Hey Reader

I left a comment on a LinkedIn post this week. I said I'm using AI to get the administrative and production tasks off my plate, and using that freed up time for creativity, strategy and analog stuff.

Caroline replied. Analogue astronaut, leadership coach, TEDx speaker. She'd literally started doing that this week. Lead capture, nurture, bios for talks. And for her, it's the trust factor. Making sure it doesn't break anything or go rogue.

Yes, I said, the trust factor is key. And making sure it sounds like you. Then I asked if she was keeping a "Not like that, like this" document, and promised I'd post about it.

Her answer stopped me. She'd tried that a few times and it never quite nailed it. She'd even answered 100 questions to make sure it sounded like her.

One hundred questions. And it still didn't sound like her.

Then she said the bit I think a lot of us would recognise. Half the problem is she's in transition. One week this is the focus, the next week it's something else.

Your voice doesn't change week to week. Your focus does. And most of us are asking AI to learn both from the same pile of answers.

So here's the post I promised Caroline 👇

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5 ways to make AI sound like you

1. Hand it 5 to 10 of your newsletters

Your real ones, the rushed Thursday ones too, because that's how you actually sound. Then ask it to describe your voice back to you. Save what comes back as a brand guide.

→ Try this: Paste in five issues and ask, "Describe how I write. Tone, rhythm, favourite phrases, what I never say." Save the answer as a document called My Voice.

2. Talk for 30 to 60 minutes

Written you is tidy. Spoken you is looser, funnier and much more you. A talk you've given, a workshop, or you on a dog walk explaining what you do. All of it counts.

→ Try this: Pick a talk or a call you were proud of. Transcribe it and add it to My Voice.

3. Give it your CV, then let it interview you

This is where 100 questions in one go falls short. Answers tell it what you know, but it never hears you say "no, not like that." Give it your CV first, so it knows your work before it starts asking. Then ask it to interview you, professionally and personally. A few questions at a time. And when the paragraph it writes back doesn't sound like you, say so.

→ Try this: Upload your CV and say, "Interview me about my work and my life, three questions at a time. After each round, write a paragraph in my voice and let me correct it."

4. Share 5 to 10 of your stories

The ones you tell over dinner. The time you nearly gave up, and the time you did the scary thing anyway. AI can copy a tone. It can't make up your moments, and your moments are what people remember. These are the stories only you can tell.

→ Try this: Jot down a one-line headline for five stories you tell often. Then tell it one, out loud if you can.

5. Keep a "Not like that, like this" list

The one I asked Caroline about. Every time you fix a draft, the fix goes on the list. Mine says no em dashes. Never "moat". "Brainstorming partner", never "heavy lifting". This becomes your list of what to do and a list of what to avoid.

→ Try this: Next time you fix a draft, copy the fix into a note with that name. One line at a time.

Questions tell it what you know. Corrections teach it how you sound.

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1 field note from midlife

Want to see behind the scenes? Here are my Midlife Field Notes because somewhere along the way, every conversation kept circling back to one question: What do I do with everything I know now?

→ Read my field notes on Substack

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1 tip to try