💬 What If You could Train your GPT to actually Sound Like You?

So here’s the thing. When I first started using ChatGPT, I wasn’t sure if I loved it or if it was going to take over my job. You know the feeling? One minute you’re blown away by how fast it drafts an email, and the next, you’re reading it back thinking, “Did a toaster write this?” 😂

That exact feeling came up in a training session I ran recently. Let’s call her Mary, a recruiter who’s sharp, switched-on, and very much not into sounding like a bot said something that stuck with me:

“It’s helpful, but everything just sounds too machine-like.”

Yes! That’s the bit so many people don’t say out loud. It’s why I ended up going down the rabbit hole of building custom GPTs that actually sound like me. And let me tell you, once you train it properly, it’s a total game-changer. 🌞

So here’s how I did it, what worked, what didn’t, and how you can train your GPT to write just like you. Bonus? You’ll save time, ditch blank page panic, and maybe even enjoy writing again.

🎙️ Step One: I Talked Instead of Typed

Okay, confession time. I don’t always love typing. Especially when I’m mid-tea, juggling WhatsApps, or standing barefoot in my kitchen thinking about the million things I need to do.

So I started using voice dictation. Literally hitting the mic icon on my phone and just talking at ChatGPT. Not perfectly, not polished. Just a constant stream-of-consciousness, like how I’d explain something on a Zoom call.

And that’s when the magic 🪄 happened.

ChatGPT started learning how I actually speak. The pauses, the “you know,” the off-the-cuff side comments. I wasn’t feeding it a perfect prompt. I was feeding it me.

💡 Van tip: Try this:
“Format this into a warm, friendly message that sounds like me. Keep it under 150 words. Make sure it doesn’t sound like a robot and remove any common GPT buzzwords.”

Half my emails are written this way now. I’ll ramble into my phone, then let my trained GPT make it sound like I wasn’t three seconds from forgetting what I was writing, or taking a 30-second pause to answer an email quickly.

✍️ Step Two: I Fed It the Right Kind of Fuel

Training your GPT to sound like you isn’t about uploading one blog post and hoping for the best. It’s more like training a puppy. Consistency wins.

I started small:

• A few emails I’d sent that landed well
• A LinkedIn post that got solid engagement
• A keynote intro that sounded like me on a good day

I uploaded these into my GPT with clear notes like:

• “This is how I open emails. Short, kind, to the point.”
• “This post reflects my tone. Slightly cheeky, casual but confident, not overly polished.”

Bit by bit, my GPT got better. Not perfect. But it started to understand my vibe, not just my words. ✅

🚫 Step Three: I Told It What Not to Do

Honestly, this might matter more than what you do train it with.

AI loves defaulting to corporate-speak unless you call it out. Left on its own, it’ll spit out things like:

“Dear esteemed client, I trust this email finds you well…”

Nope. We are not doing that.

So I gave it boundaries:

• No buzzwords like “synergy” or “paradigm shift”
• No fluffy intros
• No clichés or corporate filler

🎯 Pro tip prompt:
“Rewrite this email in a way that sounds like me: friendly, direct, warm, and human. Avoid anything that sounds overly formal or robotic. It might sound like it was written by me and through in some dry humour and wit to prove it”

This one prompt alone has saved me so much back-and-forth editing. And when you repeat it, your GPT actually remembers.

✍️ Step Four: I Let It Ghostwrite (Kind Of)

This is where things got fun.

Once I’d trained my GPT well enough, I started letting it help with my LinkedIn posts. To be clear, I still write a lot of my own stuff. But on days when the ideas are stuck, I’ll say:

“Here’s what I want to talk about. Write it like I would. Casual tone. Start with a story. End with a takeaway.”

The first few tries? Bit off.

Now? It’s bang-on about 80% of the time. I still add a punchline or metaphor (you know I love a good braai analogy), but the bones, or framework, are there. And that’s the hardest part, isn’t it? Getting started.

GPT doesn’t replace my voice. It just gives me a head start. 😊

⏳ Step Five: I Gave It Time (And Patience)

Here’s the honest bit: your GPT won’t sound like you on day one. It’s going to mess up. You’ll cringe. Maybe it adds five exclamation marks or uses a phrase you’d never say.

That’s part of the process. When it does something like this, I go straight to the Edit GPT option and I go in and train it on what to do, or what not to say, immediately. This way it learns there and then, alongside you.

Every time you say, “Hmm, I wouldn’t phrase it like that,” you’re helping it learn. You’re training it, just like you would a junior copywriter. And with consistent feedback, it starts to get better.

🛠️ AI isn’t magic. It’s mentorship, and you need to start treating your custom GPTs like a junior intern member of your team.

✨ The Results?

✅ I write faster
✅ My emails land better
✅ My content sounds like me, even when I didn’t write every word
✅ I don’t dread answering emails, writing Blogs or any writing-intensive task for that matter
✅ And most importantly, I’ve stopped spending hours editing text to make it sound like me

I even had someone reply to a GPT-assisted outreach message with:

“This felt really personal. Thank you for being you.”

That’s when I knew it was working. 😉

🧪 How To Train Your GPT to Sound Like You

1. Start by speaking instead of typing. Voice dictation is your shortcut to natural tone.
2. Feed it content that reflects your voice. Think: emails, posts, intros, bios.
3. Tell it what to avoid. Buzzwords and clichés? Out.
4. Use consistent prompts. Reinforce your tone with clear instructions.
5. Give it time. It gets better with feedback, just like humans.

🔁 TL;DR: The New Rules of Training Your GPT

• Talk to your GPT like you’d talk to a junior member of your Team
• Don’t over-polish the final draft; keep the quirks
• Upload real content with clear tone cues
• Remember to tell it what not to do
• Treat it like an intern, not a mindreader
• Start small, build slowly
• It won’t be perfect at first, and that’s okay

❓FAQs

Can anyone train a GPT to sound like them?

Yes. You don’t need to be technical. If you can upload a few writing samples and explain your tone, you can train one in under 30 minutes.

What kind of content should I feed my GPT?

Start with short-form content like emails or LinkedIn posts. Add bios, speaker intros, or even voice memos for tone training.

How do I make sure my GPT doesn’t sound too robotic?

Be clear about what you don’t like. Avoid formal openings, corporate phrases, and overuse of filler words. Ask it if it sounds like you.

Is this better than using templates or prompts?

Definitely. A trained GPT gives you consistency, personalisation, and saves you loads of time versus writing from scratch or relying on generic templates.

Do I need ChatGPT Plus to build a custom GPT?

Yes. You’ll need a Plus subscription to create and use your own trained GPTs, which is 100% worth it if you write a lot.

👣 Next Step: Train Yours Today

Want to sound more human, more you, and spend less time on content?
Head over to Vanessa’s Website and pop her email to ask her for step-by-step training on building your own GPT, no tech skills needed, if you don’t want to give this a bash yourself!

Alternatively, head over to Vanessa’s YouTube Channel to learn more about Building your own GPTs.

Or check out my latest blog posts for more real-world AI advice, especially for recruiters and sourcers.