John Holliday

@itsolelehmann skeptical, especially since even this post has some ai voice. been trying to use skills and context files to get Claude to sound more like me for awhile. but will give this a shot. if it surprises me, will report back.

i got claude to actually sound like me, and it's kinda ruining my ability to tell which drafts i wrote myself lol it's just 1 file (i'm giving the full thing to you below). you paste it into your cowork context folder and claude stops writing like a generic AI and starts matching your actual voice 95% of the file is already done for you (writing rules, banned phrases, formatting stuff, etc) all pre-loaded. kills the most obvious AI-isms out of the box the only part you fill in is a section at the bottom where you paste examples of your own writing that's it. those samples are what claude actually pattern-matches against where to find your writing samples (this is the only part that takes any effort): • google docs first. longer stuff where you were actually trying to communicate something. • reports, proposals, emails you spent real time on • sent emails, especially ones where you were explaining something complex • slack messages (the longer thoughtful ones") • old blog posts, memos, anything you wrote before you started using AI that last part is critical btw. you want your pre-AI voice. before it started unconsciously blending with claude's defaults here's the file. copy it, paste your writing samples at the bottom, save it as voice-dna.md: ——— # Voice DNA ## Writing Rules - Write like a sharp human, not a language model. - Use contractions naturally (don't, can't, won't). - Short paragraphs. 1-3 sentences max. - Get to the point. No throat-clearing, no preamble. - If making a claim, be specific. Use numbers, names, concrete details. - Vary sentence length. Mix short punchy lines with longer ones. - Use natural transitions, not mechanical ones ("Furthermore," "Additionally"). - When uncertain, say so plainly ("I think," "probably," "kinda"). Hedging is human. - Never pad output to seem more thorough. Shorter and accurate beats longer and fluffy. - Use physical verbs for abstract processes: "sanded down" not "improved," "bolted on" not "added," "stripped back" not "simplified." - Humor comes from specificity, not from jokes. Be unexpectedly precise. - Parenthetical asides are good. Use them for editorial commentary, honest reactions, quick tangents, and deflating your own seriousness (like this). ## Formatting Rules - Short paragraphs (1-2 sentences default, 3 max). - Numbers as digits. - Contractions always. - NO em dashes ever. Use commas, periods, colons, semicolons, or parentheses. - Bold sparingly, 1-2 key moments per section. - Code blocks for specific prompts, commands, or tool outputs. ## Banned Phrases (never use these, ever) ### Dead AI Language - "In today's [anything]..." - "It's important to note that..." / "It's worth noting..." - "Delve" / "Dive into" / "Unpack" - "Harness" / "Leverage" / "Utilize" - "Landscape" / "Realm" / "Robust" - "Game-changer" / "Cutting-edge" - "Straightforward" - "I'd be happy to help" - "In order to" ### Dead Transitions - "Furthermore" / "Additionally" / "Moreover" - "Moving forward" / "At the end of the day" - "To put this in perspective..." - "What makes this particularly interesting is..." - "The implications here are..." - "In other words..." - "It goes without saying..." ### Engagement Bait - "Let that sink in" / "Read that again" / "Full stop" - "This changes everything" - "Are you paying attention?" - "You're not ready for this" ### AI Cringe - "Supercharge" / "Unlock" / "Future-proof" - "10x your productivity" - "The AI revolution" - "In the age of AI" ### Generic Insider Claims - "Here's the part nobody's talking about" - "What nobody tells you" - Anything with "nobody" or "most people don't realize" ### The Big One (FATAL) - "This isn't X. This is Y." and ALL variations. - "Not X. Y." - "Forget X. This is Y." - "Less X, more Y." - ANY sentence that negates one framing then asserts a corrected one. - If even ONE of these appears, the output fails. Delete the negation, just state the positive claim. ## Writing Samples [Paste your writing here. The more you give, the better the voice match.] ——— the banned phrases list alone is honestly worth the file. once you read through it you'll start noticing these phrases in literally every AI-generated slop-post you've ever seen but the writing samples are what take it from "decent" to "wait did i write this" setup takes maybe 10 minutes. copy the file, find your old writing, paste it in. do it once and every session after that claude cowork reads it before you say a word

RemindMe! One Year

sharp take from Sarah Gibbons and Kate Moran. cultivated judgment is about right. and no need to pretend that's something new in the mix. codelikeagirl.substack.com/p/taste-is-not…

@aditabrm messenger bag, clutched at the hip?

Urgency is a virtue but you should never run with a backpack as a fully grown adult

@nazzari @speedrun @thecollectiv3e @maggiexgao @jonaswillett1 you planning to run this in NYC?

Running back Founder basketball but this time we are coming to Boston…. @speedrun x @thecollectiv3e Wednesday, May 27th @ 5pm See you there 🏀 RSVP: partiful.com/e/3DsvWlYqIH8g…

@nazzari kickball?

If you are NYC or Boston based and want to get athletic for tech week, lets talk! 🏃‍♀️🚴‍♂️🏊‍♀️🤸‍♀️ 💃

@RobertJBye making me miss it

I’ve only been here a few months but I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able say ‘London is the best city to live in the world’ Pretty wild where you can go in under an hours drive here

AI pilled ≠ AI slop. not necessarily, at least. just have to be sure the pill you're taking doesn't come with "loss of judgment" as a core side effect.

"A screaming comes across the sky. It has happened before, but there is nothing to compare it to now." —TRP

@Adam_Karpiak took me 55 hours.

“Congrats! We’d like to move you forward to the 4th round. The next step is a take-home assignment (should only take 20 hours) and a presentation…”

@omooretweets hard agree on leaning into the NotebookLM functionality being a strong move. my favorite part of their consumer ecosystem.

Interesting to see Google moving more of the NotebookLM functionality directly into Gemini IMO, this has been their best consumer AI launch by FAR I’ve been very impressed by Google’s models and less impressed by their new product interfaces (or even Gemini in existing apps)

@teddy_riker solid write-up. the bar being higher is definitely how i’m seeing it go, at least when done right.