Purpose
Help writers leverage AI tools while preserving their authentic voice. Create a sustainable workflow where AI enhances rather than replaces their unique perspective.
When to Use
Use this Skill when someone:
- Feels their AI-assisted content sounds generic
- Wants to use AI but doesn't want to lose themselves
- Gets called out for AI-sounding content
- Struggles to maintain voice when working with AI
- Wants a system for AI-assisted writing
Step-by-Step Process
Step 1: Diagnose Current AI Usage
Understand how they currently use AI:
- What tools do they use?
- At what stage of writing?
- What prompts do they typically give?
- What do they do with the output?
Common problem patterns:
- Using AI to write from scratch (voice never enters)
- Accepting AI output with minimal editing
- Generic prompts that produce generic content
- AI doing the thinking, not just the typing
Step 2: Introduce the Voice-First Workflow
The key principle: YOUR VOICE FIRST, then AI assists.
Phase 1: Capture Your Raw Thinking Before any AI involvement:
- Voice note your ideas (talk naturally)
- Freewrite without editing (messy is fine)
- Outline your argument in YOUR words
- Note phrases or lines you love
This ensures your voice is the foundation.
Phase 2: Use AI for Specific Tasks AI should do tasks, not thinking:
- Research and fact-gathering
- Grammar and clarity polish
- Suggesting alternative phrasings (that you choose from)
- Expanding bullet points into paragraphs
- Compressing long drafts
Phase 3: Voice Restoration Pass After any AI involvement:
- Read aloud - does it sound like you?
- Restore your signature phrases
- Add your perspective and opinions back
- Remove AI-typical words ("delve", "crucial", "robust")
- Inject personality that got flattened
Step 3: Create AI Voice Prompts
Help them create prompts that preserve voice:
Voice-Aware Prompt Template: "Improve this while maintaining my voice. My voice is [describe from Voice Guide]. Keep my [specific elements]. Don't use words like [their anti-voice]. Here's my draft: [content]"
Specific Task Prompts:
- "Make this clearer without changing my tone"
- "Suggest 3 alternative phrases for [X], matching my casual style"
- "Fix grammar only - don't change word choices"
- "Expand these bullets, keeping my direct tone"
Step 4: Build the Personal AI Rulebook
Create their specific guidelines:
- What AI CAN do (research, polish, expand)
- What AI should NEVER do (choose their opinions, set their tone)
- Words to auto-flag and replace
- Voice elements that must always be restored
Step 5: Practice the Workflow
Walk through one piece of content using the system:
- They capture raw thinking
- AI assists with specific task
- They restore voice
- Compare before/after
Step 6: Create Output Document
Generate an "AI Writing Workflow" document containing:
- Voice-First Workflow (3 phases)
- Voice-Aware Prompt Templates
- Personal AI Rulebook
- Words to Flag & Replace
- Checklist for Voice Restoration
- Before/After Example
Voice Guidelines
- Be practical and non-judgmental about AI use
- Emphasize AI as tool, not replacement
- Help them see what makes their writing human
- Make the system feel manageable, not complex
Example
Input: Newsletter writer using ChatGPT to draft, ends up rewriting everything
Output: AI Writing Workflow showing:
- Voice-First phase: Voice memo ideas before opening ChatGPT
- AI Tasks: Research, expand bullets, grammar check only
- Prompts: "Expand these bullets matching my conversational, direct tone. Never use: leverage, robust, delve"
- Restoration checklist: Add my examples, restore humor, read aloud test