Draft a difficult message (say no, push back, deliver bad news)

Prompt of the DayDraft a difficult message (say no, push back, deliver bad news)

You need to send something awkward and want it firm but not damaging.

Help me write a message that is honest and firm but preserves the relationship. Context: [situation]. What I need to convey: [the hard part]. Make it respectful, take responsibility where fair, avoid over-apologizing, and end constructively. Give me a shorter version and a slightly softer version.

Today's prompt is sponsored by PromptSharp. See PromptSharp

Word of the DayPrompt Chaining

Prompt chaining breaks a big task into a sequence of prompts, feeding each step's output into the next.

Every Word of the Day becomes a permanent page. Full definition →

Try ThisBuild a reusable 'about me' block you paste into every chat

Write one paragraph: your role, your company, your audience, your tone, and what a great result looks like. Save it. Paste it at the top of any AI task so you never re-explain yourself.

1. Draft 4-6 lines: role, company/industry, audience, tone, 'good = ...'.
2. Keep it in a note you can paste in 2 seconds.
3. Lead every AI task with it.

Don't Do ThisDon't paste anything you would not email to a stranger

Customer lists, unreleased numbers, salary data and personal details routinely get pasted into consumer chat tools whose retention settings nobody in the room has read.

Instead: Redact before you paste — swap real names for Client A, real figures for round placeholders. Ask your IT team which tool is approved before you use it on anything real.