Why Your Professional Communication Sounds Like Everyone Else
- Brainz Magazine
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
Written by Dan Williamson, Coach, Mentor, and Founder
Dan is a qualified coach and mentor with 20+ years of experience helping people unlock their potential by challenging perspectives and enhancing self-awareness. He founded Teach Lead Transform, an online platform for self-discovery, learning, and language growth.
Read the last few emails you sent. Does it sound like you? Or does it sound like it was assembled from a LinkedIn advice article or, increasingly common, written by the same AI everyone uses? If your professional communication could have been written by anyone in your field, it’s hiding, not helping you. I see this pattern constantly in a professional and coaching context, talented professionals who speak with clarity and confidence in person send me emails and job applications that are just too “perfect” and polished. The problem isn’t their competence, but their voice. Or rather, the fact that they’re using everyone else’s voice instead of their own.
Communicating professionally, with personality
Your professional voice is how you communicate in work contexts, your CVs, cover letters, interviews, emails, and LinkedIn posts. It’s the language you choose, the way you structure your thoughts, and the personality (or lack of) that comes through.
For most professionals, that voice isn’t really theirs, it seeks to be the same as the crowd. Early in your career, it became apparent that there’s a “professional” way to communicate. You absorbed this by reading other people’s LinkedIn posts and emails, following interview advice, and modeling your communication on what seemed to work.
The result? You sound like everyone else who learned from the same sources.
"I am writing to express my strong interest in this position. With my proven track record of results-driven leadership and passion for innovation, I believe I would be a valuable addition to your team."
That could be anyone and no one. When recruiters read hundreds of applications, the polished, professional voice disappears into the noise. Personality and originality stand out.
The five voices in job search communication
Through years of working with professionals on their communication, I’ve identified five distinct voices people use. Most are using the first three without realizing it. The goal is the fifth.
1. The borrowed voice
This is the voice you learned from examples, advice articles, and AI.
What it sounds like: "Highly motivated professional with experience driving strategic initiatives and delivering results in fast-paced environments. Known for an ability to leverage cross-functional collaboration to exceed expectations and add value."
Why it feels safe: It’s pre-approved. If everyone else is using this language, it must be right.
Why it fails: It’s generic. Recruiters have read this exact combination of buzzwords many times, and it’s forgettable.
How recruiters spot it: They ask themselves, "Have I read something similar to this before?” If yes, it’s borrowed voice.
2. The performance voice
This is the voice that’s “on” for work, carefully constructed, and exhausting to maintain.
What it sounds like: "I would be honoured to contribute my capabilities to your organization. My background has prepared me for the challenges inherent in this opportunity, and I am confident in my ability to deliver meaningful impact."
Why it feels necessary: You think professional means formal. You’re trying to sound impressive and serious. You believe your natural voice isn’t professional enough.
Why it fails: It doesn’t sound like you. You get to the interview and can’t maintain this level of formality in conversation.
How recruiters spot it: The written communication is dramatically different from the spoken communication. The CV, interview voice, and follow-up email voice don’t match.
3. The acceptable voice
This is the carefully edited version, without personality and any character.
What it sounds like: "I have five years of experience in project management. I am skilled in stakeholder communication and timeline management. I work well independently and as part of a team. I am detail-oriented and deadline-focused."
Why it feels necessary: You’re afraid of standing out. Instead, you make yourself as inoffensive and generic as possible.
Why it fails: Safe is forgettable. When you remove everything that could possibly offend, you remove everything of interest.
How recruiters spot it: They finish reading and realize they know nothing about you as a person. You’re qualified, but they have no sense of how you think or what you’d be like to work with.
4. The fragmented voice
This is when you use different voices across different contexts, professional-formal on your CV, casual-friendly on LinkedIn, and somewhere in between in interviews. Nowhere are you truly authentic.
What it sounds like:
Your CV: "Results-oriented professional with a proven leadership track record."
Your LinkedIn: "Coffee addict | Change maker | Passionate about innovation."
Your interview: Somewhere between the two, with your emails, another variation.
Why it happens: You’re trying to be what each context seems to require. You think LinkedIn wants personality, CVs want formality, and interviews want enthusiasm.
Why it fails: Inconsistency creates distrust. Recruiters aren’t sure which version is real, often assuming none of them.
How recruiters spot it: They review your application materials together and notice you sound like different people, raising questions about authenticity.
5. The integrated voice (the goal)
This is your voice, professional, clear, appropriate, and recognizably yours across all contexts.
What it sounds like: "I’ve spent seven years in project management, but I came to it sideways. I was a teacher first, and I kept noticing that the best classroom management was like project management, clear goals, regular check-ins, adapting when things went off track. I realized most project managers used too much process, not enough relationship. I’ve built my approach around what I learned in that classroom."
Why it works: It’s specific to you. No one else has this exact background or this way of explaining their work.
Why recruiters remember it: It’s different. It shows how you think. It gives them something to ask about in the interview, and the style is consistent.
What makes it integrated: You always sound authentic. The language you use in your CV summary, your interview, and your follow-up email is consistent.
Identifying your current voice
Most people don't realize they’re using an inauthentic voice, it’s become so ingrained. Here’s how to check:
The recognition test: Give your cover letter to a colleague who knows you well. Ask them: "Would you have known I wrote this if my name weren’t on it?" If they’re not sure, it’s not really you.
