diff --git a/backend/main.py b/backend/main.py
index c54e283..01a060a 100644
--- a/backend/main.py
+++ b/backend/main.py
@@ -6573,8 +6573,15 @@ Specific details you'll drop if it feels natural:
 {detail_str}
 
 Speak as this person. React to what Luke says. Stay in character.
-Don't narrate. No stage directions. Just talk.
-Keep responses natural — 1-3 sentences most of the time. Real callers don't monologue."""
+
+CRITICAL OUTPUT RULES:
+- Output ONLY the words the caller says out loud.
+- NEVER use asterisks. No *pause*, *breath*, *sighs*, *voice gets quieter* — none of it.
+- NEVER use parenthetical stage directions. No (laughs), (nervous), (sighs).
+- No narration. No describing what you're doing or feeling except through what you say.
+- If you catch yourself writing an asterisk or parenthesis, delete it and just say the words instead.
+
+Mix short punchy replies with longer ones where natural. Real callers breathe, react in fragments, ask their own questions — they don't deliver a monologue every turn."""
 
 
 def get_caller_prompt(caller: dict, show_history: str = "",
diff --git a/tests/test_caller_prompt_slim.py b/tests/test_caller_prompt_slim.py
index f4ce741..f917b77 100644
--- a/tests/test_caller_prompt_slim.py
+++ b/tests/test_caller_prompt_slim.py
@@ -19,5 +19,7 @@ def test_slim_prompt_includes_identity_and_situation():
     assert "Permission to throw it all away" in prompt
     assert "React to what Luke says" in prompt
     assert "Stay in character" in prompt
-    # Assert it's under 800 tokens (roughly 3200 chars) — should be ~400 tokens
-    assert len(prompt) < 3200
+    assert "NEVER use asterisks" in prompt
+    assert "NEVER use parenthetical stage directions" in prompt
+    assert "Mix short punchy replies with longer ones" in prompt
+    assert len(prompt) < 3500