Let AI solve the blank-page problem

AI is useful when you know the facts but do not want to spend ten minutes arranging them. Give it the purpose, required details, reader, and desired action. Do not ask it to decide what the relationship needs.

Handle sensitive messages yourself

Performance feedback, apologies, conflict, layoffs, health matters, and messages with legal or financial consequences need personal care. AI does not know the history or how the message may affect someone, especially if you manage their work. Write those messages yourself. Only use an approved tool to check wording if the information is permitted, and keep private details out.

Remove generic wording

Delete filler openings, repeated summaries, exaggerated politeness, and claims you would not normally make. Put the request or decision early. Replace abstract language with names, dates, and actions you have verified.

Try it yourself

Write and check the project email

Write a short project email, correct two unsupported details, and keep sending outside the exercise. Allow about 15–20 minutes, or longer if you need it. The complete exercise stays on this page.

  1. Read the made-up notes

    • The report is due this Friday.
    • Two sections still need checking.
    • The project lead proposes next Tuesday as the new date.
    • The team has not agreed to next Tuesday.
    • The team should reply by noon this Thursday.

  2. Use the complete request

    Before you paste: use these made-up notes for practice. Before using work information, check that your workplace permits both the tool and the information.

    Write an email to the project team using only these made-up notes. Keep it under 100 words and use a calm, direct tone. Explain that two sections still need checking. Ask whether next Tuesday works as the new report date. Ask for a reply by noon this Thursday. Next Tuesday is proposed, not agreed. Do not invent a reason, an approval, or a promise. Notes: The report is due this Friday. Two sections still need checking. The project lead proposes next Tuesday as the new date. The team has not agreed to next Tuesday. The team should reply by noon this Thursday.

  3. Check the first answer before sending anything

    The team has agreed to move the report deadline to next Tuesday because the reviewer is away. Two sections still need checking. Please reply by noon this Thursday.
    Show the two details that need correcting
    • Next Tuesday is proposed, not agreed.
    • The notes do not say the reviewer is away.

  4. Correct the answer and compare

    Correction to copy

    Next Tuesday has not been agreed. Ask whether it works instead. Remove the reason about the reviewer because it is not in the notes. Keep the two sections that still need checking and the request to reply by noon this Thursday.

    One checked version

    Subject: Could we move the report date to next Tuesday? Two sections of the report still need checking. Could we move the report due this Friday to next Tuesday? Please reply by noon this Thursday so we can confirm the plan.

    Keep sending outside the exercise. Read the final email yourself and use the normal email service only when the facts and relationship are right.

  5. Try a small change

    Change the proposed date to next Wednesday and the reply deadline to 3 p.m. this Thursday. Check that the old date and time disappear and that the new date is still a question.

    Before sending any real email: Are all dates, names, and promises correct? Does it sound like you? Keep sending outside this exercise.

You have finished when you can check these points

  • I completed the worked example or its on-page checking route.
  • I can name the fact, privacy, or process check that matters.
  • I know what I would change or when I would do the task without AI.

Then mark the lesson complete below. This records your own progress, not a test score.

Free course · Day 4 of 7

Keep your place and continue.

Mark this lesson complete after trying the example and checking the result. The on-page exercise counts too. Next: Protect private information.

Continue to day 5Back to your course

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Keep these points

  • Use AI for routine structure, not relationship decisions.
  • Put the reader’s required action early.
  • Read the final version aloud before sending.

Continue for free

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Optional paid help with Ikram Rana

Make email writing fit the way you work.

Bring a type of email you write often, with private details removed. Discuss a repeatable method that uses your tone, leaves gaps for missing facts, and keeps you in control of what gets sent.

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