Who this checklist is for
This checklist is for anyone who asks AI to write their emails, posts or proposals and then rewrites half of it because it sounds like AI: owners, salespeople, managers and anyone with a busy inbox. Use it the next time you open ChatGPT, Claude or any other assistant to write something with your name on it.
Items 1 to 8 work in any AI. Item 9 uses Claude Projects. Never paste passwords, ID numbers or client details you are not allowed to share, and read every draft before you send it.
The 9 ways, in the order of the reel
Paste 3 emails you wrote, ask it to copy your tone
Pick three real emails or posts you are happy with and paste them in before your request. Ask it to match the length, the greeting and the way you sign off. Examples teach tone far better than words like friendly or professional.
Say who will read it, get words that fit that person
A late-payment note to a ten-year client reads differently from one to a new customer. Say who the reader is and what you want them to do after reading, and the draft stops sounding like it was written for nobody.
Type your rough points first, so it keeps your ideas
A blank request gets a generic answer. Type three or four rough points in your own words, typos and all, and ask it to turn them into the message. The ideas stay yours; only the wording gets cleaned up.
Ask for short sentences, so it reads like a person
Ask for sentences of 12 words or fewer and no bullet points in an email. Long, balanced sentences are the first thing that makes a message sound machine-written.
List words you never say, so it stops using them
Write down the words that make you wince in AI drafts and tell it not to use them. Add any phrase you would never say to a client. Check the draft once for them before you send.
Ask it to ask you questions first, get fewer guesses
End your request with: before you write, ask me any questions you need. It will ask about the details it would otherwise invent, such as dates, names or the real reason for the message.
Ask for 3 versions, then keep the lines you like
Ask for three short versions in different tones, then pick the best line from each and ask it to combine them. You choose the voice instead of accepting the first draft.
Read it aloud, ask it to fix any line you'd never say
Read the draft out loud. Paste back any line that sounds wrong and say what you would say instead. Two rounds of this usually gets it close to how you talk.
Add your emails to a Claude Project: it writes like you
In Claude, a Project keeps files and a few lines of instructions that every chat inside it starts with. Add a document with your best emails and posts, and write an instruction such as: write like the samples, short sentences, no jargon. You stop pasting examples every time.
Questions about making AI write like you
How do I make ChatGPT or Claude sound like me?
What is a Claude Project?
Is it safe to paste my emails into AI?
Want AI drafting your replies in your own voice?
Book a digital audit. We will look at the emails and messages your team writes every day and show which ones AI can draft for review, in your tone.
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