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Draft a wedding toast that sounds like you, not a card

  • For Parents and households
  • You practice Getting the tone right
  • Time about 5 minutes

About this exercise

You're giving a toast at your daughter's wedding. Get a toast under 200 words, plain text, in your voice: short sentences, with the garbage disposal story as the one joke, and none of these clichés: "two become one", "journey", "soulmate". The groom spells his name Jon, not John like the menu cards. End with exactly "Please raise your glasses to Leah and Jon."

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Getting the stock toast. AI toasts lean on 'two become one' and 'the journey ahead', which don't sound like you. Try: Add: "Short sentences, my voice. No two become one, journey or soulmate."
  • Misspelling the groom. The AI may write 'John', the common spelling, especially since your notes mention the menu typo. Try: Add: "It's Jon, no h."
  • Not picking the story. The AI tries to use every story, so the toast runs long and loses the joke. Try: Add: "Use the garbage disposal story as the joke."
  • No closing line. The AI ends with a long wish, so the room doesn't know when to raise glasses. Try: Add: "End with exactly: Please raise your glasses to Leah and Jon."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total and it often lands 20% over. Try: Cap each part: "4 short paragraphs, each under 40 words."
  • Forgetting where it's going. AI adds bold and headings that show up as stray symbols in a printed card. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold, no headings."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Describes your voice
  • Bans the clichés
  • Spells the name right
  • Gives the last line
  • Sets a length limit

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