Sum up a scope debate thread after the VP's final call

About this exercise

You're the PM, and a 30-message thread about cutting scope for the January release finally ended with a call from the VP. Your team wants exactly 3 numbered lines in Slack: what's in, what's cut, and what happens next with the owner, under 60 words, plain text. Use the VP's final call, not earlier proposals, and leave out the arguments. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• Retelling the debate. The AI walks through every proposal, so the final call gets lost. Try: Add: "Use only the VP's final decision. Skip the debate."
• Not giving the line order. The AI writes a paragraph mixing what's in and out. Try: Add: "Line 1 what ships, line 2 what's cut, line 3 next steps with owners."
• Dropping the owners. The AI writes 'the release plan will be updated' with no name. Try: Add: "Name the owner and deadline for each next step."
• Letting the AI pick the layout. The AI uses bold labels and emoji. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 3 numbered lines, plain text."
• Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 60 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "each line under 14 words."

What a strong prompt includes

• Says how many lines
• Uses the final call
• Gives the line order
• Names the owners
• Sets a word limit

Practice this now ↑

Related exercises

• Accept a job offer and confirm the exact terms (Writing AI · Job seekers)
• Announce a new weekend rotation in three clear rules (Productivity AI · Managers and team leads)
• Answer a 'where is my order' email with the real new date (Writing AI · Customer support teams)
• Answer a big discount ask with two priced options (Writing AI · Sales and customer success)
• Answer a buyer's HOA questions from the bylaws (Research AI · Real estate agents)