A quick way to tell if you’re looking at something that’s been written by an LLM?
It’s scattered with em dashes. 

Right up there in the headline, injecting rhythm and suspense: Change the story — change what’s possible.

Somewhere in the middle to keep the narrative moving: No script — no problem.

Down at the bottom as a sign off: Because strategy shapes story — and story shapes everything.

Confession? I love an em dash. At least, I used to. They add rhythm and flair and a certain conversational, rhetorical human flavor — which is exactly why  LLMs decided they were the best of all possible punctuation options, and ruined them for the rest of us. 

So what can we use when we want to use an em dash, but are afraid that it will act as a red flag to our clients who’ll assume we didn’t spend 4 hours working on their manifesto, but simply dropped bullet points into ChatGPT then went to Chipotle for lunch?

Here are some options:

1. Period.
   Strong contender. Could be a case of first thought best thought. Split up that sentence. Pivot around the period. Boom. Simple. Done. 

2. Colon.
   Here’s the issue though: should there be a capital letter after a colon? In the UK, absolutely not, unless the word is a proper noun. But in America… if the words after the colon are their own sentence, use a capital letter. If the words after the colon continue the sentence, then no, use a lowercase letter. I know I’m going to have to google it: continually.

3. Ellipses.
   Did we all overuse ellipses in college… or was is just me? Could it be time for a comeback…? The maximalist cousin of the minimalist em dash always brings an air of mystery and momentum. Let the reader, to quote from the inimitable Rocky Horror Picture Show, “quiver with antici…pation.” Good option. Worth considering. 

4. Line break.
   Sure. Why not. Bring the drama.
   Line breaks
   certainly
   work. 

5. Multiple periods.
   Good idea? Probably not.
   But. In. Extremis. They. Could. Work.
   (Can’t you just hear the claps?) 

Thoughts, feelings? Itching to point out flaws in my grasp of punctuation?
Excellent! Let’s chat!