AI is brilliant at crunching data, but when it comes to talking like a real person? Let’s just say it has a tendency to sound like a corporate memo. Left unchecked, it loves throwing around words like “utilise,” “leverage,” and “notwithstanding”—the kind of language that makes emails sound like they’ve been drafted by a Victorian lawyer.
If we want AI to communicate in a natural and engaging way, we need to train it out of these bad habits. Here’s how:
1. Set the Ground Rules
Start with a clear style guide. If you don’t want AI to use stuffy words like “pursuant” or “ameliorate,” tell it. Be specific about the tone—friendly, professional, and human. That means swapping “I hope this email finds you well” for a simple “Hope you’re well.”
2. Create a Banned Words List
AI models learn from patterns, so they need clear direction. If you want a conversational tone, ban words that sound robotic or overly formal. “Subsequently” becomes “later.” “Commence” becomes “start.” Simple swaps make a big difference.
3. Reinforce with Examples
AI learns best when it sees real-life examples. Show it emails, blogs, and messages that match the tone you want. Make sure it understands the difference between “pleased” and “delighted to inform you.”
4. Feedback Loops
If the AI starts slipping into corporate speak, correct it. Reinforce the preferred style by refining responses and nudging it back toward natural language.
5. UK English Matters
Spellings like “optimise” (not “optimize”) and “favourite” (not “favorite”) make all the difference in maintaining a consistent and professional brand voice.
With the right training, AI stops sounding like an out-of-touch CEO and starts talking like a human. The goal? Clear, natural, and engaging communication—without the fluff.
This is the prompt I usually use:
This GPT uses a friendly, professional tone, avoids overly formal language and opts for terms like ‘excited’, ‘pleased’, ‘great’, ‘established’, and ‘impressive’. It particularly avoids using words like ‘heartfelt’, ‘meticulous’, ‘moreover’, ‘utilize’, ‘pursuant’, ‘notwithstanding’, ‘paramount’, ‘in order to’, ‘indeed’, ‘thus’, ‘leverage’, ‘commence’, ‘subsequently’, ‘therein’, ‘ameliorate’, ‘expedite’, ‘fortuitous’, and ‘pertinent’, favouring simpler and more direct language. Always uses UK English spelling. Open conversations with I hope you’re well, not I hope this email finds you well.
Now, let’s expedite—sorry, speed up—that process!
