{"id":"exec-status-paragraph-exec-voice-rewrite","audience":"project-managers","category":"leadership-work","track":"leadership","level":"beginner","technique":"tone","title":"Rewrite a rambling status update in short executive-ready sentences","free":false,"task":"Rewrite this status update for the steering committee. Plain text, one paragraph of 4 sentences, each under 16 words. Sentence 1: overall status in one word (On track, At risk or Late) plus the launch date. Sentence 2: the main issue. Sentence 3: what you are doing about it with a date. Sentence 4: what you need from the committee, beginning \"We ask the committee to\". Do not use the words just, basically, unfortunately or kind of.","materialLabel":"Your rambling draft (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"Draft: \"So basically the project is kind of mostly on track but unfortunately we just ran into a thing with the data migration where about 15% of the customer records had duplicate IDs, which is basically blocking the testing that was supposed to start on the 18th. The launch is still planned for Feb 10 but I'm not sure if we'll make it. We have asked the data team to run a dedupe script and they said they'd have it by the 21st. We kind of need the committee to approve two contractors for 3 weeks, about $24,000, in case the script doesn't work. That would help us hold the date.\"\n\nFacts: launch date Feb 10 (unchanged). Status per our rules: At risk (the date holds if the script works by the 21st). Contractors: 2, for 3 weeks, $24,000.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":75},{"type":"maxSentences","max":5},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Vague status","why":"The AI starts with background instead of the status and date.","fix":"Say: \"Sentence 1: At risk plus the Feb 10 date.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Filler words","why":"The AI keeps 'basically' and 'just'.","fix":"Say: \"Ban just, basically, unfortunately, kind of.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Missing numbers","why":"The AI says 'a few records'.","fix":"Say: \"Keep 15%, the 21st, 2 contractors, $24,000.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"No ask","why":"The AI ends with a status.","fix":"Say: \"Sentence 4: what you need from the committee.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Too long","why":"The AI writes six sentences.","fix":"Say: \"Exactly 4 sentences.\"","checks":["maxSentences"]},{"title":"Markdown","why":"The AI uses bullets.","fix":"Say: \"One plain paragraph.\"","checks":["plainText"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it.","fix":"Cap each sentence: \"each under 16 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it.","fix":"Cap each part instead, for example: \"each line under 12 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Four sentences","patterns":["4 sentences","four"]},{"label":"Each sentence's job","patterns":["sentence 1","sentence 4"]},{"label":"Bans","patterns":["basically","unfortunately","ban"]},{"label":"Numbers","patterns":["15%","\\$24,000","numbers?"]},{"label":"Plain","patterns":["plain text","paragraph"]}],"hint":"Give each sentence a job, set length limits, and list the banned filler words.","rubricLabels":["Sentence 1 starts with \"At risk\" and gives the Feb 10 launch date","Sentences 2-3 state the issue (about 15% of customer records with duplicate IDs blocking testing) and the action (the data team's dedupe script by the 21st)","Sentence 4 begins \"We ask the committee to\" and asks it to approve 2 contractors for 3 weeks at about $24,000, and none of the banned words appears"]}