# Prompts to make AI sound human

Free copy-paste prompts from WhyStrohm.
Source: https://whystrohm.com/blog/prompts-to-make-ai-sound-human

How to use them: write your voice file first (prompt 01) and your ban list (prompt 02). Paste both on top of every other prompt. Fill in the parts in [brackets]. Read every result before you publish it.

## Start here: a brand voice prompt

Every prompt after this one gets better with a voice file pasted on top. Write it once, keep it in a document, and paste it into Claude, ChatGPT or whichever tool you use.

### 01. Write your brand voice file

Use it when: Once, before anything else. Update it when you notice the same fix twice.

```text
You are helping me write a brand voice file: a short set of rules any writer or AI tool can follow to sound like us.

About the company:
- What we do: [one sentence]
- Who we serve: [the buyer, as specific as you can]
- What they care about: [their problem, in their words]

Here are 3 to 5 samples of our writing at its best:
[PASTE SAMPLES]

Here are 1 or 2 samples that sound wrong for us, with one line on why:
[PASTE SAMPLES]

Read every sample before you write anything. Then write the voice file with these sections:
1. Who we are talking to (2 lines)
2. How we sound: 5 rules, each with a do and a don't taken from the samples
3. Sentence rules: length, rhythm, we or you, contractions
4. Words we use (10) and words we never use (15)
5. Proof rules: what we may claim, and what needs a source
6. Two before-and-after rewrites of weak lines from the wrong samples

Quote the samples. Do not invent a personality they do not show. Keep the file under 400 words. If something is unclear, list it as a question at the end instead of guessing.
```

Good output: Rules you could hand to a new writer, each one tied to a real line from your samples.

Common mistake: Describing your brand with adjectives instead of samples. "Friendly and bold" gives the model nothing to copy.

### 02. Write your ban list

Use it when: Right after the voice file. Paste it under the voice file in every prompt.

```text
Using the voice file below, write a ban list for everything we publish.

[PASTE VOICE FILE]

Make one table with three columns: banned item | why it reads as AI or off-brand | what we write instead.

Include:
1. Words and phrases. Start with these common AI tells, then add any from our samples that feel off-brand: delve, leverage, unlock, elevate, seamless, robust, game-changing, transformative, "in today's fast-paced world", "it's important to note", "let's dive in".
2. Moves. For example: opening with a rhetorical question, three adjectives in a row, "it's not X, it's Y" setups, ending on a generic call to reflect, statistics with no source.

Every row needs a replacement. Keep it to 30 rows or fewer.
```

Good output: A short table you can paste at the bottom of any prompt.

Common mistake: Banning words without a replacement. The model fills the gap with the next cliche.

## AI prompts for social media posts

Each of these starts from one idea and one real detail. The detail is what makes a post sound like it came from a person.

### 03. LinkedIn post from one idea

Use it when: You have a point worth making and one real example to back it.

```text
Use the voice file and ban list below. Follow them over anything else in this prompt.
[PASTE VOICE FILE AND BAN LIST]

Write a LinkedIn post from this one idea: [the idea, in one or two sentences]
Who should stop scrolling: [the reader]
What they should think or do after reading: [the point]
A real detail to use: [a number, a moment, a customer question, something that happened]

Rules:
- First line under 12 words. It states the point or the tension. Not a question.
- Short paragraphs, one idea each. 120 to 220 words in total.
- Use the real detail. Do not invent numbers, names or results.
- End on one plain line, not a question asking for comments.
- No hashtags. No emojis.

Give me 2 versions with different first lines. Then say which one you would post, in one sentence.
```

Good output: It reads like you explaining something to a peer, with one specific fact in it.

Common mistake: Leaving out the real detail. Without it every post turns into advice anyone could have written.

### 04. Instagram caption

Use it when: The image or reel is done and you need the words under it.

```text
Use the voice file and ban list below.
[PASTE VOICE FILE AND BAN LIST]

Write an Instagram caption for this post: [what the image or reel shows]
The point of the post: [one sentence]
Call to action: [save it / link in bio / reply with a word / none]

Rules:
- The first line works on its own before "more". Under 10 words.
- Then 2 to 4 short lines.
- Do not describe what is already visible in the image. Say why it matters.
- No emojis. At most 3 hashtags, only if they name the topic.

Give 3 options: one direct, one with a small story, one that is a single line.
```

Good output: Three captions that sound different from each other, all in your words.

