We’re drowning in AI-generated content. Company channels overflow with verbose updates. LinkedIn feeds scroll endlessly through AI-polished posts. Blogs churn out article after article, each longer than necessary.
The problem isn’t the quantity, it’s that we’re using AI backwards.
The verbose trap
Most people use AI as a content multiplication machine. Why write one post when you can write five? But multiplication without curation creates noise, not signal. The result shifts cognitive burden to readers, who must extract meaning from inflated prose.
Distillation, not generation
The power of AI lies in helping us write less, not more.
Instead of asking AI to expand your thoughts into lengthy pieces, ask it to compress them. Use it to:
- Identify your core point: What’s the one thing readers need to understand?
- Eliminate redundancy: Where are you repeating yourself?
- Cut filler: Which sentences add nothing?
- Clarify confusing passages: Where might readers stumble?
- Tighten your prose: How can you say more with fewer words?
This isn’t about dumbing down complex ideas it’s about respecting your readers’ time and cognitive load.
Saving time where it matters
The goal shouldn’t be saving the writer time, but saving the reader time.
A five-minute investment in making your post 30% shorter saves every reader those minutes. If 100 people read your post, you’ve saved hours of collective human attention. That’s a better return on investment than any productivity hack.
The scarce resource isn’t the ability to produce more words it’s the ability to choose the right ones. Use AI to write less, not more. Your readers will thank you.
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