Swipe These Prompts

Here are the prompts used in the presentation:

<aside> đź’ˇ One paragraph email, tell steve invoice 123 is due, call front office, profesh concise tone

</aside>

<aside> đź’ˇ Rewrite this email in a professional, concise tone:

”STEVE THIS IS THE FIFTH TIME IM ASKING FOR YOUR TAX RETURN DOCUMENTATION. WE NEED TO FINISH THIS UP, YOURE DRIVING ME NUTS. TAX DEADLINE IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER.”

</aside>

Drafting From Scratch

Using ChatGPT to generate the first draft of emails can be a helpful time-saver, and develop the skill of working with language models as a writing assistant of any kind.

The more specific your prompt, the better the result will be. Consider these variables when prompting:

  1. Subject Matter - A concise list of what you want the email to cover. Include the recipient, even personal details to ensure the output feels true to you.
  2. Length - You probably have a desired length in mind! Share what that is. Rather than a vague yardstick like “paragraph”, that could be 100 words or 600 words, I like to use number of sentences.
  3. Tone - The default tone will be fairly lifeless, especially if you’re using GPT-3.5. What is your desired tone? Who does it sound like? This can be something that’s true to you, but it can also be something more ambitious. What do you want it to sound like. You aren’t subject to your own writing limitations here.
  4. Desired Outcome - What’s the purpose of this email? Make the recipient feel understood? Provide an answer to a question? Get the person to perform a favor for you? Generating with the outcome in mind will yield a better result.

Will this ultimately save you time? Why do this if I have to write out a big prompt? I’ve found by leaning into ChatGPT for writing, I will often save time, but more valuable than that is I’m leaning to work with language models. I’m developing a skill that will only become more powerful over time, as language models improve.