Common mistake: Captions that narrate the photo. "Here's our new product" tells people what they can already see.

### 05. Carousel, slide by slide

Use it when: An idea has steps, a list or a before and after.

```text
Use the voice file and ban list below.
[PASTE VOICE FILE AND BAN LIST]

Turn this idea into a carousel of [5 to 8] slides: [the idea]
Reader: [who]

- Slide 1: the promise or the tension, under 8 words.
- Middle slides: one point each. A headline under 8 words and at most 2 supporting lines.
- Last slide: the takeaway in one line, and what to do next.

Every slide must make sense if it is the only one someone sees. No filler slides like "Let's get into it". Mark any claim that needs a source with [SOURCE?].

Then write the caption for the carousel in 2 or 3 lines.
```

Good output: Slides you can read in two seconds each on a phone.

Common mistake: Too many words per slide. If it does not read at a glance, cut it.

## Prompts for video scripts

Short video lives or dies in the first three seconds. These two prompts write the script, then give you openings to test.

### 06. Short vertical video script

Use it when: Someone on the team will talk to camera for 30 to 60 seconds.

```text
Use the voice file and ban list below.
[PASTE VOICE FILE AND BAN LIST]

Write a [30 / 45 / 60]-second vertical video script about: [topic]
Speaker: [founder or team member], talking straight to camera.
The one idea the viewer should leave with: [point]

Format it as a table: time | what is said | what is on screen (caption, b-roll or graphic).

Rules:
- 0 to 3 seconds: the opening line states the problem or the payoff. No "Hey guys", no "In this video".
- About 2.5 spoken words per second, so 30 seconds is about 75 words.
- One idea, one example, one plain closing line.
- The captions match the spoken words exactly.

Then give 3 alternative first lines.
```

Good output: A script you can read aloud on time, with the captions already written.

Common mistake: Too many words. Read it aloud with a timer before anyone records it.

### 07. Ten openings to test

Use it when: A post or script is finished and you want versions to test.

```text
Here is a finished post or script:
[PASTE]

And our voice file:
[PASTE VOICE FILE]

Write 10 alternative opening lines. Each under 12 words. Use different approaches and label each one: the problem, the result, a real number (use only these: [list real numbers, or write none]), a common mistake, a claim we can back up, a moment, a direct instruction.

Do not change anything after the opening. Then pick the 3 that are most different from each other to test first.
```

Good output: Openings that take different angles, not one sentence reworded ten times.

Common mistake: Testing ten versions of the same hook. Ask for different approaches, then pick for spread.

## Prompt for a newsletter

A monthly email is easier to write from facts than from a blank page. List what happened, then let the prompt shape it.

### 08. The monthly email

Use it when: Once a month, from a short list of what happened.

```text
Use the voice file and ban list below.
[PASTE VOICE FILE AND BAN LIST]

Write this month's email to [audience].
What happened or what we made this month:
- [fact]
- [fact]
- [fact]
The one thing worth their time: [link or idea]

Structure:
- Subject line: 3 options, under 45 characters, no clickbait.
- Preview text: one line that adds to the subject instead of repeating it.
- Opening: one or two sentences, straight to the point.
- Body: each fact in 1 to 3 sentences. Links written as plain words.
- Close: one line and a sign-off from [name].

Under 300 words. No "I hope this email finds you well". Do not add events or results that are not in my list.
```

Good output: An email people read to the end because nothing in it is filler.

Common mistake: Padding a thin month. A short email with real news beats a long one without it.

## Turn one recording into a month of posts

One honest conversation holds more good posts than a week of prompting from scratch. This prompt finds them and keeps every piece tied to a real quote.

### 09. One recording, a month of posts

Use it when: You have a transcript of a call, interview, talk or voice memo.

```text
Below is a transcript of [a call / an interview / a talk / a voice memo] with [who].
[PASTE TRANSCRIPT]

And our voice file:
[PASTE VOICE FILE]

Step 1: List every distinct idea worth a post. For each: a one-line summary, the exact quote with its timestamp, and who it is for.
Step 2: Rank the top 8. Specific beats broad.
Step 3: Give each of the top 8 its best format: short video clip (with in and out timestamps), LinkedIn post, carousel, caption or newsletter section.
Step 4: Lay them out as a 4-week calendar, 2 pieces a week, never two pieces from the same idea in one week.

Use only what was said. Quote it. Do not turn it into new claims.
```

Good output: A month of pieces where every one traces back to a line someone actually said.

