Your Opinions Are the Point. Don’t Edit Them Out

The Problem We’re Seeing Every Day

My clients and collaborators are being told constantly: “Spend 15 minutes on social media daily! Post on LinkedIn! Make more videos! Use AI tools!”

While these tools can save time, most business owners and professionals are using them carelessly. The result? LinkedIn and other social feeds flooded with content that screams “AI wrote this and I didn’t even bother editing or reviewing!” – and nobody wants to engage with it. It’s rare that something is valuable enough to cause me to pause, really read, and possibly follow up with the person who posted it – DIRECTLY by picking up the phone.

I recently worked on an RFP response with Lany Sullivan where we discovered the municipal RFP itself was clearly AI-generated. No human had reviewed it. The requirements were circular, terminology was misused, and the same ideas were repeated three different ways. It was also outsized and vague for the situation and goals. Sound familiar? This brought me back to what matters – relationships and conversations. Strip back the free “should be using” tools until you can come up with some guardrails on how they should be integrated into your daily routines and marketing strategies. Let’s get back to what continues to work, and actually works better than ever right now. Human to human – with only an assist from LLMs.

What Really Builds Professional Relationships

Instead of contributing to the content glut, focus on what actually matters:

Quality engagement over quantity posting. Thoughtfully comment on posts from people you want to work with. Share your genuine opinions. Agree or respectfully disagree. Show your expertise through how you engage, not just what you post. We all get tired of your “look at me, look at me!” posts.

People will see what you’re like to work with through your interactions – your professionalism, knowledge, integrity, and reliability. That’s worth more than 100 generic “thought leadership” posts.

The Dead Giveaways of AI Content

Until you can take the time to set up some guidelines and test out tools, stop adding new ones. Stop filling the glut of content just because “the algorithms say….”. What do you have to offer? When you are ready to start creating content with an ASSIST from AI I wanted to share some basics. You can teach your own LLM (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.) what your preferences are, but jI thought you’d find these obversations helpful.

Here’s what makes content obviously AI-generated:

Common AI Writing Patterns

  • Circular definitions – saying the same thing multiple ways “thesaurus cycling”
  • Generic corporate speak – “In today’s rapidly evolving landscape…”
  • Repetitive bullet points – three ways to say one thing
  • Bloated language – using 50 words when 10 would do
  • Safe, surface-level content – nothing controversial or insightful
  • Misused jargon – technical terms used incorrectly
  • Overpromising – implying capabilities that don’t exist

Have you ever read an article – a lengthy one, or magazine piece and think, “Wow, that could have been more effective as just 5 bullet points with one sentence of commentary.”

Have you ever tossed your own writing, or an article or VERBOSE email into the LLM and ask it to drill down the main points? Do that. Dare you. Then, read the points to see if that actually summed it up? We wasted so much time filtering through fluff and fill.

Additional Red Flags

  • Starting every response with praise: “Great question!” “Excellent point!” Well, with podcasts, I know this is a tactic of hosts and guests to buy time. We were recently watching MadMen. My husband was an adman from the 70s. The obversation, Ums, Great Question… etc. have replaced the lighting of a cigarette and taking a drag beore you reply. They are stalls.
  • Excessive use of transitional phrases: “Moreover,” “Furthermore,” “In conclusion”
  • Lists that all follow the exact same structure. This includes headings – “key points” “conclusion” “summary” – good gravy guys, remove those headings!
  • Lack of specific examples or personal experience. Vague platitudes, “they say” type of content. How do YOU feel about it, relate to it? What story led you to that conclusion or observation?
  • Hedging language that avoids taking any real position. I think of Charlie Brown. Lucy always said how wishy-washy he was. Are you a blockhead or so timid you are afraid for your true thoughts to be known?

Creating Your AI Guidelines

Here’s how to train your AI tools to write like you, not like everyone else:

Define Your Voice

Record yourself speaking naturally about your work.  You can come up with some questions – as if you are interviewing yourself. Transcribe it. Then identify:

  • Your natural speaking patterns
  • Industry-specific terms you actually use
  • Your typical sentence structure
  • Your level of formality

Set Clear Instructions

Add these prompts to your AI tools:

“Write in my voice, which is: [Your specific attributes]”

For example, mine is:

  • Grounded, experienced, capable
  • Pragmatic and supportive without being gushy
  • Confident without being inflated
  • Professional without being stiff
  • and ocassionally, celebratory with a YAY YOU! thrown in regularly.

Demand Better Output

Tell your AI to:

  • Remove all typical redundancies
  • Avoid mirrored phrasing
  • Eliminate corporate speak and bloat
  • Write in clean, human, professional tone
  • Use precise, confident language WITH A STANCE ON THE TOPIC!
  • Never produce repetitive bullets
  • Avoid decorative filler phrases

A Professional’s AI Content Checklist

Before posting any AI-assisted content:

  1. Read it out loud – Does it sound like you?
  2. Check for redundancy – Could this be 50% shorter?
  3. Look for AI tells – Any of the patterns listed above?
  4. Add personal examples – What specific experience supports this?
  5. Take a position – Are you actually saying something meaningful?
  6. Consider the value – Would you stop scrolling to read this? Whoa, that could be a tough answer. It’s OK, you’ll get better.

The Better Way Forward

Yes, use AI tools. They save time on research, outlines, and first drafts. But remember:

  • AI is your assistant, not your ghostwriter
  • Your expertise and perspective are irreplaceable
  • One thoughtful comment beats ten generic posts
  • Quality engagement builds real relationships

Stop contributing to the noise. Start contributing value.

Your Action Items

  1. Audit your recent posts – How many could obviously be AI? Truly, copy/paste and ask your LLM to alert you to the redflags in this post and perhaps it has more.
  2. Record your natural voice – Create content from transcripts. This is also a great way to break bad habits. You can get REALLY good fast if you have another person on the recording asking you the questions, or blind-siding you with some sponatneous questions that require an opinion.
  3. Set up your AI guidelines – Train your tools properly. Also, you are part of a team – what are the guidelines? How do you prevent their lazy use of AI. This reflects on the entire brand.
  4. Focus on engagement – Comment more, post less. You can also have AI suggest comments based on earlier comments. Ask it to speak to a specific audience. Take the suggestion, then edit to make it YOUR words, phrasing and allow your expertise to shine without being pitchy. Be valuable.
  5. Check your sources – AI lies confidently. Always ask for sources – THEN CLICK THEM. I’ve given it transcripts and asked for direct quotes and it will mention people not even in the interview!

HAMMERING THIS INTO YOUR HEAD: Most magazine articles could be reduced to 10 bullet points. Don’t use AI to create more fluff. Use it to create better, cleaner, more valuable content that actually sounds like you.

Need help finding your content personality? Let’s work together to create AI guidelines that preserve your expertise while saving you time.