I've been sent a lot of briefs. Some of them are incredibly detailed — pages long, with reference videos, mood boards, exact scripts. And honestly? Those briefs often produce the worst content. Not because the brand doesn't know what they want, but because they've accidentally briefed out the one thing that makes UGC work: genuine human spontaneity.
Authenticity in UGC isn't something you can manufacture. But you can absolutely destroy it. Here's what kills it — and what keeps it alive.
The script is the enemy
The moment a creator is reading lines, you've lost. It doesn't matter how natural they sound in their regular content — the second they're reciting something they didn't write, the delivery changes. There's a rhythm to scripted speech that's immediately recognizable to human ears even if you can't consciously identify why something feels off.
Brief the message. Brief the key points. Brief the feeling you want to create. Don't brief the words.
Specificity is the proxy for truth
Vague enthusiasm reads as paid. Specific detail reads as real. "This moisturizer is amazing" tells me nothing. "I've been using this for three weeks and the dry patches around my nose are genuinely gone" tells me everything — and I believe it because that level of detail can only come from someone who actually used the product.
When I'm creating content, I try to find the one specific thing that surprised me or stood out. That specific detail is almost always the most convincing moment in the video.
The moment of hesitation
Real people hesitate. They search for the right word. They backtrack slightly — "it's like, kind of a... yeah, a caramel scent but not sweet-sweet, more like warm." That little journey of finding the right description is more convincing than a perfectly delivered line could ever be.
Over-produced UGC has no hesitation. Everything is too smooth. And smooth reads as rehearsed.
What brands can do
Give creators the product early enough to genuinely use it. A creator who's been using a serum for two weeks has real observations. A creator who applied it once before filming has nothing but the claims on the packaging.
Trust the creator's voice. If they say "this is literally the only lip liner that doesn't migrate on me" and that's not the exact key message you briefed — let it stay. That line is gold.
I create UGC that sounds like a real person because it is. If that's what your brand needs, let's connect.