diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 3f4d47273..b41efdcf3 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Deprecated
 
+- `TTSService.say()` is deprecated, push a `TTSSpeakFrame` instead. Calling
+  functions directly is a discouraged pattern in Pipecat because, for example,
+  it might cause issues with frame ordering.
+
 - `LLMMessagesFrame` is deprecated, in favor of either:
 
   - `LLMMessagesUpdateFrame` with `run_llm=True`
@@ -67,7 +71,8 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Added Chinese, Japanese, Korean word timestamp support to
   `CartesiaTTSService`.
 
-- Added `region` parameter to `GladiaSTTService`. Accepted values: eu-west (default), us-west.
+- Added `region` parameter to `GladiaSTTService`. Accepted values: eu-west
+  (default), us-west.
 
 ### Changed
 
diff --git a/examples/foundational/12-describe-video.py b/examples/foundational/12-describe-video.py
index 8bba87d0c..fad52c2de 100644
--- a/examples/foundational/12-describe-video.py
+++ b/examples/foundational/12-describe-video.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ from dotenv import load_dotenv
 from loguru import logger
 
 from pipecat.audio.vad.silero import SileroVADAnalyzer
-from pipecat.frames.frames import Frame, TextFrame, UserImageRequestFrame
+from pipecat.frames.frames import Frame, TextFrame, TTSSpeakFrame, UserImageRequestFrame
 from pipecat.pipeline.pipeline import Pipeline
 from pipecat.pipeline.runner import PipelineRunner
 from pipecat.pipeline.task import PipelineTask
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ async def run_bot(transport: BaseTransport, runner_args: RunnerArguments):
         image_requester.set_participant_id(client_id)
 
         # Welcome message
-        await tts.say("Hi there! Feel free to ask me what I see.")
+        await task.queue_frame(TTSSpeakFrame("Hi there! Feel free to ask me what I see."))
 
     @transport.event_handler("on_client_disconnected")
     async def on_client_disconnected(transport, client):
diff --git a/examples/foundational/12a-describe-video-gemini-flash.py b/examples/foundational/12a-describe-video-gemini-flash.py
index c1ba73812..090dd6db6 100644
--- a/examples/foundational/12a-describe-video-gemini-flash.py
+++ b/examples/foundational/12a-describe-video-gemini-flash.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ from dotenv import load_dotenv
 from loguru import logger
 
 from pipecat.audio.vad.silero import SileroVADAnalyzer
-from pipecat.frames.frames import Frame, TextFrame, UserImageRequestFrame
+from pipecat.frames.frames import Frame, TextFrame, TTSSpeakFrame, UserImageRequestFrame
 from pipecat.pipeline.pipeline import Pipeline
 from pipecat.pipeline.runner import PipelineRunner
 from pipecat.pipeline.task import PipelineParams, PipelineTask
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ async def run_bot(transport: BaseTransport, runner_args: RunnerArguments):
         image_requester.set_participant_id(client_id)
 
         # Welcome message
-        await tts.say("Hi there! Feel free to ask me what I see.")
+        await task.queue_frame(TTSSpeakFrame("Hi there! Feel free to ask me what I see."))
 
     @transport.event_handler("on_client_disconnected")
     async def on_client_disconnected(transport, client):
diff --git a/examples/foundational/12b-describe-video-gpt-4o.py b/examples/foundational/12b-describe-video-gpt-4o.py
index a5578538d..f495801c7 100644
--- a/examples/foundational/12b-describe-video-gpt-4o.py
+++ b/examples/foundational/12b-describe-video-gpt-4o.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ from dotenv import load_dotenv
 from loguru import logger
 
 from pipecat.audio.vad.silero import SileroVADAnalyzer
-from pipecat.frames.frames import Frame, TextFrame, UserImageRequestFrame
+from pipecat.frames.frames import Frame, TextFrame, TTSSpeakFrame, UserImageRequestFrame
 from pipecat.pipeline.pipeline import Pipeline
 from pipecat.pipeline.runner import PipelineRunner
 from pipecat.pipeline.task import PipelineParams, PipelineTask
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ async def run_bot(transport: BaseTransport, runner_args: RunnerArguments):
         image_requester.set_participant_id(client_id)
 
         # Welcome message
-        await tts.say("Hi there! Feel free to ask me what I see.")
+        await task.queue_frame(TTSSpeakFrame("Hi there! Feel free to ask me what I see."))
 
