Turn rough notes into a useful first draft

1. Start with the outcome

Choose one small deliverable: a project update, an email or a short brief. Write down who will read it, what they need to know and what you want them to do next.

Gather the facts before opening the assistant. Replace unnecessary personal details and confidential material with placeholders. Only share information you are authorised to use.

2. Give the assistant a specific brief

Open Claude or ChatGPT and start a new conversation. Supply the purpose, audience, length and source notes together. Ask it to flag gaps rather than fill them.

Turn the notes below into a project update for [audience]. Keep it under [length]. Include progress, open questions and the next action. Use clear British English. Use only the supplied facts. Mark missing information [needs input].

Notes: [paste your notes]

3. Check the draft against your notes

Compare every name, date, number and promise with the original material. Remove any detail you cannot support. Check that the proposed next action belongs to the right person.

If the draft sounds generic, add relevant context or a short example of your preferred writing style. More words are rarely the solution to a vague brief.

4. Make one targeted revision

Ask for a specific change rather than “make it better”. For example: “Shorten the opening, keep every deadline and make the requested action explicit.”

Read the revised draft as the recipient. Can you immediately tell what changed, what is unresolved and what happens next?

5. Keep the prompt, review the result

Save the prompt with blank fields for the next project update. Keep your reviewed draft separately so you can compare future results.

The useful outcome is a checked message. Do not connect automatic sending until your review and approval process is clear.