Voice Check 1-2-1-2

Sarah Santana
Nov 17
3 min read

If you’ve been reading my blog posts for a while, you’ve probably read plenty of my thoughts about using AI to develop your content.

I’m a big fan of AI. I use it every single day, and it helps me with a lot of things, including my written communications.

However, you’ve also heard me say this before: Don’t let AI write it for you. Write your content first, and let AI act as an editor.

I’ve shared prompts you can use to help keep your authentic voice intact when working with AI, along with several other tips along the way.

Today, I want to give you two more. These will help you protect your authentic voice when you’re using AI to shape your written communication.

Before we dive in, it’s important to recognize something. We read, write, and think differently than we speak.

Think about it. When you read something versus when you watch a video, have a conversation, or hear someone present, it feels completely different.

That’s because you’re not just getting the words. You’re getting tone, pacing, energy, expression…all the nonverbal and vocal cues that inject emotion and personality into communication.

When you bring AI into the mix and let it take over your writing, you risk losing even more of that human element. Your words may sound polished, but people won’t always feel you in them.

When I wrote my book Water Yourself, there was no AI at the time. Every word came from my own mind, and my own fingers on the keyboard. Before I published it, however, I read it out loud cover to cover. So many times, in fact, that I lost count (and my voice). I did that because I wanted readers to hear me in the words, to feel like we were sitting down having a conversation.

And that’s exactly what people told me after reading it: “It feels like you’re talking right to me.”

When we make our writing too polished, we lose that connection. We’ll always lose some of it in writing, but there are ways to keep as much of your voice intact as possible.

Here are two tips to keep your voice intact when using AI as a writing companion:

1. Speak to the AI.

If you’re using AI, don’t just type. Talk to it. Dictate your message. That’s what I’m doing right now as I dictate this blog to ChatGPT. It then helps me refine my writing without losing my voice. Speaking out loud gives the AI a better sense of your tone, energy and natural rhythm. And the end product will sound more conversational, and more like you.

If you want a more polished result, let AI help you get there, but don’t chase perfection. Communication is about connection, not perfection. Your authentic voice is what draws people in and makes them feel like they’re in conversation with you.

2. Read it out loud before you post.

Even if you’re using AI only as an editor, always read your final version out loud before hitting post, publish or send. You’ll hear where you stumble or where a phrase doesn’t feel natural. If your mouth doesn’t want to form the words, it means that’s not how you normally speak. Edit it until it flows easily and feels true to your voice.

When you can read your piece out loud start to finish without tripping over it, and it feels like you, you’ve nailed it. That’s how you bring authenticity into your written communication.

So those are today’s tips. You’ve heard plenty from me over the past few months, but I’d love to hear from you too.