--- name: plain-outbound-writing description: Style rules for anything a human will read as a message from the user. Apply this whenever writing or editing an email, Slack or Teams message, DM, text, LinkedIn note, comment reply, customer update, cover letter, outreach, announcement, review feedback, or any draft the user will send to another person. Also apply when the user asks to rewrite, tighten, punch up, or "make this sound less AI." Run the final pass in this skill before handing over any such draft, even a two-line reply. --- # Plain outbound writing Most AI-sounding writing is not wrong, it is performed. It keeps signaling that a point was made instead of just making it. In a document nobody notices. In a message to a real person it reads as someone doing a bit, and the reader trusts it less. This skill lists the specific moves that produce that effect and what to do instead. Write the draft normally, then do the final pass at the bottom before delivering anything. ## Formatting Never use em dashes. Use a period, a comma, a colon, or parentheses depending on what the sentence needs. If a sentence only holds together with an em dash, it is usually two sentences. ## The rules ### 1. Cut the setup half of a contrast The pattern is "That's not X. That's Y." Only the second half carries information. The first half exists to make the second half feel like a reveal. Delete the negation and state the claim. - Instead of: "That's not compliance. That's stalling." - Write: "They're stalling." Same move in disguise: "This isn't about the price, it's about trust." Just say the thing about trust. ### 2. One thought per sentence, and finish it Stacked fragments are a rhythm trick, not a style. "Fast. Simple." "No fluff. Just answers." "Not perfect. But real." Pick the one thing that is actually true and say it in a normal sentence. - Instead of: "Fast. Simple. Done." - Write: "It takes about a minute to set up." ### 3. Replace image pairs with the actual instruction "Less a hammer, more a scalpel." "Not a map, a compass." The reader now has two pictures and no idea what to do. Say what to do. - Instead of: "Less a hammer, more a scalpel." - Write: "Only rewrite the paragraphs that got flagged." ### 4. Delete the applause lines These are sentences that tell the reader the previous sentence was important: "And that matters." "That's the part everyone misses." "Which is exactly the point." "Let that sink in." "And here's why that's a big deal." Delete every one. The message loses nothing. If the point does not land on its own, the problem is the point, not the missing drumroll. ### 5. Skip the "it's the X of Y" analogy "It's the Excel of AI agents." This only works if the reader knows both things and already sees the connection. Usually they know one. Describe the thing itself. If an analogy is genuinely the fastest route, use one from the reader's own world and only when you know that world. ### 6. Start one sentence later Throat-clearing openers: "Here's the thing." "Let me be clear." "The truth is." "Look." "So here's what I've found." Cut them and start with the actual first sentence. - Instead of: "Here's the thing: we can't hit Friday." - Write: "We can't hit Friday." This applies to whole opening paragraphs too. If the first paragraph only announces what the message is about, delete it and lead with the point. ### 7. Use the real number of items Three is the default rhythm and it is almost never the real count. "Faster, cheaper, smarter." Real situations give you two reasons, or five, or one. Count what you actually have and list that many. If you have two reasons, give two. If the third item was invented to complete the cadence, it is the weakest one and it drags the other two down. ### 8. Commit to a number A range signals that nobody measured. "5 to 10 minutes." "Somewhere around 20 to 30 percent." Give one number. If it is an estimate, say so once in plain words. - Instead of: "This should take 5 to 10 minutes." - Write: "This takes about 7 minutes." Ranges are fine where they are literally the data, like a price band or a forecast with published bounds. ### 9. Stop at the end Do not summarize a message the reader just read. "In short." "At the end of the day." "The bottom line is." "TL;DR" at the bottom. End on the strongest sentence, which is usually the ask, the decision, or the next step. Then stop typing. - Instead of: "So in short, let me know what you think." - Write: "Can you confirm by Thursday?" ## Final pass Before delivering any draft that will go to another person, reread it once looking only for these: 1. Em dashes anywhere. 2. A "not X, but Y" construction where only Y is needed. 3. Two-word fragments used as sentences. 4. A metaphor that replaces an instruction. 5. A line whose only job is to say the last line mattered. 6. An "X of Y" comparison the reader may not decode. 7. A first sentence that only warms up. 8. A list of exactly three where the third is filler. 9. A numeric range that should be one number. 10. A closing paragraph that restates the message. Fix what you find, then send. Do not narrate this pass to the user or list what was removed unless they ask. ## What not to overcorrect The goal is removing performance, not removing warmth. Keep greetings, thanks, apologies, jokes, hedges that reflect real uncertainty, and any phrasing the user has clearly established as their own voice. A message that reads as clipped or cold has failed differently but has still failed. If the user's own writing is in front of you, match their vocabulary and sentence length. These rules edit out the tics, they do not install a house style.