Does this sound like you?
Since I launched The Hive, my brain-friendly system for creatives and anyone who carries too much in their head, the worry I hear most is “I don’t want to sound like a robot.” Totally fair. So I made a list of the tells I catch most, and how to fix each one so your words still sound like you.
The ten tells
Buzzwords doing all the work
Unlock, elevate, aligned, journey, seamless. Swap them for what actually happened.
Fake secrets and drama questions
“Here’s what nobody tells you.” “And honestly?” Just say the thing.
“It’s not X, it’s Y.”
Sometimes it really is X. Say what you mean the first time.
Stacks of short lines
Calm. Clear. Confident. Join them up the way you’d say it out loud.
Everything in threes
Three adjectives, three steps, three sign-offs. Try two, or one good one.
Mic-drop endings
“Read that again.” “Let that sink in.” End with what happens next instead.
Engagement bait
“If this resonated…” “Drop a heart below.” Point to one next step, or just stop.
Emoji bullets and big gaps
Sparkle bullets, mystery emojis, a line break after every sentence. Just write a paragraph. Would it kill ya?
Em dashes everywhere
A comma or a period does the same job, and sounds more like you.
Spa voice
Smooth, soothing and polished, with no person behind it. Let it be warm and a little messy.
Let Claude check it for you
Tap the button to copy the prompt and paste it into Claude. At the bottom, add some examples of your own writing from before AI helped, so it uses your words and sounds like you. Then add your draft.
What to give it
This part matters most. If you give Claude nothing of yours to go off, it falls back on its default voice, and that’s the robot sound you’re trying to avoid. Give it 3 to 5 things you wrote yourself, about a page in all. A mix works best:
- Screenshots of old captions or text threads
- Emails to friends, where you sound most like yourself
- A voice memo typed out: talk about your topic for two minutes and paste the transcript
- A journal page, a blog post or a note on your phone
Pick writing you’re proud of. Claude picks up your good habits and your bad ones.
Please help my draft sound like me, not like AI. First, point out any of these in my draft, and quote the line: - Buzzwords like unlock, elevate, aligned, journey or seamless - Fake secrets or drama questions (“Here’s what nobody tells you,” “And honestly?”) - “It’s not X, it’s Y” - Stacks of short fragments, or everything in threes - Mic-drop endings like “Read that again” or “Let that sink in” - Engagement bait like “If this resonated…” - Emoji bullets, random emojis, or a line break after every sentence - Em dashes - A smooth, soothing tone with no real person behind it Then rewrite only those lines in plain, natural sentences, the way I’d say it to a friend. Keep my stories, details and opinions. Don’t add facts, numbers or stories I didn’t give you, and don’t make it longer. If you’re not sure how I’d say something, ask me. Examples of my own writing (3 to 5 things I wrote myself without AI, like old captions, emails, texts or a voice memo transcript. Screenshots are fine): [paste here] My draft: [paste here]
Want more little helpers like this?
The free Hive quiz is 14 questions and takes about 5 minutes.