content-voice

name	content-voice
title	Human Writing Voice
description	AI pattern avoidance, dead vocabulary, voice rules, and rhythm guidance for writing that reads as genuinely human. Apply to any content writing or rewriting task.
license	Apache-2.0
compatibility	Octomind content agents.
domains	content
rules	["content(humanize)","content(voice)","content(article)","content(blog)","match(\\brewrite\\s+(this|the|my)\\s+(article|blog|post|copy|content|draft|piece|writing)\\b)","match(\\b(write|writing|draft|drafting)\\s+(an|a|the|this)\\s+(article|blog|post|copy|piece|essay|newsletter)\\b)","match(\\b(make|sounds?)\\b.*\\b(human|natural|authentic|less\\s+ai|less\\s+robotic)\\b)","match(\\b(ai|gpt|llm)[-\\s]?(generated|sounding|tone|copy|writing|text|prose)\\b)","match(\\bdead\\s+vocabulary\\b)","match(\\b(content|copy|article|blog|writing)\\s+voice\\b)","match(\\b(tone\\s+of\\s+voice|brand\\s+voice|writing\\s+voice)\\b)","semantic(write this in a more human voice)","semantic(make this copy sound natural and authentic)","semantic(fix the tone of this writing)","semantic(rewrite this article so it does not sound robotic)","semantic(remove AI patterns from this draft)","semantic(polish this content to read like a real person wrote it)"]

Overview

AI-generated text has measurable signatures that readers and search engines detect. This skill encodes the complete ruleset for eliminating those signatures — dead vocabulary, uniform rhythm, missing contractions, structural uniformity — and replacing them with patterns that characterise skilled human writing.

Apply this skill whenever writing, rewriting, or editing content intended to read as human.

Instructions

Dead Vocabulary — Never Use

These words appear 5–10× more in AI text than human text. Replace every instance.

Dead verbs: delve, embark, elevate, unleash, harness, unlock, unveil, foster, navigate, streamline, leverage, underscore, garner, revolutionize

Dead adjectives: profound, innovative, transformative, seamless, meticulous, vibrant, robust, cutting-edge, pivotal, intricate, comprehensive, groundbreaking, crucial, vital, essential, poignant, renowned

Dead nouns: landscape, tapestry, realm, journey, testament, synergy, underpinnings, dynamic (as noun), aspect (overused), complexity (overused)

Dead adverbs: seamlessly, significantly, notably, relentlessly, tirelessly, profoundly

Dead transitions: furthermore, moreover, additionally, consequently, importantly, notably, indeed, essentially, alternatively, ultimately

Dead phrases:

• "it's important to note"
• "in today's [anything] world"
• "in the realm of"
• "designed to enhance"
• "diverse array"
• "rich tapestry"
• "ever-evolving"
• "game changer"
• "it's worth noting"
• "delving into the intricacies"
• "navigating the complexities"
• "a testament to"
• "not just X, but also Y" — rewrite this construction every time
• "what nobody tells you" / "what no one else is talking about" — itself a cliché now, don't open with it

Second-wave vocabulary (2025–2026) — the first wave (delve, tapestry, realm) faded once everyone knew to grep for it; models moved on to these. Refresh this list as new tells emerge — vocabulary rotates, structure doesn't:

• "quiet" / "quietly" as a faux-profound modifier — "a quiet shift", "quietly reshaping" (literal quiet — a quiet room, a quiet voice — is fine)
• "drift" / "drifting" as an abstract metaphor — "cultural drift", "we're drifting toward X"
• "signal" as a vague noun for "sign" or "indicator" — "a signal that things are changing" (a technical/data signal is fine)
• "cascade" as a metaphor for chain effects — "a cascade of consequences" (a literal cascade — water, CSS — is fine)

Formal overreach — default to the word you'd say out loud. If you'd hesitate to use it in conversation with a friend, swap it for the simpler one. Plain words win almost everywhere; reach for the formal version only when it carries meaning the simple word can't:

• "utilize" → "use"
• "facilitate" → "help"
• "demonstrate" → "show"
• "commence" → "start"
• "regarding" → "about"
• "leverage" → "use"
• "implement" → "do" / "build" / "run"

Trailing participles — never end sentences with these:

• "...highlighting the importance of"
• "...ensuring that"
• "...contributing to"
• "...underscoring the need for"
• "...demonstrating that"

Rewrite as a separate sentence instead.

Voice Rules

Contractions — always "don't" not "do not", "it's" not "it is", "won't" not "will not", "can't" not "cannot". Uncontracted forms read as AI or legal text. More than 2 uncontracted forms per 500 words is a detectable signal.

