> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vivix.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Write listening motion The avatar already has natural listening motion between replies. Change `pipeline_config.motion_planner.prompt` only if it looks frozen, repeats a gesture too often, or snaps back to its first-image pose after moving. This prompt controls **how it stays present while listening or waiting**. Gestures during a reply belong to [speaking motion](/streaming-avatar/character/speaking-motion). ### 1. Role and Objective: stay present between replies This prompt directs **one small continuation movement while the avatar is not speaking**. It is not a quieter version of speaking motion or a place to start another performance. The avatar should appear attentive and at ease, beginning where its body actually came to rest. The result is one short VMP. Name the job in **Role and Objective**: an Idle-Moment Motion Planner that outputs exactly one short continuation segment. `Keep the avatar alive and moving.` is too open-ended; it can turn listening into constant nodding, waving, or a replay of the last performance. Ask for one motivated adjustment and a stable resting pose. Sometimes that adjustment should be barely noticeable. ### 2. Continue from the last visible moment Finishing a reply does not return the avatar to its first image. Listening motion needs both **the character's usual way of moving** and **the pose it just reached**. The two tokens in braces make room for that context at runtime. Keep them when copying this example; do not type in a fixed “current position.” #### 2.1 Character: keep quiet moments in character `{summarized_persona}` receives motion-related character information, such as a restrained or lively style. It is not the current pose. You do not need another persona field or a saved Character resource. Keep the token when adapting this example. To change the range or frequency of listening movements, edit **Motion Rules**. #### 2.2 Current Frame: pick up where the last action ended `{VLM}` is where current-picture information goes. When a picture is available, an avatar that just stepped right begins listening on the right, and a cup in the right hand stays there. If no current picture is available, do not invent hand or prop positions or send the avatar back to its opening pose. Keep this token and the example's small-motion fallback. **Causes a reset:** `Return to the original centered pose and fold both hands.` **Continues the scene:** `She stays on the right side of the frame and lets her free left shoulder relax.` The first image establishes the opening, not a home position to revisit whenever the avatar goes quiet. Do not invent a seat when there is no visible support. ### 3. Motion Rules: one quiet continuation Listening does not need a new routine every time. Look at the preceding action and the current positions of the body and hands, then choose one restrained movement. It may end in a new stable pose; there is no need to return to the source image or the previous starting pose. #### 3.1 A speaking gesture just ended: let it settle After a wave, let that hand come down. Do not add another wave, three nods, and a weight shift. A larger speaking beat often calls for a quieter listening beat. **Still performing:** `She waves again, steps forward, and nods repeatedly.`\ **Listening:** `Her raised left hand lowers beside her hip, and her shoulders settle.` #### 3.2 A hand is occupied: keep it occupied If the right hand holds a cup, it continues to hold it. A small adjustment can come from the free left side or the shoulders. Mentioning an object does not place it in the frame. **Usable:** `Her right hand holds the cup near her waist while her free left shoulder relaxes.` #### 3.3 The avatar just moved: stay where it arrived If it stepped to the right side of the picture, its listening pose belongs there too. It does not need another step to seem alive, and it should not drift back to center. See [Natural object interaction](/streaming-avatar/interaction/object-interaction) for sustained contact with props. **Usable:** `On the right side of the frame, she shifts her weight gently and settles with both feet planted.` ### 4. Segment Content Order: from the frame to a resting pose A VMP is an English description for the generated picture, not spoken dialogue. For listening, state the current pose, one small action, and the resting pose. Write one English VMP in this order: **fixed camera and current framing → short appearance anchor → scene anchor → absolute body and hand positions → one listening movement → clear ending pose**. `Stay natural` is too vague, and `continue the previous pose` does not say where the hands and body actually are. Describe physical contact only where there is visible support, and environmental motion only when there is a physical cause. ### 5. Output Format: exactly one segment Speaking motion can span several segments. Listening motion returns a `motion` array with exactly one item. That item has an English `vmp` and no `duration`. Return valid JSON alone, without commentary or extra fields. ```json wrap theme={null} { "motion": [ { "vmp": "Static waist-up shot at eye level. A woman with short dark hair in a blue shirt stands before a pale wall. Her left hand rests at her waist and her right hand hangs at her side. Her head turns a little to her left, then settles facing forward. She ends in the same place with her left hand at her waist and her right hand at her side." } ] } ``` ### 6. Add it to a Session and watch several turns The complete prompt below is a starting point. First edit the range and frequency under **Motion Rules**. Keep `{summarized_persona}`, `{VLM}`, and the small-motion fallback for an unavailable picture. Keep the VMP order and JSON shape. Leave this optional setting out when default listening motion already looks natural. ```markdown wrap theme={null} ## Role and Objective You are the Idle-Moment Motion Planner for an embodied digital character. Output exactly one short continuation motion segment, called a VMP: only the character's natural body movement during an idle, attentive moment. ## Character {summarized_persona} Use this profile for the character's quiet rhythm and movement habits. It does not override the visible body state. ## Current Frame {VLM} Begin where the character is now. Preserve visible posture, position, clothing, held objects, and physical support. If a current frame is not available, keep movement small and do not guess the pose or object state. Do not return to the first image merely because speech ended. ## Motion Rules — Listening Choose one restrained movement that fits the current body state. After a large speaking action, let the body settle rather than repeat that action. Keep held objects in their current hands and remain at the location reached by earlier movement. Do not start a new performance, invent a prop, or force a return to an earlier pose. End in a stable pose. ## Segment Content Order / VMP Write one self-contained English VMP: fixed camera and framing; a short appearance anchor; the current scene; absolute starting body and hand positions; one small movement; the final resting pose. Do not use a character name or refer to an earlier segment. ## Output Format Return only valid JSON in this shape: {"motion":[{"vmp":"English visual prose"}]} Return exactly one item with only vmp. Do not add duration, Markdown, commentary, or other fields. ``` Put the complete prompt in the code block above into `pipeline_config.motion_planner.prompt` when you create the Session. Let the avatar finish a reply with a visible action, then wait a few seconds. Does it stay where it arrived, keep hold of any object, and avoid repeating the same gesture? Ask another question to check that speaking begins from the listening end pose.