Overused and exposed— the em dash.
If you are writing content of any type, I urge you to consider that your use of the em dash suggests you may be using ChatGPT to write your memos, email responses, research white papers, and social media posts, which raises questions about the authenticity of your posts. As soon as I see it, I am turned off by your work and question your credibility. The overuse of the em dash makes me feel hopeless, because I am a big fan of the em dash, and honestly, I also love ChatGPT for getting me started on a blank piece of paper. However, I am tired of receiving emails, seeing LinkedIn posts that are supposed to be creative and insightful, and receiving resumes/cover letters that are littered with the overuse of the em dash punctuation.
It’s selling you out.
The em dash (this: —) is a punctuation mark in the English language [emphasis added], similar to the comma, semicolon, or parenthesis. It separates a thought while bookending it with a reinforcement thought. Let me give you an example of a Chat-GPT-generated statement on how I feel about creativity:
I love creativity— writing, reading, modern art, but I also love the idea of anyone just lining it out for me and telling me what I like— similar to the way a reastaurant menu tells me what I am going to order, while still giving me a choice.
See what I mean? There is a lot of em dash usage in that ChatGPT-produced statement, and it doesn’t really make sense. This is the stuff that makes LinkedIn weird. And this is the type of stuff that I can’t take seriously. I try not to judge, but I do notice. And the overuse of the em dash is making me judgy.
Honestly, I am not even sure that I am using it correctly when I write organically. I did not major in English. However, I love adding emphasis to what I am writing, and the em dash punctuation does that so well. The issue, however, is that ChatGPT uses the em dash quite frequently in its responses, which is killing off originality and creativity. Although any writer is likely well-intentioned, it immediately reveals to the reader of your work (also known as me or any other leader attuned to the general outputs of AI) that you used ChatGPT and you’re not as smooth or creative as you are claiming to be.
Try it yourself, go to ChatGPT and ask it to write something for you, witty and creative, about how good you are at your job. Watch for the use of the em dash.
There are a few steps you can take to combat this overuse and still use ChatGPT as a tool (not as a substitute for your writing).
Adjust your settings in ChatGPT to tell it not to use the em dash punctuation in your writing.
Always review the output of ChatGPT-generated writings before publishing.
Use ChatGPT to bring your thoughts off a blank piece of paper or get over writer’s block, using it as a first draft. Read, re-read, re-read, re-read, re-read, re-read, re-read the work over and over, adding your own flair to it.
Furthermore, here are some valuable prompts to feed into your ChatGPT or AI writing tool to help you refine your work. After the output, prompt the AI to do the following until you get a rough first draft to begin editing yourself:
“Rewrite this using my own voice in my unique and distinct writing style and remove all the em dash punctuation.”
“How does this resonate if you were an employer thinking about hiring me?”
Start a new ChatGPT topic (don’t continue in the same dialogue box) and copy/paste into the prompt asking it, “Tell me what percentage of this text is AI-generated?” While it will give you an answer, it is likely not accurate, but it will sell itself out as AI-generated text. Here is a better option: run it through an “AI detector.” You can search online to find a platform that can help you with your writing.
So there you have it. A rant about the overuse of the em dash, plus some helpful tips on making you sound great on your next submission. I wish you nothing but— the best of luck. 🤩
