Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Speak with Your Own Voice

Don’t let the clichéd voices in your head dictate what you really want to say from your heart

By André van Heerden, Communications Director

Have you ever noticed that if you’re asked to write a reference letter that your style of writing immediately becomes more formal? As soon as you type the words, “To whom it may concern,” the words following that feel like they must be official and stilted sounding.

Or maybe you notice that if you’re trying to sell something online, that the phrases you use for your online ad somehow mimic sales language that you’ve heard from a radio commercial or a used car salesman?

Within the world of cyber security, there’s certainly a recognition that certain words and phrases have a high likelihood of being associated with spam or scams. One of my colleagues recently shared a helpful article that listed many of the words that trigger spam filters. A good way to avoid having email messages end up in junk folders is to avoid using certain key words.

In reading through the list though, I was struck by how clichéd they all were. Whether they got labelled as spam or not, most of them should be labelled as mimicry or inauthentic messaging.

We all have unique voices—our own way of speaking—and I’d bet that most of us never sound like what comes after “to whom it may concern” or “for a limited time only.” And the danger of falling into the trap of writing how we think we’re supposed to sound is that the meaning, tone, and especially the authenticity, can all get lost.

In Sara Bareilles’ catchy song “Brave,” the chorus repeats “Say what you wanna say / And let the words fall out / Honestly I wanna see you be brave.” The theme of the song is to say what you mean rather than conforming to what others think you should say.

I remember a number of instances where out of nervousness or fear I’ve fallen back on certain patterns of writing that try to sound a certain way instead of just saying what I want to say. Whether it was for the opening remarks of a presentation, or as the emcee at an event, or writing a simple agreement with an employee, I’ve found myself writing or saying something in a way that I’ve never communicated before. Especially with the agreement with the employee, everything began to sound like legal jargon, which can sound confrontational, rather than laying out simply what our agreement was.

Former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright said that “it took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.”

Author and broadcaster Jen Mueller wrote that “the only way to find your voice is to use it.”

With the advent and wide proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI), I worry that increasingly everyone is going to be sounding like someone other than themselves—and even sounding like everyone else who are also using AI to communicate. Already, I’ve come across memos and emails that sound very much like boilerplate text copy that could have come from anywhere—and likely did.

But I know for certain that if I had the choice between a perfect bland AI resume cover letter and one that had a real voice, even if less polished, the genuine message would resonate more with me.

Apple cofounder Steve Jobs said, “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”

I’d add to this: don’t let the clichéd voices in your head dictate what you really want to say from your heart. It will help you avoid spam and Internet security filters and reach others who also want to hear what you really have to say.

Speak with Your Own Voice

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