Take a real internal message you need to send that has any political charge at all — a reminder, a nudge, an announcement with a groan factor. Ask for three versions: light-touch, standard, and firm, each under 100 words, all assuming good intent.
Read them side by side. Notice that you instantly know which one fits your office — that instant knowing is your diplomatic judgment doing its job, faster than usual because it's choosing instead of composing. Send the winner.
Prompt Pack: Office Diplomacy
All-staff reminder about [POLICY/ISSUE]. Constraints: assume good intent; one-line reason; one bolded action; no corporate phrases; under 100 words; helpful-colleague tone. Give me light, standard, and firm versions.
Rewrite this note to a senior person so it passes the phone test — readable and answerable in 30 seconds from an elevator: [GENERICIZED DRAFT]. Ask is unmissable, no hedging, no over-apologizing.
Follow-up about [STUCK ITEM]: assume the delay has good reasons and say so briefly; state the concrete impact if it slips past [DATE], without drama; end with the smallest possible next step. Warm, short, zero guilt-trip vocabulary.
Draft an announcement of [UNPOPULAR CHANGE, generic, non-HR — e.g., 'the parking lot closes for resurfacing for two weeks']. Lead with the practical impact on the reader, give the reason honestly, the workaround clearly, and where questions go. No spin, no cheerfulness about the inconvenience. Under 150 words.
Help me write a [OCCASION: retirement note / work-anniversary message / thank-you] for a colleague. True specifics: [2–3 REAL DETAILS, no full names needed]. Warm and genuine, no greeting-card clichés, under 120 words. Then a 30-word version for a group card.
Here's what I want to say, honestly and bluntly: [YOUR UNSENDABLE VERSION]. Translate it into something professional that keeps 100% of the substance and 0% of the temperature. Show me what you changed so I can see the technique.
*(for process friction, not people conflict)* "Two teams keep colliding over [GENERIC PROCESS ISSUE, e.g., 'who books the large conference room']. Draft a neutral note proposing a simple rule, framed so neither side reads it as a loss. Include the rule, the reason, and a trial period.