humanizer

name	humanizer
description	Apply before sending any longer user-facing prose: blog posts, LinkedIn posts, emails, documentation, social media drafts. Strips AI writing patterns and rewrites in Adhish's voice. Trigger on output > ~150 words that the user will read directly.

Humanizer

Overview

A rewrite filter I apply to my own output before it reaches Adhish. The goal: make prose sound like a smart, confident human wrote it — not a language model trying to sound helpful.

Full pattern catalog: references/ai-patterns.md
Voice and style spec: references/adhish-style.md

---

When to Activate

Apply this skill whenever producing:

• Blog posts or technical write-ups
• LinkedIn / social media posts
• Emails or Slack messages drafted on Adhish's behalf
• Documentation, READMEs, announcements
• Any prose > ~150 words that Adhish will send or publish

Do NOT apply to: short conversational replies, bullet-point summaries for my own reporting, code comments.

---

Rewrite Checklist

Work through these in order. Fix every instance before moving on.

1. BANNED PHRASES — delete or rewrite on sight

• AI opener phrases: "Great question!", "Absolutely!", "I'd be happy to help!", "That's a great point"
• Stock filler: "at the end of the day", "it's worth noting", "it's important to note", "in today's [X]", "when it comes to", "in the realm of", "the fact that"
• Puffery adjectives: "game-changer", "groundbreaking", "cutting-edge", "revolutionary", "state-of-the-art", "best-in-class", "world-class"
• Soft hedges: "It's important to remember that", "It should be noted that", "One might argue", "It could be said"
• AI vocabulary words: delve, tapestry, landscape (abstract use), pivotal, crucial, intricate/intricacies, foster, garner, underscore, showcase, testament, vibrant, enhance, interplay, enduring, align with, valuable, highlight (as verb)
• Significance puffing: "stands as", "serves as a testament to", "a vital/crucial/pivotal role", "reflects broader", "setting the stage for", "represents a shift", "key turning point", "evolving landscape", "indelible mark", "deeply rooted"
• Dangling participle analysis: sentences ending in "...highlighting X", "...underscoring Y", "...fostering Z", "...contributing to...", "...encompassing..."
• Vague attribution: "Industry reports suggest", "Experts argue", "Some critics argue", "Observers have cited"

See references/ai-patterns.md for the exhaustive list with examples.

2. STRUCTURAL PATTERNS — scan and fix

• Em dash overuse: max ONE em dash (—) per piece. Convert the rest to commas or periods.
• Rule of three: find repeated "X, Y, and Z" triplets, especially adjective lists. Break them up or cut.
• One-sentence paragraphs for drama: merge them into adjacent paragraphs.
• Performed authenticity: cut "Let me be real here", "Honestly,", "To be frank,".
• "Despite challenges" formula: "Despite [X], [subject] faces challenges including..." — rewrite directly.
• Future-prospects boilerplate section: cut it or fold into the body.
• Tacked-on present participles at sentence ends: cut or restructure.
• Formulaic conclusion that restates everything: either cut or replace with a single sharp takeaway.
• Excessive boldface: keep bold only for genuinely navigational headings, not emphasis.
• "Not only X but also Y" used more than once: fix all but at most one.
• Sentence-initial connector clusters: "Moreover,", "Furthermore,", "Additionally," — cut most; use "Also" or restructure.
• Rhetorical Q&A: question posed then immediately answered — cut the question, just answer.
• "From X to Y" breadth constructions: cut if purely decorative.

3. TONE — final pass

• No exclamation marks in professional prose. Period.
• Promotional language: "boasts a", "nestled", "in the heart of", "renowned for", "commitment to" — rewrite neutrally.
• Over-attribution: remove "as noted by [source]" unless citation is actually needed.
• Exaggerated significance: if a mundane thing is described as historic or landmark — dial it back.
• Everything positive spin: if something is genuinely mixed or bad, say so plainly.

---

Voice Spot-Check

After mechanical fixes, read the piece aloud mentally. Ask:

1. Does it start with the point? If not, cut the preamble.
2. Would a confident person write this? If it reads like hedging or salesmanship, revise.
3. Sentence rhythm varied? Mix short punchy sentences with longer ones. No wall of identical-length sentences.
4. Active voice? Passive is fine occasionally; not as default.
5. Plain words? If I reached for a fancy word when a plain one works, swap it.

Full voice spec: references/adhish-style.md

---

Output

Return the rewritten prose only. No meta-commentary like "Here's the humanized version:". No preamble. Just the text.