“Recalculating.”
“Your 20-minute timer starting now.”
“Speed camera ahead.”
“To repeat these options, press 9.”
“We are experiencing higher than normal call volumes.”
Can you hear it? Those mechanical voices telling you predictable things? It’s embedded in our brains because we hear them so often.
These “automation-isms” or synthetic euphemisms are shortcuts for technology based on predictive scripts. But does anyone think they are real? Has anyone ever confused one of these voices with an actual human?
Sure, some of the AI videos on YouTube can fool you for a moment, but usually fail in the long run. There are tells. Ways our brains pick up on the false notes embedded in the programming. The wrong pronunciation of a word. The stiff way of speaking. The unnatural cadence of the sentences.
But, even more telling, is the fact that no one in the real world would say these things in a proper conversation.
If you were driving down the road with a friend who took the wrong turn, would you say, “recalculating” while you tried to figure out what to do? I don’t think so.
Nor would you tell a client, “If you’d like me to repeat your options, press 9.”
It’s stilted and weird. And robotic.
That’s how AI writing comes across. You may not recognize it on a conscious level, but your subconscious knows what’s real and what’s not. It has an internal system that picks up on false patterns and uncanny details. It can tell what sounds normal and what sounds scripted. And your brain rejects the fake stuff.
Let me say that again. Your brain rejects what doesn’t seem real.
So how do you stand out these days among the AI-written slop? You write the words yourself. Even if they are messy and imperfect. Even if they ramble. Make your message sound like you.
That’s the biggest way you can stand out these days—through your voice. What you say and how you say it.
We all know this matters because we’ve had those fights when we said, “It’s not what you said, but how you said it.” (Now, the men in this audience might get tense at those words, but trust me, the women will know what I mean.)
AI says it mechanically. It says it in cliché and in trite phrases we’ve heard so many times they no longer sound real or offer value. Our brains turn off, and rightly so.
Instead of giving into AI, give writing a go yourself. Draft that email, report, article, blog, speech, script, or novel. Write it like you. If you’re struggling, get help. Find a guide to help you navigate the craft.
Start here.