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Writing is hard work. It is also essential for business communication. No wonder so many people are turning to AI for help with documents and presentations. But if you are not careful, AI may flatten your words into bland corporate speak.
Take this email I wrote:
Hey Bill!
Fantastic. You did it. You got the job. I’m so happy for you. I know, I really know, how much you wanted it and how much you put into it. I think it’s probably a great fit and just want to wish you and Sasha all the success in the world.
Charlie
My intent was to convey my delight and enthusiasm that Bill had gotten the job he wanted. It was more about feeling than facts.
Here is how AI “improved” my note, transforming delight into dull:
Dear Bill,
Congratulations on getting the job! I am thrilled for you, and I know how much you wanted this and how hard you worked for it. It is a fantastic fit, and I wish you and Sasha all the success in the world.
Best regards,
Charlie
The revised email feels generic. The repetition, informality, and slightly awkward enthusiasm that gave the original its personality are gone.
Most of the time, when you are writing, you want to do more than convey information. You want to engage people, persuade them, reassure them, and move them to act. If your goal is to influence people, AI can help, but it cannot take responsibility for human-to-human communication. That remains your job.
The problem is not using AI to help you write. It is outsourcing the writing to AI.
AI is most useful when you involve it early, while you are defining your purpose, organizing your ideas, and thinking about your audience. Then, if you use it to produce a draft, it is working from your thinking rather than substituting for it.
Here are four ways to do that:
1. Use AI to help you get started.
Staring at a blank screen can be discouraging when you do not know how to begin. A brief dialogue with AI can get you moving.
Try a prompt like:
“I’m writing a [type of document]. Help me get started by asking me three questions, one at a time, about my situation, goals, and audience. Then suggest an approach and flow.”
Answering the questions helps you get past the barrier of starting. It also forces you to clarify what you are trying to accomplish before you begin drafting. The questions may expose assumptions, conflicts, or missing information that could otherwise create problems later.
2. Ask AI to help you organize your thoughts.
You may have a lot of ideas, but they may be incomplete or poorly organized. AI can help you achieve clarity with a “mind dump.”
Type or dictate everything that comes to mind without worrying about order, contradictions, or completeness. Just get your ideas down. I often do this in a word processor and then paste the result into AI.
Do not waste time editing, and do not censor your ideas. Give AI a prompt like:
“Here is a mind dump of my ideas. Organize them. Then give me a bullet-point summary that shows the proposed content and flow. Suggest what I may be overlooking and point out any contradictions.”
This technique gives you the raw material and structure for the document. It works especially well for proposals, presentations, reports, and training materials.
Review the bullet points to make sure they are accurate. Delete anything irrelevant, add important ideas that were missed, and correct points that don’t reflect your meaning.
3. Ask AI to help you reach your audience.
For a document or presentation to succeed, it has to land with the audience. The way you present your ideas should fit their viewpoints, priorities, concerns, and organizational culture.
This becomes more complicated when the audience includes people with different backgrounds. A cross-functional team might include people from technology, marketing, and sales. A proposal might also involve customers, outside partners, or people from different parts of the same organization.
Each group may care about something different, use different language, and judge the proposal by different standards.
AI can help you think through these differences before you begin writing. Describe who will be in the audience, what each group is likely to consider important, and any concerns or resistance they may have. Then ask AI to suggest how you should frame and organize the material so that it speaks to the entire audience without becoming fragmented or repetitive.
Try a prompt like:
“I’m preparing a [document or presentation] for an audience that includes [describe the groups]. For each group, identify their likely priorities, concerns, and questions. Then suggest how I should frame and organize the material so that it will be clear and persuasive to the entire audience. Point out where the groups’ interests may conflict and how I might address those differences.”
Treat AI’s inferences about your audience and organizational culture, skeptically. It can easily misread the situation, so regard its suggestions as possibilities, not firm conclusions.
4. Ask AI to create the first draft.
You can write manually or ask AI to turn your edited bullet points into draft text. If you have followed the first three steps, AI already has useful context about your situation, goals, audience, and content.
Before using AI to draft text, review the bullet points because the draft will rely on them.
Ask AI to turn the bullet points into connected prose. Be specific about how you want the draft to sound. You can specify the voice, style, directness, level of formality, and tone. You can also describe where the material will be used and how long it should be.
Try a prompt like:
“Using the bullet points below, create a first draft of a [type of document]. Write for [describe the audience and purpose]. Use a [conversational, professional, direct, formal, reassuring, or other] tone. Preserve my meaning and do not add unsupported claims. Produce draft text that flows logically and is easy to follow.”
Some caution is needed here. AI can produce polished language that sounds convincing but is inaccurate, incomplete, or poorly suited to your purpose.
You remain responsible for the facts, the judgment, and the final result.
Always treat what AI produces as a first draft, not a finished product. Plan to edit it for accuracy, emphasis, voice, and fit with the audience and situation.
Use AI to Assist You, Not Replace You
These four tips are only examples. There is much more you can do. The central idea is to use AI throughout the early stages of writing rather than simply handing it the entire job.
AI can help you get started, organize your thoughts, and understand your audience. It can suggest content you may have overlooked. It can turn your ideas into a useful first draft.
But effective writing is human-to-human communication. AI can generate polished language, but it cannot take responsibility for what the writing says or how it affects another person.
Use AI to question, organize, and develop your ideas. Use it to create a draft when that helps. Always edit the result so it reflects your meaning, your judgment, and your voice.
AI can assist you. It should not become the author.
Charles B. Kreitzberg is a cognitive psychologist, technologist, author, musician, and user experience designer. He has worked with computers since the 1960s and has spent his career helping people understand and use complex technology. In 1982, he founded Cognetics Corporation, an award-winning user experience design and consulting firm. He later served as Senior UX Advisor at Princeton University. His new book, AI Can Make You Smarter: Practical Skills. Sharper Thinking. Business Value, shows professionals how to use AI to strengthen thinking, learning, communication, judgment, and performance. Learn more at agilethinking.com.
Content brought to you by Charles B. Kreitzberg