Common mistake: Asking for a summary first. Summaries throw away the specific lines that make posts good.

## Prompts to stop AI slop before you publish

Run any draft through one of these before it goes out. They work on your own writing too.

### 10. The slop check

Use it when: Before anything written with AI is published.

```text
Act as a strict editor. Here is a draft:
[PASTE DRAFT]

Find every sign of generic AI writing:
- stock phrases and filler
- hedges and empty intensifiers ("very", "truly", "it's worth noting")
- sentences that could appear in any company's post
- claims with no source or detail
- rhythm problems: every sentence the same length, lists of three, "it's not X, it's Y"

For each one: quote the line, say what is wrong in under 10 words, and give the fixed line.

Then return the full revised draft. Keep my meaning and my facts. Add no new claims.
Finally, score the before and after from 1 to 10 for "a specific person wrote this", with one line on why.
```

Good output: A list of exact lines with fixes, then a cleaner draft that still says what you meant.

Common mistake: Accepting the rewrite without reading the list. The list teaches you what to stop writing.

### 11. Check a draft against your brand

Use it when: Someone else wrote the draft, or you want a second opinion.

```text
Here is our voice file and ban list:
[PASTE VOICE FILE AND BAN LIST]

Here is a draft:
[PASTE DRAFT]

Check the draft against every rule in the voice file, one rule at a time. Output a table: rule | pass or fail | the line that breaks it | the fix.

Then list anything in the draft that the file does not cover but that still feels off. Do not rewrite the whole draft. Fix only the failing lines.
```

Good output: A rule-by-rule table, so you know exactly which lines to change.

Common mistake: Asking "is this on brand?" A yes or no tells you nothing you can act on.

### 12. Make it sound like a person said it

Use it when: The facts are right but it still reads like a machine.

```text
Rewrite the text below so it sounds like [name, role] saying it out loud to [who] across a table.
[PASTE TEXT]

Here are 2 or 3 things this person has actually said or written:
[PASTE]

Rules:
- Keep every fact, number and name. Add none.
- Use the words this person uses. Jargon only if the listener uses it too.
- Vary sentence length. Some sentences can be four words.
- Contractions are fine.
- Cut any sentence that exists only to sound smart.

Then read your version as if aloud and fix any line that would be awkward to say.
```

Good output: Text that sounds like one real person, because it copies their actual words.

Common mistake: Asking to "make it more human" with nothing else. The model needs a real person's words to copy.

## Prompts for images and video in your brand style

The same idea works for visuals: describe the style once, keep it identical across prompts, and generate single shots you can edit together. Try these with an image tool such as Midjourney or Gemini, or the image and video models on fal.ai, or a video model such as Veo.

### 13. Brand-style image prompts

Use it when: A post or campaign needs a set of images that look like one shoot.

```text
Here is our visual style:
- Colours: [hex codes]
- Mood in three plain words: [words]
- We always show: [what]
- We never show: [what]
- Reference images: [describe 2 or 3 in one sentence each]

I need images for: [the post or campaign], to run as [feed 4:5 / story 9:16 / banner 16:9].

Write [4] prompts for an image generation tool. Each prompt:
- describes the subject, setting, light, lens and framing in plain photographic terms
- names the aspect ratio
- leaves empty space for text where I need it: [top third / left half]
- ends with what to avoid: text or letters in the image, logos, extra fingers, plastic-looking skin, a glossy over-lit look

Use the same light and colour words in all 4 so they look like one shoot.
```

Good output: Four prompts that produce a matching set, with room left for your headline.

Common mistake: Writing each prompt from scratch. Change the subject, keep the style words identical.

### 14. Short video shot prompts

Use it when: You have a storyboard line and want a few seconds of motion.

```text
Turn this storyboard line into prompts for an image-to-video or text-to-video tool:
[the shot, in 1 to 3 sentences]

Match this style: [paste the same style notes as your image prompts]

Write 3 prompts, 4 to 6 seconds each. For each:
- Start frame: what is on screen.
- Camera: one move only (slow push in, slow pan, or static).
- Motion: small and physical (steam rising, fabric moving, light shifting).
- Must not change: faces, product shape, colours, any logo.
- Avoid: warping, morphing hands, text on screen, sudden cuts.
```

Good output: Short, controlled shots that match your images and cut together cleanly.

Common mistake: Asking for a whole story in one clip. Generate single shots, then edit them together.

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