The read-aloud test: Read your CV summary out loud. Does it sound like you explaining your work? If the words don’t ‘flow,’ you’re not being authentic.
The conversation test: Record yourself explaining your work to a friend. Then compare that language to your cover letter or CV summary. They should sound the same.
The consistency test: Put your CV, LinkedIn profile, and a recent work email side by side. Do they sound like the same person? If your CV is formal, your LinkedIn casual, and your interview is somewhere in between, which version is real?
Ask yourself:
Would someone who knows you recognize your CV summary as yours? If not, you’re using Voice 1, 2, or 3.
Are you using phrases you’d never say out loud? "Leveraged synergies," "Proven track record"—if you wouldn’t say this, why are they in your writing?
Does your communication sound like a template? Look at five LinkedIn profile summaries from people in your industry. Do they all sound similar? Does yours? That’s Voice 1.
Do you sound different across your CV, interview, and email? If yes, you’re Voice 4.
Finding your authentic voice
Your authentic voice isn't something you invent. It's something you uncover.
1. Document your natural voice
Record yourself explaining your work to someone who doesn't know your field—anyone who will make you explain clearly, without jargon. Listen for:
The real words you use, not the words you think you should
Your natural sentence structure
How you explain complex ideas simply
Your rhythm and pacing
This is your voice. Remember, it's already professional, clear, articulate, and appropriate.
2. Identify your authentic patterns
Listen to that recording and notice:
What phrases are distinct?
How do you structure explanations?
What examples do you naturally use?
What makes your way of explaining different from others'?
These patterns are your signature. They're what make your communication recognizable.
3. Linking personal to professional
There's a difference between personal writing and how you should write professionally, although the gap is smaller than you think.
Professional doesn't mean formal or generic. It means:
Clear (easy to understand)
Appropriate (matches the context)
Respectful (considers your audience)
Articulate (well-expressed)
Your natural voice already has these qualities when you're explaining something you care about. Not professional enough, "So yeah, I basically ran this project, and it was kind of a mess at first, but we figured it out."
Your integrated voice, "I led a six-month project that started with unclear goals and competing stakeholder priorities. The first month was spent getting everyone aligned on what success looked like. Once we had that clarity, the work moved quickly." The second version is clearly you, specific, honest about the challenge, and focused on what mattered.
4. Test consistency across contexts
Write your CV summary in your voice. Then write a cover letter. Then practice your interview introduction. Do they sound like the same person? Could someone recognize you in all three? If yes, you are being authentic. If no, you're still switching.
5. Refine and practice
Developing your integrated voice takes practice. Each time you write professionally:
Draft it in your natural voice first
Edit for clarity, not for "sounding professional"
Read it aloud. If you stumble, it's not quite you yet
Ask, "Does this sound like me at my best?"
Over time, writing in your voice will become automatic.
The competitive advantage of authentic voice
This feels risky, but the professional, borrowed voice isn’t safer, and here’s why authenticity is always better in the long run.
You become memorable. When everyone sounds the same, the different stands out. Not try-hard different, authentically different, because you're expressing your unique combination of experience and perspective.
You build trust faster. Consistency signals honesty. When you sound the same across contexts, people trust that the person they're reading about is the person they'll work with.
You attract the right opportunities. When you're clear about who you are, the roles that fit will respond.
You have sustainable energy. Expression comes from who you are. Performance requires pretending to be someone else, one is sustainable, the other drains you.
When voice work goes deeper
Sometimes the voice work isn't just about writing better cover letters or emails. Sometimes it reveals that you've been performing a professional identity for so long, you're not sure who you are underneath it. That's when this moves from job search tactics to identity work.
If you're recognizing yourself in Voice 1, 2, 3, or 4, and you've been using them for years, you might need more than a writing exercise. You might need structured support to develop your voice.
That's exactly why I created the Your Authentic Voice program. Five weeks of focused work on identifying who you truly are based on your values and how you can leverage these across all aspects of your life, personally or professionally.
It's not a writing course, but personal development. For professionals who recognize they've been using someone else's voice and are ready to find their own.
Your voice matters
Your professional communication right now probably sounds impressive. It might also sound like everyone else. That's costing you opportunities. Not because you're not qualified, but because you're not memorable. The solution isn't to try harder to sound professional. It's to stop trying to sound like someone else and start sounding like yourself.
Your integrated voice is already there. It's how you sound when you're explaining something you care about to someone who's really listening. That voice, clear, specific, recognizable, is more valuable than any borrowed professional language could ever be.
Stop performing what you think professionalism sounds like. Start expressing in language that's yours. The right opportunities will respond, and they'll be responding to the authentic you. That's a foundation worth building a career on.
Read more from Dan Williamson
Dan Williamson, Coach, Mentor, and Founder
Dan is passionate about continuous growth to positively impact others. As a qualified coach and mentor, he empowers people to deepen their self-awareness, strengthen their personal identity, and unlock their true potential. Using his own self-discovery experiences as a foundation, he helps individuals develop bespoke strategies to enable them to live as their authentic selves. Through his writing on Teach, Lead, Transform, his online learning, language, and self-discovery platform, his aim is to stimulate thinking and awareness to empower self-directed personal growth.
