A%5Cn%5Cn%7Bclipboard%7D%22%2C%22icon%22%3A%22brand-google%22%2C%22title%22%3A%22TTS%3A%20prepare%20text%20for%20narration%22%7D).

It is surprising that none of the mainstream text-to-speech apps have this built-in.

Thanks to [Rob Wiblin](https://x.com/robertwiblin) for the idea.