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Give customer success a talk track for a delayed feature
Practice: Giving the right context. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
Bulk import is slipping, and your customer success managers need words to read to 14 enterprise customers. Write a 'Say:' paragraph under 50 words, then exactly 2 lines starting 'Don't say:', plain text, under 100 words in total. The Say part must give the new timing the way the notes allow and offer the workaround, without naming the vendor or promising anything finance hasn't approved.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Asking for 'a message to customers'. The AI writes a formal email with a subject line, bold and a long apology. Try: Show the shape: "A 'Say:' paragraph under 50 words, then 2 lines starting 'Don't say:'. Plain text."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it. Try: Cap each part instead: "Say paragraph under 45 words, each Don't say line under 12 words."
- Giving away the internal date. Apr 22 is in the notes, and the AI likes being specific. Try: Add: "Say 'late April' only, never a day."
- Explaining the vendor problem. The AI explains why to sound transparent and names Parsewell. Try: Add: "Don't name any vendor. Don't offer credits or the 2GB limit."
What a strong prompt includes
- Shows the Say / Don't say shape
- Keeps the timing vague
- Offers the workaround
- Keeps vendor and credits out
- Sets a word limit
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