Topic
113 articles tagged Workplace Writing. For the wider topic, see Workplace Writing.
Anthropic's small business plugin ships 43 workflows and 27 connectors, gated by an approval step before anything sends. What that step catches, and what it misses.
Read article →The gap between disagree and commit and quiet sabotage is what you write next. A structure for backing a decision in writing without erasing your objection.
Read article →You sent the wrong number, missed a deadline, or broke something. How to own it in writing in a way that rebuilds trust instead of drawing it out.
Read article →The work came back wrong and you need it done again. How to ask for a redo that fixes the work without bruising the person or slowing them down next time.
Read article →Moving a meeting is fine; handling it badly is what irritates people. How to reschedule so it costs the other person as little time and goodwill as possible.
Read article →You need a response and the last message went unanswered. How to nudge in a way that prompts action instead of resentment, with a template that scales.
Read article →The people who kept their jobs are watching how you handle the ones who did not. What to say to the remaining team, what to leave out, and what comes next.
Read article →A written response to a performance review goes in your file and outlives the conversation. How to dispute specifics instead of tone, and stay promotable.
Read article →A short set of personal rules for using AI at work: what you paste where, when you disclose it, and the review step before anything goes out.
Read article →AI writing detectors are landing in workplaces, and they get things wrong. What a false positive means, why disclosure beats screening, and how to respond.
Read article →A five-part brief structure that keeps an AI agent from confidently doing the wrong thing, plus the one line most people forget to include.
Read article →A short template for saying no to an unapproved AI tool request without friction: acknowledge the goal, name the risk, and offer the sanctioned path.
Read article →A field-tested way to tell a client you used AI on their deliverable that leads with your judgment and answers the confidentiality question directly.
Read article →A written request for flexible hours or a hybrid schedule that reads as a plan your manager can approve, not a favor they have to grant.
Read article →A short, honest disclosure line for reports, articles, and client deliverables that names AI assistance without apologizing for it or padding your work.
Read article →Right to disconnect laws now cover Australia and much of Europe. What that actually changes about how you should write and send after-hours work messages.
Read article →Moving teams without burning the one you're on. How to sequence the conversation, frame the ask as growth, and put the request in writing.
Read article →A performance improvement plan has to set a fair target and a real deadline, not just restate the complaint. The structure, the tone, and a full before-and-after.
Read article →A promotion request is a different case than a raise ask: title, scope, and readiness, not just results. How to frame it, time it, and put it in writing.
Read article →Your last day is not the moment to improvise. How to state the practical facts, thank specific people, and leave your contact details without oversharing.
Read article →The subject line decides whether your email gets opened at all. What to put first, what to leave out, and how to fix a thread that has drifted off topic.
Read article →A recommendation letter has to survive scrutiny long after you hit send. What it needs, how long it should run, and how to write one you can stand behind.
Read article →A written warning has to do two jobs at once: correct behavior now and hold up if it is challenged later. What it needs, what to cut, and how to stay fair.
Read article →Writing a review for someone else carries different risk than a self-review. How to make every rating defensible, specific, and useful, not just polite.
Read article →When AI disclosure matters at work, how to phrase it without undermining trust, and why the quality of your edit matters more than the tool.
Read article →The message people actually resent is the one that hides the requirement inside enthusiasm. What to state upfront, what to explain, and what to leave to HR.
Read article →A 2026 survey found most workers use AI to sidestep hard conversations, and heavy users feel less confident in live ones. Where the line actually is.
Read article →Turn down an internal ask without sounding uncooperative: name your constraint, offer a tradeoff, and keep the boundary in one short message.
Read article →A time off request that gets approved fast names the dates, the coverage plan, and nothing else. A template and a before-and-after example.
Read article →Write a goodbye message that stays warm, brief, and forward-looking, with separate versions for your close team and your wider network.
Read article →Spotted an error in AI-generated work? How to flag it clearly and usefully: name the specific mistake, the impact, and the fix, without blame.
Read article →A chat message that gets answered fast is built, not lucky. Put the ask first, make the reply easy, and stop making people decode what you need.
Read article →Disagree with your manager in writing without friction: lead with the shared goal, state your reasoning, propose an option, and defer on the call.
Read article →AI questions now appear in RFPs and client questionnaires. What a good answer contains, why defensiveness reads badly, and a worked example you can adapt.
Read article →Unplanned downtime is written badly because it is written under pressure. The four things customers need, a worked example, and the phrases that erode trust.
