Stop Telling Humans How to Sound Human
Listen Instead
“If you need a list to sound human, maybe it’s time to start feeling again.”
The Internet’s New Obsession: Teaching Humanity by Committee
I came across a viral “writing rules” post this week that promised to teach the reader how to write with AI to sound more human.
It had a hundred and thirty-seven points. One hundred. And thirty-seven.
By the time I reached “avoid words that make you sound emotional,” I started checking for signs of life in the author.
These weren’t tips. They were commandments carved in the beige marble of LinkedIn wisdom.
Rules like never use “imagine,” cut all adverbs, and my personal favorite: avoid metaphors.
Sure. Because the problem with human writing has always been… imagination. Can’t let that uppity AI shortcut to churning out more content sound imaginative. insert eye roll here
How We Got Here
Somewhere along the line, we decided that clarity meant sterility. That the best way to communicate was to strip away everything that makes language worth hearing.
We turned storytelling into a spreadsheet.
We replaced voice with formulas.
We started editing emotion like it was a typo.
And now, the internet is full of “authenticity coaches” and “AI prompt experts” explaining how to “sound less robotic” — by writing like robots. And yes, they have ruined the use of the “em dash”– so I am taking a stand and taking it back!
Here’s the truth the so called AI prompt experts won’t say out loud: These lists aren’t about art. They’re about control.
They exist to make people feel safe from emotion, safe from ambiguity, safe from being seen. But creativity doesn’t grow in safety. It grows in the wild.
What Real Writing Feels Like
Real writing leaks.
It trembles.
It contradicts itself mid-sentence because feeling doesn’t follow grammar.
Even writing for the content churn.
It’s the quiver in your hand when you write something too true.
It’s the rush when a sentence lands so perfectly you forget to breathe.
It’s the ache in your chest when you realize you’ve just said the thing you’ve spent your whole life avoiding.
That’s what makes it human. Not the word count. Not the readability score. The pulse. And writing like that can come from AI. You just have to learn how to talk to it.
Join the Quiet Rebellion
If you’re tired of writing that sounds like it was drafted by committee and edited by fear,
welcome to the wild.
We write like we mean it here.
Messy, heartfelt, too much, too honest.
We’re the ones lighting matches in a world of fluorescent lighting. So the next time someone tells you how to “sound human,” smile sweetly and hand them a tiara.
They’ll need it when they realize emotion is the new punk.
Clarity without sincerity is just noise.
Author Note
This essay is part of the Quiet Rebellion series — reflections on sincerity, storytelling, and the strange joy of being human in an age that keeps trying to sound like a machine.
If you ever find yourself tired of the noise, remember: you don’t need to “sound human.” You just need to be one.
✨ Welcome to the Wild. ✨
