Use AI to Personalize, Not Sanitize Your Communication

I’m a huge fan of Grammarly. I appreciate the company’s research on corporate communication, conducted in collaboration with Harris, and believe it’s been a positive addition to our writing toolbox. I run most of my articles through Grammarly’s gauntlet to grow as a communicator who aspires to write more succinctly and clearly. That said, consider Grammarly more of a partner than judge and jury regarding how you express yourself. If you don’t, you’ll discover how AI will strip the humanity out of your communication.

Pet Peeves

Grammarly regularly sends reports on writing submitted to the platform; one metric is Errors. These “errors” are what I like to call “choices.” Grammarly has preferences regarding word selection that may not align with how you elect to convey a particular sentiment. As a CEO, being succinct and clear in your communication to your stakeholders matters, but the humanity of your communication matters just as much. When Grammarly wants you to swap out a word to replace how you would be inclined to express yourself, it’s important to consider, yet be unafraid to dismiss its recommendation.

In Grammarly’s attempt to clarify, it often zigs where it should zag. When it does so, you may discover that the recommended approach has altered the substance or impacted a nuance of what you are trying to communicate. These instances are also excellent candidates for hitting the dismiss button.

Among my favorite “corrections” is its contempt for anything written in the passive voice. Sometimes, I write in the passive voice on purpose. It all depends on who or what you want to highlight as the hero of a sentence. Again, it’s not a mistake, it’s a choice.

My Test 

I thought, and maybe it’s just me, “Could it be that I am being defensive of Grammarly’s wonderful suggestions?” To test this concern, I concocted a little experiment. Over the past few months, I enjoyed the privilege of reading David Brooks’ book How to Know a Person. For fun, I ran several paragraphs from this brilliantly written narrative through Grammarly. It had a field day, making all kinds of comments and suggestions about the author’s “errors.” I tried it with other esteemed writers as well and noticed the same pattern.

The recommendations resulted in one (or more) of three things: 1) Suggested word swaps that were meaningless, 2) Altered sentence structure that changed the meaning of what the authors were trying to express, and 3) A tendency to strip the writers from the equation as if anyone were communicating the thought as opposed it to coming from the writer’s mind, heart, and soul.

What Great Communication Involves 

It starts by looking in the mirror. In a piece I wrote two years ago for CEOWORLD Magazine, here’s what I wrote:

“In 2022, Grammarly/Harris Poll conducted a study that sounded an alarm. The findings revealed that companies in the US alone were losing $1.2 trillion annually because of ineffective communication. The following year, a second look confirmed what the researchers suspected: This problem won’t improve anytime soon, mainly because most business leaders and knowledge workers see themselves as good communicators.

“Suppose no one is willing to look in the mirror (or hold one up for them). In that case, it stands to reason that companies everywhere (as there is no reason to believe this is a US problem alone) will continue to donate to the ICF (Ineffective Communication Fund) at their financial, cultural, and operational peril.”

Communication matters.  

Summary 

In my quest to be more succinct, this article is shorter than my typical contribution. In an effort toward greater clarity, consider AI’s recommendations, but trust your instincts, too. In my attempt to be me – as human as possible – I accepted and rejected Grammarly’s recommendations as I wrote this article. Does that make it perfect? Of course not, but it makes it human and that’s what builds trust. If you want to be a better communicator, then by all means, seek AI’s guidance. Just let authenticity prevail.

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