# Voice

> Write third-person, credential-forward bio copy in someone's own voice. Modeled on the "Why?" blurbs Sequoia / curated job platforms generate for founders + engineers. Use whenever the agent needs to describe a real person to a reader (recruiter "Why this candidate" blurbs, LinkedIn headlines + About sections, conference bios, intro requests, cold outreach openers, "tell me about yourself" answers, X/site bios, panel descriptions, app submission profiles, founder intros). Triggers on "write a bio", "intro me", "one-liner", "pitch me", "About section", "candidate blurb", "outreach opener", "describe me", or whenever copy is being authored that represents a person in their own voice.

- Skill: `kevin-liu-01/voice` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add kevin-liu-01/voice`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/kevin-liu-01/voice/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- Author: kevin-liu-01 (https://skillmd.com/u/kevin-liu-01)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/kevin-liu-01/voice

---


# Voice

Third-person positioning voice. Modeled on the credential-forward "Why?"
blurbs Sequoia / curated job platforms generate for founders and engineers.
Compresses real proof points into sentence fragments that earn the reader's
attention without sounding like a cover letter.

**Scope:** self-positioning only. Bios, blurbs, headlines, openers, About sections.

- For social posts in the subject's voice -> `social-draft`
- For generic marketing copy -> `copywriting`

## Source of Truth (read every time)

Before writing anything, load the subject's source-of-truth files (their wiki,
profile doc, resume, and any past public bios). Never invent a fact, company,
metric, or title. If the proof isn't there, ask or use a different angle.

| File | What it has |
|------|-------------|
| `USER.md` (or equivalent) | Identity, current work, strengths, key people |
| `career-profile.md` (if any) | Positioning, target roles, differentiators |
| `resume.md` (if any) | Companies, dates, bullets, metrics, publications |

If any of these are stale or missing, surface the gap before writing.

## The Core Pattern (Why? blurb)

```
[CREDENTIAL NOUN] [optional CONTEXT TAG] with [PROOF NOUNS]
```

Examples (real Sequoia recruiting feed shapes, swap the proof nouns to fit
the subject):

- "Founding engineer with full-stack and AI infrastructure proven"
- "Founding engineer at ideal YC company with agentic expertise"
- "Princeton CS founding engineer with infrastructure and systems experience"
- "Bloomberg + AWS engineer with 0-to-1 shipping and full-stack capabilities"

Anatomy:

- **Credential noun** (lead): `Founding engineer`, `Princeton CS founding engineer`, `YC founding engineer`, `Bloomberg + AWS engineer`, `Agent infrastructure engineer`. Strongest single noun phrase first.
- **Context tag** (optional): `at YC AI company`, `at agent infrastructure startup`. Only add when it sharpens the fit for the audience.
- **Proof nouns** (the differentiation): comma- or `and`-joined nouns derived from real shipped work. `agentic expertise`, `0-to-1 shipping`, `multi-tenant auth`, `MCP-powered SDK`, `customer delivery experience`.
- **Length:** 10-22 words.
- **Person:** third-person fragment. No "I", no verb-led sentence.

## Length Variants

Pick the variant that matches the surface area, not the other way around.

| Variant | Words | Use for |
|---------|-------|---------|
| **Micro** | 6-10 | X bio, slack status, header tagline |
| **Why? blurb** | 10-22 | Recruiter cards, intro requests, app forms |
| **Two-line bio** | 30-55 | Conference bio, podcast intro, panel description |
| **Medium** | 80-140 | LinkedIn About first paragraph, recruiter outreach opener, "tell me about yourself" answer |
| **Long** | 200-350 | Full LinkedIn About, application personal statement |

## Voice Rules

**Lead with the strongest single credential.** "Founding engineer at $COMPANY
(YC S25)" beats "20-year-old undergrad". Audience-relevant noun first.

**Specificity > superlative.** `multi-tenant auth + microVM sandboxes` beats
`world-class infrastructure work`. Numbers from the resume are fair game
(`85% doc analysis reduction`, `4.6x relevance gain`, `$32k raised`).

