> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.heysonara.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Speech Settings

> Fine-tune how your agent listens, speaks, and handles interruptions.

## Overview

Speech settings control the low-level behavior of your agent's voice interaction  - how it detects when someone is speaking, handles interruptions, and manages conversation flow.

## Voice Activity Detection (VAD)

VAD determines when the agent recognizes that a caller has started or stopped speaking. This affects how responsive your agent feels.

Adjusting VAD sensitivity:

* **Higher sensitivity**  - The agent responds faster but may cut off callers who pause mid-sentence
* **Lower sensitivity**  - The agent waits longer before responding, reducing interruptions but feeling slightly slower

## Interruption handling

Configure how your agent responds when a caller speaks while the agent is talking:

* **Allow interruptions**  - The agent stops speaking and listens when the caller talks over it. This feels natural for most conversations.
* **Interruption sensitivity**  - Controls how easily the agent can be interrupted. Higher values mean even quiet sounds will interrupt the agent.

<Tip>
  For agents that deliver important information (like legal disclaimers or appointment details), consider reducing interruption sensitivity so the agent can finish its message.
</Tip>

## Backchannel sounds

Backchannel sounds are subtle audio cues (like "mm-hmm", "uh-huh") that the agent plays while the caller is speaking. These make the conversation feel more natural by signaling that the agent is listening.

* **Enable/disable**  - Toggle backchannel sounds on or off
* **Frequency**  - Control how often the agent produces these sounds

## Conversation context

Controls how much conversation history the agent considers when generating responses:

* **Full context**  - The agent remembers the entire conversation
* **Limited context**  - The agent focuses on recent exchanges, reducing latency for long conversations

## Function calling behavior

Configure how the agent handles tool/function calls during speech:

* **Sequential**  - The agent pauses speaking while executing a function call
* **Parallel**  - The agent continues speaking while functions execute in the background