Reply to a Difficult Email

How to use it

1. Paste the whole email, including the part that annoys you. The assistant needs the exact wording to read what the sender is really asking.
2. Be blunt in the limits field. It is private input, and the replies are written to respect it without repeating it.
3. Read the first section before the drafts. If its reading of the email is wrong, correct it and ask for the replies again.
4. Check the commitment list against your calendar and policies, then edit one version in your own words before sending.

Example output

Illustrative only. Real answers depend on your input and the assistant you use.

Situation: a peer team lead, Priya, emails you after Marketing's summary said a dashboard export feature would ship on the 12th. You said you can send a correction today and join a short scoping call, but you cannot commit export to the 12th.

Reading of the email:
- Asking for: a correction to Marketing today and to know who approved the date ("Can you correct this with Marketing today, and can you tell me who approved it?").
- Underneath: worry that her team was committed to work without being asked ("Why was I not asked?"), plus pressure from the threat to escalate ("I will take this to Sam").
- Inaccurate: the email says "You told Marketing the export feature would ship on the 12th", but your kickoff slide says "Export: later, not scheduled", and the date came from Marketing's summary.

Direct version (87 words):
Hi Priya, you're right that your team shouldn't be committed to work nobody asked you about. You weren't asked because export was never scheduled: the kickoff slide says "Export: later, not scheduled", and Marketing's summary dropped that line. I'll send Marketing a correction by 3 pm today and copy you, with the slide attached. Nobody approved export for the 12th. I can't commit export to that date. If it matters, let's use 20 minutes on Wednesday at 10:30 to scope it with your team. Does that work?

Warm version (104 words):
Hi Priya, thanks for flagging this. I can see why a date your team never planned for would be frustrating, and I'd want to be asked too. You weren't asked because nothing was ever decided: the kickoff slide says "Export: later, not scheduled", and Marketing's summary left that line out. I'll send them a correction by 3 pm today and copy you, with the slide attached. No one approved export for the 12th, and I can't promise it for that date. I'd value your team's view on what it would take. Could we spend 20 minutes on Wednesday at 10:30 looking at it together?

Formal version (113 words):
Dear Priya, thank you for raising this. Your team should not be committed to work it has not planned, and I understand the concern. There was no request to your team because export was not scheduled: the kickoff slide reads "Export: later, not scheduled", and Marketing's summary omitted that line. I will send Marketing a written correction by 3 pm today, copying you and attaching the slide. No approval was given for export to ship on the 12th, and I am unable to commit it to that date. I propose a 20-minute call on Wednesday at 10:30 to scope the work with your team. Please confirm whether that time suits you. Regards, Jordan

Commitments to check: correction to Marketing by 3 pm today, with Priya copied and the slide attached; 20-minute scoping call on Wednesday at 10:30; no approval was given for export on the 12th; no commitment to deliver export by the 12th.

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