1 min read
The short version
- State the facts, the ask and the tone; let it draft.
- Keep it short — length reads as complaint.
- Always read it once before sending.
Some emails are hard to write not because they are long, but because the wording matters and you are drafting them at 10pm. Absence explanations, raising a concern, correcting a misunderstanding, asking for something.
Give it three things
The facts. Who, what, when, in whatever order they come out.
The ask. What you want to happen. This is the part most people leave implied, and it is the part that determines whether anything changes.
The tone. “Friendly and brief.” “Polite but firm.” “Concerned, not accusatory.”
A worked example
“Write a short email to my son’s teacher. He has been coming home upset about lunchtimes for two weeks and says he has nobody to sit with. I would like to know whether staff have noticed anything and whether something can be done at lunchtime. Polite, concerned, not accusatory. Under 150 words.”
Keep it short on purpose
Long emails read as complaints regardless of wording, and they get skimmed. Setting a word limit in the prompt is the easiest way to keep the message effective.
Read it before you send
Always. These tools add flourishes that do not sound like you, and occasionally invent a detail. Ten seconds of reading protects a relationship you need to keep working.
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