Finding Your Voice

What Is Voice?

In the previous lesson, we explored persuasive writing. Now let’s build on that foundation. Voice is the sense that a real person wrote this. It’s not just word choice—it’s perspective, opinion, rhythm, personality.

Read something with a strong voice and you feel like you know the author. Read something without voice and it feels like it came from a machine. (Because increasingly, it might have.)

In an AI era, voice is what separates memorable writing from forgettable content.

Voice Elements

Your voice comes from:

Perspective: How you see the world. What you notice. What you ignore.

Opinion: What you think is good, bad, important, overrated. Stances, not just observations.

Examples: The specific things you reference. Your experiences, not generic ones.

Rhythm: Your natural cadence. Short punchy sentences? Flowing longer ones? Mix?

Word choice: The vocabulary you naturally use. Formal? Casual? Technical? Plain?

Humor/tone: Do you use humor? What kind? Dry? Playful? Not at all?

Finding Your Natural Voice

Exercise 1: Write like you talk

Record yourself explaining something to a friend. Transcribe it. Notice:

Your natural sentence length
The words you actually use
How you start and end thoughts
Where you add emphasis

This is your raw voice. Writing that matches this sounds like you.

Exercise 2: Examine writing you’ve liked writing

Look at emails or messages where you felt good about what you wrote. What’s common?

More formal or casual?
Longer or shorter sentences?
Lots of questions or mainly statements?
Humor or straight?

Exercise 3: What do you naturally notice?

When you read something, what do you react to?

Do you notice logical flaws?
Do you notice human impact?
Do you notice practical implications?
Do you notice what’s missing?

Your reactions reveal your perspective.

Teaching AI Your Voice

Give AI examples:

AI: "Here are examples of my writing that I think represent my voice.

[Paste 2-3 samples of your writing you like]

Analyze my voice:
- What patterns do you see?
- How would you describe my tone?
- What's distinctive about it?
- What should you preserve when writing for me?"

Then when drafting:

AI: "Write this in my voice. Based on the examples I shared:
[Reminder of voice characteristics]

Topic: [What you need]
Audience: [Who's reading]

Match my voice, not generic professional writing."

Voice vs. Generic AI

Generic AI output sounds like:

Enthusiastic about everything (“Excited to share!”)
Perfectly balanced (always “on one hand… on the other”)
No strong opinions
Vague enthusiasm without specifics
Predictable structure every time

Writing with voice has:

Actual opinions (even if subtle)
Specific examples only you would use
Rhythms that vary
Personality in word choice
Moments that feel unexpected

Adding Voice to AI Drafts

AI gives you structure and ideas. You add voice.

Ask yourself:

Would I actually say this this way?
Where can I add a specific example from my experience?
Where can I add my opinion (even if mild)?
What phrase sounds too generic and needs personality?
Does this have any rhythm or is it monotonous?

Quick check: Before moving on, can you recall the key concept we just covered? Try to explain it in your own words before continuing.

Common additions:

“Here’s the thing…” (adds conversational tone)
An actual anecdote (“Last week I…”)
A real opinion (“Honestly, I think…”)
Specific reference (“Like when [company] did…”)

Developing Voice Over Time

Voice isn’t something you decide once. It develops.

How to develop it:

Write regularly (practice reveals patterns)
Read writers whose voice you admire (not to copy, but to understand what voice looks like)
Experiment (try different tones, see what fits)
Get feedback (what do people notice about your writing?)
Embrace your quirks (your oddities are your voice)

Voice Across Formats

Your voice adapts, but it’s still recognizable.

Same voice, different formality:

In an email to your team: “OK so we definitely need to talk about the timeline. I think we’re being way too optimistic and I’d rather recalibrate now than panic later.”

In a report to leadership: “The current timeline carries significant risk. I recommend revising our targets now rather than managing a late delivery. Here’s my analysis…”

Both have the same perspective (realistic about timelines, prefers early adjustment). Different formality.

The Authenticity Test

Read your writing aloud. Ask:

Does this sound like me talking?
Would my colleagues recognize this as mine?
Are there any phrases I’d never actually say?
Is there anything here that feels fake?

If something feels off, revise until it doesn’t.

Avoiding Voice Traps

Trap 1: Copying someone else’s voice Admiring someone’s voice is fine. Copying it sounds fake. Learn from others; be yourself.

Trap 2: Confusing personality with unprofessionalism Having voice doesn’t mean being casual everywhere. You can be formal AND have voice.

Trap 3: Forcing uniqueness Don’t try to be quirky for quirky’s sake. Forced personality is worse than none.

Trap 4: Letting AI flatten your voice AI defaults to generic. If you don’t actively maintain your voice, it disappears.

Exercise: Voice Comparison

Write a paragraph about something you know well (don’t use AI)
Ask AI to write about the same topic
Compare: What’s different? What makes yours sound like you?
Identify 3 specific elements of your voice
Next time you use AI, make sure those elements appear in the final draft

Key Takeaways

Voice is perspective, opinion, and personality—not just word choice
In an AI era, voice is what separates memorable from forgettable
Find your natural voice: write like you talk, examine what you’ve liked writing
Teach AI your voice with examples; always edit to add your perspective
Voice vs. generic: actual opinions, specific examples, varied rhythm
Develop voice over time through practice and awareness
The test: read aloud—does it sound like you?

Next: Building a sustainable writing system for everything you write.

Up next: In the next lesson, we’ll dive into Capstone: Your Writing System.