Your Most Annoying Writing Habits Are Your Superpower

Stop hiding your verbal tics and start training AI to use them

I’ve been guilty of regenerating Linkedin posts twenty times.

Twenty. Times.

Each version sounded like it was written by a different business consultant who all went to the same "How to Sound Professional on LinkedIn" workshop.

"Unlock the power of systematic content creation..."
"Leverage these proven strategies to..."
"Transform your content workflow with..."

I wanted to throw my laptop out the window. (Sorry, trees. I know I killed at least one of you with all that regenerating.)

Here's the thing: I'd given ChatGPT all the right instructions.

"Be conversational."
"Add personality."
"Sound human."

The result? A robot wearing a "Hello, I'm Human" name tag.

Someone a while back said something that changed everything:

"When it comes to AI, context = king."

Wait. What?

That's when I realized we've all been doing this backwards.

The Mirror Moment Nobody Talks About

Documenting your brand voice feels like staring at yourself in a mirror while someone takes notes.

It's weird. It's uncomfortable. It's like hearing your own voice on a recording which is… a major cringe.

But here's what I discovered: Your weird is exactly what makes your content yours.

I say "here's the thing" way more than I should . (Next time you see it feel feel to call me out. It's embarrassing.)

I start sentences with "Wait" when I'm about to challenge something.

I use kitchen metaphors for everything because, well, Content Kitchen.

These aren't bugs. They're features.

What Changed Everything

I tried every Content SaaS platform out there. You know what they all had in common?

They'd ask for your industry, maybe your target audience, then pump out the same generic content every other user in your industry was getting.

I watched agencies work. They'd spend weeks "learning your brand voice," charge you $5k/month, and still produce content that sounded like... well, like an agency wrote it.

Then I had this thought: What if I could teach AI my actual voice, not just vague instructions about being "conversational" or "friendly"?

The Before (generic AI with basic prompts):

Here are 5 strategies to improve your content marketing effectiveness and drive better engagement with your target audience.

The After (AI trained with my brand voice document):

I spent three months throwing spaghetti at LinkedIn to see what stuck. Turns out, most of it slid right off. 

Here's what actually worked (and what made me want to quit content forever).

Same knowledge. Completely different voice.

One sounds like every LinkedIn bot. The other sounds like me on my third coffee, finally figuring something out.

The Post That Flopped (And Why It Matters)

Last month, I posted what I thought was solid advice about automation systems.

Three likes. One comment. My mom asking if I was okay.

I reread it and cringed. It sounded like I'd swallowed a business textbook and regurgitated it onto LinkedIn.

That's when I knew: AI without proper voice training is just expensive autocomplete.

How I Actually Train AI Now

Remember how I mentioned giving AI context? Here's exactly what that means.

Instead of: "Write a LinkedIn post about productivity"

I feed it this first:

My Brand Voice Context:

• I share the messy middle, not just wins

• I use kitchen metaphors (ingredient = knowledge, recipe = system)

• I say "here's the thing" when making key points

• I admit when I've failed before finding what works

• I write like I'm texting a friend who's stuck where I was

Then I add my actual examples:

• Screenshots of posts that performed well

• Phrases I use repeatedly

• How I structure my thoughts

• My natural rhythm and transitions

The result? Content that makes people DM me saying "This sounds exactly like something you'd say."

Because... it is.

The Fear We Need to Address

"But can AI really sound like me? Won't people know?"

I had the same fear. Here's what I learned:

People can tell when content is generic.

They can't tell when AI helps you scale your authentic voice.

Think about it like this - a master chef doesn't cook every dish personally in a busy restaurant. They create recipes, train their team, and ensure every dish that leaves the kitchen tastes like their creation.

Your brand voice document is your recipe. AI is your kitchen team.

Your Voice Is Already There

You don't need to create a voice. You need to capture it.

Start here:

1. Pull your last 10 best-performing posts

2. Look for patterns (phrases, transitions, structures)

3. Note how you explain complex things

4. Find your verbal tics (mine: "here's the thing")

5. Document how you tell stories

This isn't about perfection. It's about pattern recognition.

The Brand Voice Architect GPT

I built a GPT that does this analysis for you. It's like having someone study your content and extract your natural communication patterns.

Access it here:

Feed it your posts. It'll show you:

• Your unique language patterns

• How you structure thoughts

• Your go-to transitions

• Specific phrases that make you sound like you

Twenty minutes. That's all it takes to never sound like a LinkedIn bot again.

For the best results, I recommend also feeding it the:

• Business Foundation document

• Customer Avatar document

• and your Content Pillars.

This will help speed up the process and also provide it in more valuable context.

What Nobody Tells You About Brand Voice Documents

Your brand voice isn't static. It evolves.

I update mine monthly. Last week I realized I'd started using "Wait" to introduce plot twists. Three months ago, I never did that.

Your voice grows with your business. Your document should too.

And here's the thing (yep, there it is again) - this isn't about sounding perfect. It's about sounding like you, consistently, even when AI is helping you create content at scale.

Your Next Burnt Dish 🍽️ (I Mean, Step)

Stop letting AI turn your unique perspective into generic business speak.

Try this: Take your last post that really sounded like you. Feed it to AI with this prompt:

Analyze this post and identify:

-Unique phrases and transitions

-Sentence structure patterns

-How I explain concepts

-My natural voice characteristics

Then use that analysis as context for your next AI-generated post.

Watch what happens.

Want to see how this fits into the complete Content Kitchen system?

Tomorrow, I'm sharing how business foundation + customer avatar + content pillars + brand voice = never running out of authentic content ideas again.

Drop a comment with your most overused phrase. Let's celebrate our verbal tics together.

Because if we're going to scale our content, we might as well scale our weird too.

-Tam
The Content Kitchen

P.S. - If this helped you finally understand why your AI content sounded off, share it with someone else who's regenerating posts twenty times. The trees will thank you.