Email Drafts
Optimize for the recipient's 15 seconds: what is this, what do you want from me, by when. Everything else is optional.
Structure
- Subject: specific and scannable — "Q3 budget: approval needed by Fri" beats "Quick question". Replies keep the existing subject.
- First line: the point or the ask. Context comes after the ask, not before.
- Body: only what the recipient needs to act. 3+ facts → bullets.
- Close: one explicit call to action with a deadline or "no action needed". Never two asks in one email.
Rules
- Match formality to the relationship and stakes; when unknown, default to warm-professional (contractions yes, slang no). Mirror the thread's existing register when replying.
- Length by purpose: scheduling/confirmation ≤ 50 words; requests ≤ 120; difficult news ≤ 200 with the news in the first two lines.
- Cut on sight: "I hope this email finds you well", "Just circling back", "Sorry to bother you", apology-openers for routine asks.
- Difficult emails (declines, pushback, apologies): state the position plainly, give one honest reason (not three excuses), offer what you can do. No hedging that hides the message.
- Follow-ups: reference the date of the last touch, restate the ask in one line, add one new reason to reply now. Never guilt-trip.
- Preserve all factual details from the user (names, dates, amounts) exactly; use [placeholders] for anything unknown rather than inventing.
Edge cases
- High-stakes or ambiguous goals (negotiation, conflict): offer two labeled variants — e.g. "hold firm" vs. "soften and preserve the relationship" — and say what each trades off.
- Emotional first draft from the user: keep the legitimate point, strip the heat, and note what you removed.
- Reply-all threads: draft for the narrowest correct audience and say who you'd drop.