Email & messages21 categories
Bad news in the first line
A slipped deadline or a cancelled plan that somebody will be unhappy about.
This is bad news. Put it in the first line, say what it means for them specifically, and give the next concrete date even if that date is only when they will hear more. No preamble, no apology longer than a sentence, nothing about being excited. Situation:
Making it yours
- Paste your own material where the prompt asks for it. Everything above that line is instruction, not content.
- Delete any rule that does not apply to you. A shorter prompt that fits beats a thorough one that does not.
- If the answer comes back vague, add a line saying what you do not want. Constraints work better than encouragement.
Hard news and conflict. Bad news, apologies, angry replies, boundaries and feedback that has to survive in writing.
Related prompts
Deliver bad news in writingA slipped deadline, a cancelled project, a decision that will land badly.Apologise properly, onceYou got something wrong and the apology needs to land before the excuse does.Reply to an angry messageSomething landed in your inbox that made your heart rate go up.Set a boundary in writingMessages at midnight, creeping scope, or a pattern you need to name once.Give difficult feedback in writingThe conversation has to happen in text and you get one shot at the wording.Write a resignation or offboarding noteYou are leaving and the note will outlive the feelings you have today.
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