Avoiding AI Writing Patterns and how to Sound (More) Human
Have you ever read a piece of content and thought, “This feels a bit robotic”?
With the rise of AI writing tools, it’s becoming easier for machines to generate text that can sometimes sound unnaturally formal or repetitive.
But fear not, my friends!
In this blog post, we’ll dive into the world of AI writing patterns and explore how to avoid them, ensuring your content sounds more natural and engaging.
The Culprits: Common AI-Generated Phrases
Imagine you’re an AI writing tool, and you’re tasked with creating a piece of content. You might be tempted to use phrases like “in the era of” or “in the realm of” to set the scene. Sounds fancy, right? But let’s be honest, these phrases can quickly become clichés and make your writing sound, well, a bit too robotic.
Some words just keep showing up. And they’re not nice words. So brace yourselves, folks, because here comes a rapid-fire list of words you might want to use sparingly or, dare I say, avoid altogether:
Delve, enhance, discover, divine, unveiling, comprehensive, inquire, discern, vigilance, embark, journey, elevate, evolution, shift, prevailing, unleash, unveil, elucidate (wow, what a mouthful!), leverage, utilize, strategize, innovate, synthesize, cultivate, expedite, mitigate, advocate, exemplify, validate, engage, envision, speculate, expound, juxtapose (ah, the beauty of this word!), benchmark, and transmute.
Phew, that was a lot! But fear not, dear readers, for we shall go deeper into the reasoning behind this list.
The Reasoning: Why Avoid These Words?
Now, you might be thinking, “But Mikkel (that’s me, by the way), some of those words are perfectly fine!” And you’d be right. The issue isn’t necessarily with the words themselves, but rather with their overuse and the patterns they create.
When an AI writing tool starts sprinkling these words liberally throughout a piece of content, it can make the writing feel stiff, formal, and, well, a bit robotic. It’s like the AI is trying too hard to sound intelligent or sophisticated, but ends up sounding unnatural instead.
But fear not, my friends! We have a few tricks up our sleeves to mitigate (oops, there’s another one!) the overuse of these AI-isms.
The Tricks: How to Avoid AI Writing Patterns
First and foremost, you can try to avoid these words altogether in your writing prompts. Simply tell the AI, “Hey, buddy, could you skip the fancy-schmancy words and keep it casual?”
Of course, this doesn’t always work, as the AI might still try to sneak in a few fancy phrases here and there.
Another approach is to have an “editor AI” review your content after it’s been generated. This AI can be specifically trained to identify and remove the red-flag words and phrases, giving your writing a more natural, conversational tone.
But here’s the real kicker: you don’t want to dumb down your language too much. Sure, avoiding overused AI phrases is great, but you still want to maintain a certain level of complexity and professionalism in your writing. The key is to strike a balance between sounding natural and retaining a certain level of sophistication.
The Balance: Maintaining Complexity and Professionalism
Imagine you’re writing a blog post about a highly technical topic, like quantum computing or rocket science. Using overly simplistic language might make your content sound dumbed down or lacking in expertise. That’s where those fancy-schmancy words can come in handy!
By selectively using words like “synthesize” or “juxtapose” (seriously, what a beautiful word!), you can add depth and complexity to your writing while still maintaining a conversational tone.
It’s all about finding the right balance and using these words judiciously, rather than sprinkling them throughout your content like a kid with a glitter cannon.
So, the next time you’re writing something with the help of an AI tool, take a moment to reflect on the tone and complexity you’re aiming for. If you find yourself using too many of those AI-isms, don’t be afraid to mix things up and inject a bit more personality into your writing. After all, your goal should be to sound like a human, not a robot trying too hard to sound fancy.
The Takeaway: Write Like a Human, Not a Robot
At the end of the day, the key to avoiding AI writing patterns is to embrace your humanity.
Write like you’re having a conversation with a friend, using language that feels natural and authentic to you. Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through, and don’t get too caught up in trying to sound overly formal or sophisticated.
Embrace the beauty of simplicity, but don’t shy away from complexity when it’s warranted. Strike a balance between conversational and professional, and don’t be afraid to juxtapose (see what I did there?) different styles and tones.
And remember, the next time you find yourself reaching for that well-worn phrase or overused AI word, take a step back and ask yourself, “Would a human really say it like that?” If the answer is no, then it’s time to get creative and find a more natural way to express your thoughts.
So, go forth and write like the unique, wonderful human that you are. Embrace your quirks, your personality, and your storytelling abilities. And who knows, you might just end up creating content that’s so engaging and natural, people will wonder if it was really written by a human after all!