Read article →OpenAI shipped an enterprise agent in July 2026 that runs for hours and produces finished documents. What that changes for professional writing, and what it does not.
Read article →Rolling out an AI tool is a communication problem before it is a technical one. What to say about jobs, monitoring, and what is actually required.
Read article →A tool exposed data, produced a wrong figure, or was used where it should not have been. How to write the notification without making it worse.
Read article →Detectors are still unreliable, watermarking is partial, and the professional norms have shifted. A current picture of what can and cannot be proven about AI-assisted text.
Read article →Not typos. The small English choices that make readers act on something different from what you intended, and how to catch them before sending.
Read article →Write the request the way security and procurement actually read it: risk first, scope narrow, alternatives named. Includes a template that gets answered.
Read article →Dictation is fast and the raw output is unsendable. The specific things speech becomes on the page, and a two-step workflow that keeps the speed.
Read article →A practical edit pass for AI-generated writing: the sentence patterns to cut, the rhythm to break, and the three checks that catch most of it in under a minute.
Read article →AI drafts sound like nobody in particular. Here is how to get output that sounds like your actual voice, using examples, register rules, and a fast edit pass before you send.
Read article →Confidence in work English comes from removing hedges, not from adding force. The specific phrases that undercut you, and what to write instead.
Read article →Steps, expected, actual, environment. Why most bug reports get bounced back, and how to write one that gets fixed instead of triaged into a question.
Read article →Most job descriptions filter out good candidates and attract mismatched ones. What to cut, what to add, and how to write the requirements section honestly.
Read article →Decisions, owners, and dates, sent within an hour. The recap that stops a meeting from having to be repeated three weeks later.
Read article →Reviewers need to know what changed, why, and what you want them to look at. A structure that gets faster, better reviews on the same code.
Read article →Coming back from parental leave, illness, or a sabbatical. How to write the message that sets expectations, restarts the work, and does not over-explain.
Read article →Reorgs, departures, and reporting line changes generate anxiety in the gap between rumor and detail. How to write the message that closes that gap fast.
Read article →A subject line that finishes the sentence, a body that explains why, and the habits that make git log useful two years later.
Read article →An honest assessment of what small on-device models handle well in 2026, where they still fall short, and how to decide which tasks to keep local.
Read article →Rewriting is a constrained task, and constrained tasks favor small models. Why a 1.7B model on your laptop often produces better work email than a frontier model in the cloud.
Read article →A field guide to the punctuation, phrasing, and structural habits that make readers assume a machine wrote it, and what to do about each one.
Read article →Polished AI drafts get skimmed and skipped. The reason is structural, not stylistic, and it is fixable in about thirty seconds per message.
Read article →The gap is usually register, not grammar. What actually makes work English sound off to native readers, and how to fix it without losing your own voice.
Read article →Explain a missed deadline without excuses by stating what happened, the current status, the recovery date, and how recurrence will be prevented.
Read article →Ask a busy stakeholder for a clear decision by stating the choice, recommendation, deadline, and consequence of delay.
Read article →Write a precise AI rewrite instruction that defines the audience, goal, tone, required facts, boundaries, and output format.
Read article →Cancel a meeting professionally while explaining what changed, what happens next, and whether attendees need to act.
Read article →Announce a workplace policy change with the effective date, affected people, required actions, support, and source of truth.
Read article →Explain a project scope change clearly, including the request, impact, options, owner, and approval needed.
Read article →Escalate a workplace issue with a factual timeline, business impact, attempted fixes, and a specific request for help.
Read article →Know when a work message should stay human, require specialist review, or avoid an unapproved AI processing path.
Read article →Tone is the part of an email people react to first. How to catch a message that reads colder, sharper, or needier than you meant, and fix it fast.
Read article →Whether you are interested or not, a good reply to a recruiter protects your reputation and your future options. How to respond with clarity and warmth.
Read article →A self-review is your case, in your words, before anyone else frames it. How to show impact, own growth areas, and avoid both bragging and self-erasure.
Read article →The first email of a project sets its rhythm. How to align on goal, scope, roles, and the first milestone before anyone does the wrong work.
Read article →A reminder can nudge without nagging. How to prompt action, make the next step easy, and keep the tone light even on the second or third try.
Read article →A written standup should inform without a meeting. How to report progress, surface blockers, and stay scannable for a distributed team.
Read article →Release notes are a product story, not a changelog dump. How to lead with value, group by user, and turn updates into something people finish reading.
