Putting AI to Work · Resource

De-slop your AI writing.

Alicia Dahling · Dahling Consulting

You have seen it even if you did not have a name for it. The draft that says something is not just a product but a testament to innovation. The paragraph where every sentence is the same length. The word delve. Readers recognize machine writing faster every month, and when your letter sounds like the forty others written by the same model, sameness becomes a competitive problem. The fix is not to stop using the tools. It is to stop accepting their first voice.

The five tells

Read your draft once, looking only for these.

  1. 1

    Inflated significance. Everything is a pivotal moment, a vital role, a broader trend. If a sentence claims importance instead of showing it, cut the claim.

  2. 2

    The tacked-on “-ing” ending. Sentences that trail off with “highlighting the importance of…” or “reflecting a deep commitment to…” are adding fake depth. End the sentence at the fact.

  3. 3

    Vague experts. “Observers note” and “industry reports suggest” with no name attached. Name the source or delete the sentence.

  4. 4

    The brochure adjectives. Vibrant, robust, seamless, stunning, comprehensive. If it could appear in any company’s brochure, it is not saying anything about yours.

  5. 5

    “It’s not X, it’s Y.” The machine’s favorite rhythm, along with lists of exactly three. One instance is fine. Three in one memo is a signature.

The two-word fix for business documents

For memos, instructions, briefs, and documentation, add this to your prompt: “Use ASD-STE100.” That is the aerospace industry’s Simplified Technical English standard — short sentences, one instruction at a time, no decoration — and current models know it well enough to apply it. The trick, popularized by AI educator Ruben Hassid, strips most slop patterns in one move.

Do not use it for anything that should sound like you. A LinkedIn post, a difficult email, a condolence note — the standard makes those cold. It is a clarity lever, not a voice.

The tests that catch the rest

  • Read it out loud. The failure mode of machine writing is not inaccuracy, it is sameness. Your ear catches in one pass what your eye forgives.

  • Set standing instructions once. Every major tool has a settings field for permanent instructions. Mine bans marketing language and opening compliments, and asks for the strongest objection to my position alongside the support for it. The full text is in the working guide.

  • Make it disagree with you. Ask: what is the strongest objection to this draft? A tool that only agrees is not editing, it is flattering — and the research says the flattery changes you, not just the draft.

The full working guide — tools, pricing, privacy settings, and the prompt pattern this page assumes — is on the AI page.

If you want a second pair of eyes on something the machine wrote, write to me and attach it. alicia@dahlingconsulting.com