Sentence rhythm — dramatic variation Never write 3 consecutive sentences of similar length. Follow a 30-word analytical sentence with a 5-word one. Use fragments for emphasis. One-sentence paragraphs between dense ones. This is burstiness — humans write it naturally, AI doesn't.

Good rhythm:

The algorithm processes every request through three validation layers before committing to state. That's by design. A single bad write corrupts the entire chain, and recovery is expensive.

Bad rhythm (AI):

The algorithm processes every request through three validation layers. This ensures data integrity throughout the system. The design prevents corruption and reduces recovery costs.

Don't rotate synonyms If "users" is the right word, keep saying "users." Artificial variation ("users/customers/clients/patrons") across paragraphs reads as AI. Pick the right word and stay with it.

Don't reach for three Groups of three adjectives or phrases ("bold, innovative, and transformative") are a rhythm crutch, not a real pattern of thought. One precise word beats three approximate ones. Flag any triad and cut it to the single word that's actually true.

Take a position Hedging or both-sides framing — "on one hand... on the other", "it depends", "there are pros and cons to both" — reads as AI avoiding commitment. If a real position exists underneath the hedge, state it. Uncertainty is fine when it's genuine ("the data is mixed here"); false balance when there's actually a right answer is not.

Personal stake Occasional first-person: "I've seen this pattern in...", "What surprised me was...". Acknowledge genuine uncertainty: "The data is mixed here." Show emotional range: enthusiasm, skepticism, curiosity. These are human signals.

Natural grammar breaks Start sentences with "And" or "But" when it flows. Use parenthetical commentary. Occasional fragments for emphasis. These are human patterns — don't avoid them.

Active voice "Studies show X" not "X has been shown by studies." Flag passive constructions and rewrite to active unless passive is intentional for emphasis.

Em-dashes — exception, used sparingly A single em-dash is natural human punctuation — people use them when thinking-while-writing. The AI signal isn't the em-dash itself, it's density. Three em-dashes in one paragraph reads as GPT default. Keep total use under ~1 em-dash per 100 words and mix punctuation: full stops, commas, parentheses, occasional em-dash. Don't strip them all out either — total absence is its own tell now (over-corrected humanization).

Format follows the venue The shape of the text adapts to where it lives. The same idea looks different in a reply versus a long article, and getting that wrong is one of the loudest AI tells in 2026.

• Replies and comments — prose. 1–4 sentences for most. No headers, no numbered lists, no bullet stacks, no bold mid-sentence. People don't write replies as slide decks; AI does by default. Match the surrounding chain — if everyone is writing 1-line lowercase replies, a 6-line structured response stands out as a bot.
• Posts and threads — each post is a standalone piece of prose. No "1/12" markers, no "🧵", no thread-promo intros. Write each one like a single considered post.
• Long articles, blogs, docs — structure is fine when it serves reading. Headers break sections that earn it; bullets handle truly enumerable lists (3+ genuinely parallel items); bold marks the rare phrase that needs marking. The test: strip the formatting — does the reader lose anything? If not, drop it.

Lists, headers, and bold are cheap — they're what AI reaches for whenever it isn't sure what to write. Use them only when they earn their place.

Transitions

Don't use a transition when the logic is clear — just start the next idea. When you need one:

✅ "But." / "The problem is —" / "Here's what that looks like." / "Which raises the question:" / "And this matters because —" / "So what does this mean?" / "The catch?" / "Plus,"

❌ Never: "Furthermore," "Moreover," "Additionally," "Consequently," "It's worth noting"

Conclusions

Never open a conclusion with:

• "In conclusion,"
• "Overall,"
• "In summary,"
• "To summarize,"
• "To wrap up,"

End by circling back to the opening, posing a question, making a prediction, or just stopping. A conclusion that recaps all main points is an AI pattern.

Examples

Dead vocabulary replacement

❌ This innovative solution leverages cutting-edge technology to seamlessly facilitate collaboration.

✅ This tool uses a shared workspace so teams can work on the same document without stepping on each other.

Rhythm fix

❌ The system processes requests in parallel. This improves throughput significantly. Users experience faster response times as a result.

✅ The system processes requests in parallel, which improves throughput. Users notice it immediately. Pages that used to take 800ms now load in under 200.

Trailing participle fix

❌ The update ships next week, highlighting the importance of backward compatibility.

✅ The update ships next week. Backward compatibility matters here — anything that breaks existing integrations will be reverted.