Read article →A real apology repairs trust; a defensive one deepens the damage. How to own a mistake, fix it, and move on without groveling.
Read article →Saying no to a client is a skill that protects both sides. How to decline scope, price, or timing without damaging the relationship.
Read article →Cold email works when it respects the reader. How to earn the first reply with relevance, brevity, and a single easy ask.
Read article →A real agenda decides whether a meeting is useful or a wasted hour. How to write one that sets outcomes, assigns time, and keeps the room on track.
Read article →A good post-interview note is a second impression, not a formality. How to reinforce your fit, address a gap, and stay memorable without groveling.
Read article →A written raise request should read like a business case, not a plea. How to open the conversation, anchor it in results, and keep the tone confident.
Read article →You can protect your calendar without sounding dismissive. How to decline a meeting, suggest a better format, and keep the relationship intact.
Read article →A good out-of-office reply protects your time off and your coverage. How to say you are away, who to contact, and when you are back, without oversharing.
Read article →Resigning is a relationship move, not just a form. How to give notice clearly, stay gracious, and protect the reference you will want later.
Read article →Convert a page of discussion into accountable actions with owners, deadlines, dependencies, and clear completion criteria.
Read article →A practical format for handing work to a colleague without losing the owner, deadline, context, or definition of done.
Read article →Ask a client to approve a document or deliverable with a clear scope, deadline, response method, and consequence of delay.
Read article →Delegate outcomes clearly by defining scope, authority, constraints, checkpoints, and the result you need.
Read article →Tell reviewers what changed between document versions, what remains open, and which copy is authoritative.
Read article →Create a humane first-week onboarding plan with access, people, practice, safety, feedback, and visible completion criteria.
Read article →Summarize performance across several sites by reporting exceptions, trends, ownership, and decisions instead of copying every shift log.
Read article →Give a PDF attachment enough context to be opened, reviewed, and acted on without repeating the whole document in the email.
Read article →Add captions to operational photos that identify the task, location, time, result, and any exception the image cannot explain.
Read article →Explain what is blocked, why it matters, who can unblock it, and what happens next without sounding helpless or accusatory.
Read article →Summarize a business proposal around the decision, expected outcome, investment, evidence, risks, and next step.
Read article →Pass operational responsibility clearly with completed work, exceptions, safety issues, pending tasks, and named ownership.
Read article →Request a signature with the right document context, signer role, deadline, instructions, and contact for questions.
Read article →Make dependencies visible without blame by naming the requested input, current owner, due date, and next follow-up.
Read article →A short weekly update structure for progress, decisions, blockers, ownership, and next steps across active projects.
Read article →Record an operational incident with a factual timeline, observed conditions, immediate actions, evidence, and follow-up ownership.
Read article →Build checklists that are observable, ordered, assignable, and specific enough to produce a consistent shift every day.
Read article →Create a standard operating procedure with a clear trigger, owner, ordered steps, decision points, evidence, and escalation path.
Read article →Turn vague operational expectations into short, observable checklist steps with thresholds, evidence, and escalation paths.
Read article →Leave document feedback that identifies the issue, explains its effect, and gives the author a practical next move.
Read article →The same sentence can be right in chat and wrong in a client email. How to pick a register on purpose, and switch it without rewriting from scratch.
Read article →Ask early, name a new date, and show what stays on track. A template for extension requests that protect your credibility instead of spending it.
Read article →Written feedback is permanent and toneless. How to make criticism specific, fair, and readable twice, because it will be read twice.
Read article →The first email sets the register for the whole relationship. What to include, what to cut, and how to sound established rather than eager.
Read article →Polite persistence is a skill. How to follow up without apologizing, nagging, or burying the one question you need answered.
Read article →Lead with the state of the work, the risk, and the ask. A structure for status updates that get read in ten seconds and trusted for months.
Read article →Translate vague corporate phrases into clear workplace messages with a named action, owner, deadline, and decision people can understand.
Read article →Use a clear boundary, a concrete reason, and a workable alternative to disagree or say no without weakening your message.
Read article →Calm an annoyed email, Slack, or Teams draft without losing the problem, consequence, boundary, or action that needs attention.
Read article →Turn pointed reminders and irritated email drafts into direct, professional messages without erasing the deadline, problem, or accountability.
Read article →A clear, honest structure for customer delay updates that explains the impact, sets the next expectation, and avoids empty reassurance.
Read article →Cut filler from workplace messages without losing the context, warmth, or clear request that makes them useful.
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