     @transport.event_handler("on_client_disconnected")
     async def on_client_disconnected(transport, client):
diff --git a/examples/foundational/12c-describe-video-anthropic.py b/examples/foundational/12c-describe-video-anthropic.py
index 53e719457..cc48d1567 100644
--- a/examples/foundational/12c-describe-video-anthropic.py
+++ b/examples/foundational/12c-describe-video-anthropic.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ from dotenv import load_dotenv
 from loguru import logger
 
 from pipecat.audio.vad.silero import SileroVADAnalyzer
-from pipecat.frames.frames import Frame, TextFrame, UserImageRequestFrame
+from pipecat.frames.frames import Frame, TextFrame, TTSSpeakFrame, UserImageRequestFrame
 from pipecat.pipeline.pipeline import Pipeline
 from pipecat.pipeline.runner import PipelineRunner
 from pipecat.pipeline.task import PipelineParams, PipelineTask
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ async def run_bot(transport: BaseTransport, runner_args: RunnerArguments):
         image_requester.set_participant_id(client_id)
 
         # Welcome message
-        await tts.say("Hi there! Feel free to ask me what I see.")
+        await task.queue_frame(TTSSpeakFrame("Hi there! Feel free to ask me what I see."))
 
     @transport.event_handler("on_client_disconnected")
     async def on_client_disconnected(transport, client):
diff --git a/examples/foundational/20a-persistent-context-openai.py b/examples/foundational/20a-persistent-context-openai.py
index eda10e5f4..78b4fdf65 100644
--- a/examples/foundational/20a-persistent-context-openai.py
+++ b/examples/foundational/20a-persistent-context-openai.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ from loguru import logger
 
 from pipecat.audio.vad.silero import SileroVADAnalyzer
 from pipecat.audio.vad.vad_analyzer import VADParams
+from pipecat.frames.frames import TTSSpeakFrame
 from pipecat.pipeline.pipeline import Pipeline
 from pipecat.pipeline.runner import PipelineRunner
 from pipecat.pipeline.task import PipelineParams, PipelineTask
@@ -34,7 +35,6 @@ load_dotenv(override=True)
 
 
 BASE_FILENAME = "/tmp/pipecat_conversation_"
-tts = None
 
 
 async def fetch_weather_from_api(params: FunctionCallParams):
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ async def load_conversation(params: FunctionCallParams):
             logger.debug(
                 f"loaded conversation from {filename}\n{json.dumps(params.context.messages, indent=4)}"
             )
-        await tts.say("Ok, I've loaded that conversation.")
+        await params.llm.queue_frame(TTSSpeakFrame("Ok, I've loaded that conversation."))
     except Exception as e:
         await params.result_callback({"success": False, "error": str(e)})
 
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ transport_params = {
 async def run_bot(transport: BaseTransport, runner_args: RunnerArguments):
     logger.info(f"Starting bot")
 
-    global tts
+    stt = DeepgramSTTService(api_key=os.getenv("DEEPGRAM_API_KEY"))
 
     tts = CartesiaTTSService(
         api_key=os.getenv("CARTESIA_API_KEY"),
diff --git a/examples/foundational/20c-persistent-context-anthropic.py b/examples/foundational/20c-persistent-context-anthropic.py
index 9599527fa..9086ae37a 100644
--- a/examples/foundational/20c-persistent-context-anthropic.py
+++ b/examples/foundational/20c-persistent-context-anthropic.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ from loguru import logger
 
 from pipecat.audio.vad.silero import SileroVADAnalyzer
 from pipecat.audio.vad.vad_analyzer import VADParams
+from pipecat.frames.frames import TTSSpeakFrame
 from pipecat.pipeline.pipeline import Pipeline
 from pipecat.pipeline.runner import PipelineRunner
 from pipecat.pipeline.task import PipelineParams, PipelineTask
@@ -88,7 +89,7 @@ async def load_conversation(params: FunctionCallParams):
             logger.debug(
                 f"loaded conversation from {filename}\n{json.dumps(params.context.messages, indent=4)}"
             )
-        await tts.say("Ok, I've loaded that conversation.")
+        await params.llm.queue_frame(TTSSpeakFrame("Ok, I've loaded that conversation."))
     except Exception as e:
         await params.result_callback({"success": False, "error": str(e)})
 
diff --git a/src/pipecat/services/tts_service.py b/src/pipecat/services/tts_service.py
index bcb485d33..9be28f319 100644
--- a/src/pipecat/services/tts_service.py
+++ b/src/pipecat/services/tts_service.py
@@ -269,9 +269,20 @@ class TTSService(AIService):
     async def say(self, text: str):
         """Immediately speak the provided text.
 
+        .. deprecated:: 0.0.79
+            Push a `TTSSpeakFrame` instead to ensure frame ordering is maintained.
+
         Args:
             text: The text to speak.
         """
+        import warnings
+
+        warnings.warn(
+            "`TTSService.say()` is deprecated. Push a `TTSSpeakFrame` instead.",
+            DeprecationWarning,
+            stacklevel=2,
+        )
+
         await self.queue_frame(TTSSpeakFrame(text))
 
     async def process_frame(self, frame: Frame, direction: FrameDirection):