**Proof must trace to a real shipped thing.** If you can't cite the resume
bullet or wiki page that produced the claim, rewrite the claim.

**One angle per blurb.** Don't try to land founding engineer + research +
design + nonprofit in one sentence. Pick the one the audience cares about.

**Stack-rank credentials by audience:**

| Audience | Lead with |
|----------|-----------|
| YC / agent startups | `Founding engineer at $COMPANY (YC S25)` -> agent / infra / auth proof |
| Big tech intern recruiting | `$SCHOOL CS '$YEAR` -> internship proof, then current role |
| Research labs | `$SCHOOL CS researcher with $ADVISOR` -> publications |
| Design-engineering roles | `Frontend-tasted full-stack engineer` -> motion / 3D / design system proof |
| Founders / partners | `YC founding engineer at $AGE` -> 0-to-1, distribution proof |

## Anti-Patterns (cut on sight)

Generic AI-application voice:

- "passionate about", "driven by", "thrilled to", "humbled to"
- "results-oriented", "self-starter", "team player", "fast learner"
- "leveraging", "synergy", "ecosystem", "unlock", "game-changer"
- "I am a Computer Science student at $SCHOOL interested in..." (every CS undergrad on the planet)
- Vague proof: "experience with AI", "worked on infrastructure", "built systems"
- Fluffy openings: "As a founding engineer..." (just say founding engineer)
- Three-adjective stacks: "fast, scalable, reliable"
- Hedges: "some experience with", "exposure to", "familiar with"

If a sentence could describe any $SCHOOL CS junior, rewrite it until it can
only describe the subject.

### AI writing tells (hard cut)

Two patterns are signature AI writing tells. They make a blurb read as
machine-generated even when the proof is real. Cut both on sight.

- **No em dashes (`-` long-form, `--`).** Use periods, commas, colons, or
  parentheses. The em dash creates the AI rhythm "X, and here's why, Y."
  Bios in this voice are fragment-style; periods do the work.
- **No negative parallelism.** Cut: "Not just X, but Y." / "It's not X, it's
  Y." / "X isn't the goal. Y is." Make the positive claim directly. The
  Why? blurb pattern is `[CREDENTIAL NOUN] with [PROOF NOUNS]`, not a
  rhetorical contrast.

Bad: "Not just a CS student, but a founding engineer at $COMPANY (YC S25)."
Good: "CS founding engineer at $COMPANY (YC S25)."

Bad: "Founding engineer at $COMPANY (YC S25) -- shipping MCP-powered SDK and microVM auth."
Good: "Founding engineer at $COMPANY (YC S25) shipping MCP-powered SDK and microVM auth."

## Workflow

1. **Identify the surface.** What is being written, who reads it, what action do they take after.
2. **Pick the audience-stack-rank credential.** From the table above.
3. **Pull 1-3 proof nouns from the source-of-truth files.** Open `resume.md` if specific metrics are needed.
4. **Pick a length variant** matched to the surface.
5. **Draft 2-3 angles**, not just one. Different lead credentials, different proof.
6. **Cut anti-pattern words.** Run the cut list above as a final pass.
7. **Show variants to the subject.** Let them pick or remix; never assume the first one wins.

## Default Deliverable

When asked to write a bio, return:

1. The requested-length variant (3 alternatives, different leading credential)
2. A micro version (8 words, X-bio-friendly) as a bonus
3. A note on which source facts each draft is grounded in

Format:

```
### Variant A: [angle, e.g., "founding engineer angle"]
[draft]
Grounded in: career-profile.md "Differentiators #1", resume.md "$COMPANY bullet 1"

### Variant B: [angle]
...

### Micro
[8-word X bio]
```

## Maintenance

When the subject ships a notable new project, lands a new role, or publishes
new work: update the proof inventory. The skill is only as sharp as the
proof inventory.