Two years ago, my LinkedIn content was so painfully boring that I wouldn’t even read it myself. Generic corporate-speak. Obvious observations disguised as insights. The professional equivalent of “live, laugh, love” platitudes.
No wonder nobody engaged with it.
Today, my articles and posts regularly attract thousands of views, meaningful comments, and—more importantly—have led to speaking engagements, consulting clients, and career opportunities. The difference wasn’t posting frequency or algorithm tricks—it was finding my authentic professional voice.
The transformation started when a brutally honest friend read one of my posts and asked: “Would you actually say any of this in a real conversation, or are you just writing what you think a ‘professional’ should sound like?”
Ouch. But he was right.
Most professionals write in a voice that isn’t remotely their own, creating content divorced from how they actually think and speak. The result is the LinkedIn equivalent of the uncanny valley—content that reads like it was written by a corporate AI rather than a human with unique perspectives.
Here’s the step-by-step process I used to develop an authentic professional voice that stands out:
Step 1: The “cocktail party” test Record yourself explaining your professional ideas to a friend at a (real or imaginary) cocktail party. Transcribe it. That’s your natural voice—conversational but informed, without corporate jargon or performative formality. My writing improved immediately when I started with spoken concepts first.
Step 2: Find your unique perspective intersection True thought leadership emerges from the intersection of your professional expertise, personal experiences, and contrarian viewpoints. I created a simple Venn diagram with these three circles and focused on topics that hit all three.
Example: My experience working in both startups and enterprise companies gave me unique perspective on why corporate innovation programs often fail—resulting in my most-shared article ever.
Step 3: Develop intellectual courage Most boring content stems from fear—fear of being wrong, controversial, or too revealing. Start with lower-stakes contrarian opinions: “I believe most marketing automation is counterproductive” rather than playing it safe with “Automation offers many benefits and challenges.”
When I started publishing strong opinions (backed by reasoning, not just assertion), engagement with my content increased fivefold overnight.
Step 4: Write “stealth drafts” For topics where you’re struggling to sound authentic, write a version you’d never publish—one that’s too casual, provocative, or blunt. Then dial it back 20% for publication. This prevents overcorrection into corporate-speak while keeping professional boundaries.
Step 5: Create a “never say” list I keep a running list of terms and phrases I refuse to use: “synergy,” “leverage” (as a verb), “best practices,” “think outside the box,” etc. This forces more precise and authentic language.
Step 6: Insert your humanity Professional doesn’t mean impersonal. Specific details from your life create connection without oversharing. Mentioning my massive coffee dependency or my embarrassing spreadsheet organization system makes concepts more relatable while remaining professionally appropriate.
Step 7: Publish before you’re ready Perfectionism kills authentic voice. I follow the “90% rule”—when content feels 90% ready, I publish. The remaining 10% of polish often removes personality anyway.
Remember that authentic professional voice isn’t about being casual or inappropriate—it’s about communicating your actual thinking rather than what you believe “professional content” should sound like.
When you stop trying to sound like a generic professional and start communicating as your professional self, you transform from one of a thousand identical voices into someone worth listening to.