LinkedIn Voice Skill

This skill writes LinkedIn posts in YOUR voice — not a generic LinkedIn thought-leader voice, not a "casual professional" AI impression.

To work well, it needs a real voice profile. The template below is a starting point — you'll need to fill in your own examples and preferences before the skill is useful. Once filled in, the skill will pattern-match to YOUR specifics rather than to a generic mold.

Setup tip: When you customize this, replace every "[YOUR ...]" placeholder with the real thing. The more specific and real, the better it works. Vague answers produce vague posts.

Step 1 — Fill in the voice profile (do this once)

About you

• Name: [YOUR NAME]
• Role / title / company: [YOUR ROLE — e.g. "Founder, Acme Co." or "Senior data scientist at BigCorp"]
• What you post about: [YOUR TOPICS — 2–4 themes you publicly write about, e.g. "data viz, presentations, AI tools"]

Five real posts you've written

Paste 5 of your own actual LinkedIn posts here — the ones that feel most like you. Don't paste polished "thought leader" posts you wrote performatively; paste the ones friends would recognize as yours.

[POST 1 — paste here]

[POST 2 — paste here]

[POST 3 — paste here]

[POST 4 — paste here]

[POST 5 — paste here]

Distinctive traits in your writing

List 5–10 specific things you do that aren't generic. Examples to consider:

• A signature opening pattern (e.g. "I always lead with a concrete detail")
• A signature transition word (e.g. "I use 'Translation:' to flip from technical to plain English")
• A humor style (e.g. "dry asides in parentheses", "self-deprecating", "no jokes at all")
• A signoff pattern (e.g. "I always end with 'More to come!'")
• Word choices you avoid (e.g. "I never use 'leverage' or 'unlock'")
• Emoji usage (e.g. "1–2 emojis sometimes, usually none")
• Length tendency (e.g. "I write 100–250 words usually")

Fill in:

• [TRAIT 1]
• [TRAIT 2]
• [TRAIT 3]
• [TRAIT 4]
• [TRAIT 5]
• [TRAIT 6 — optional]
• [TRAIT 7 — optional]

Things you NEVER do

List 5–10 patterns you find cringeworthy or AI-shaped. Examples:

• "I never write 'It's not X, it's Y'"
• "I never end with 'What do you think? Drop a comment!'"
• "I never use the rule of three (clear, concise, actionable)"
• "I never start with 'In today's world...' or any abstract opener"

Fill in:

• [NEVER 1]
• [NEVER 2]
• [NEVER 3]
• [NEVER 4]
• [NEVER 5]

Step 2 — Drafting workflow

When asked to write a post:

1. Understand what the user wants to say. If the prompt is vague, ask one question: what's the real thing that happened, or the real thing they want people to know?
2. Find the hook in the specifics. What's the most concrete, true, slightly-unexpected detail here? Start there. Resist the urge to open with a broad statement.
3. Draft the post. Stay in the user's voice throughout (per the profile above). Write paragraphs, not line-per-sentence stacks (unless their voice profile says otherwise).
4. Run the AI-tells check. Open references/avoid-ai-tells.md and scan the draft for any of those patterns. Strip them out. Pay special attention to: constructed humor, rule of three, "It's not X, it's Y", corporate vocab, grand endings.
5. Present the post. If the request was open-ended, offer 2 versions with clearly labeled angles (e.g., "Option A — leads with the personal story / Option B — leads with the insight"). Otherwise, one draft is fine.
6. After the post, add a single line noting what choice you made and invite feedback.

Common post structures

Most personal-voice LinkedIn posts fall into one of these shapes. Pick the one that fits the material — don't force material into a structure that doesn't fit.

1. Concrete Hook → Real Point

Open with a specific, true, slightly-weird detail. Then connect it naturally to something worth saying. The hook should be something that actually happened, not a constructed image — specificity is the whole point.

2. Observation → Practical Tips

Notice something real in the world. Explain why it matters. Give 3–5 numbered steps. End with a wry line.

3. Warm Team/Event Update

Describe a real trip or moment. Name people specifically. Be genuine. Don't moralize or draw lessons — let the story be the story.

4. Contrarian Take + Data

Push back on a popular narrative. Stay calm, not combative. Use real numbers when possible. End with a plain-English summary.

5. Tool/Test Breakdown

"I tested X across 5 real situations." Structured, honest about limitations. One clear verdict at the end.

Output Format

• Full post, ready to copy-paste
• Paragraph breaks between ideas (not single-sentence line breaks throughout, unless that's part of the user's voice)
• 100–250 words is the typical sweet spot; longer only if the content clearly warrants it
• If offering variants: label them simply ("Option A / Option B")

Final Gut-Check

Before finishing, read the post out loud (mentally). If any sentence sounds like a generic LinkedIn post rather than the user's voice — rewrite it or cut it.

The goal: someone who knows the user reads this and thinks "yep, that's them." Not "that's a good LinkedIn post."