The prompt
Score 10 of 10, Excellent
Use it when You need something from a team that does not report to you and has its own priorities, and want a request that is easy to say yes to.
- {{team_contact}}
- {{other_team}}
- {{channel}}
- {{ask}}
- {{reason}}
- {{deadline}}
- {{effort}}
- {{already_tried}}
- {{give_back}}
- {{relationship}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
Write a request to {{team_contact}} on the {{other_team}} team, asking for help with work that is not their responsibility, to send by {{channel}}. They have their own priorities and owe me nothing, so the request has to be quick to understand, specific about the size of the ask and honest about why it matters, so that they can say yes, no or "not until next week" in one reply. What I need from them, as precisely as I can say it: {{ask}} Why I need it and what happens if I do not get it: {{reason}} By when, and whether the date is fixed or flexible: {{deadline}} How much of their time I think it takes: {{effort}} What I have already tried or can do myself: {{already_tried}} Anything I can offer in return, or how it helps them: {{give_back}} Our working relationship so far: {{relationship}} Structure the message in this order: 1. The ask in the first two sentences: what, by when and roughly how long it takes them. 2. Why it matters, in one or two sentences, in terms of the shared goal or the customer rather than my own deadline pressure. 3. What I have done already, so they can see I am not handing off my own work. 4. A way to make it smaller, such as a 15-minute call instead of a written answer, or pointing me to the right person. 5. A clear way to reply, and thanks. Keep it under 150 words for email, or under 80 words for a chat message. The tone should be friendly and direct, like a colleague asking a favor they would gladly return. For example, a good opening reads: "Could you spare about 20 minutes this week to check the tax rates in our new pricing sheet? We launch on the 14th, and I want the numbers right before customers see them." This shows the form only; use my details. Do not copy their manager or mine, mention escalation, or suggest the request is already approved unless I have said so, because pressure is the fastest way to a slow yes. Do not overstate the urgency or understate the effort. If my ask is vague, or I have not said how much time it takes, write the message with [HOW LONG IT TAKES] in place and tell me above the draft what to pin down first, because a vague request is the easiest one to put off.
Variables
- {{team_contact}}
- The person you are writing to.
- {{other_team}}
- Their team, for example "finance" or "data engineering".
- {{channel}}
- How you will send it, for example "email" or "Slack message".
- {{ask}}
- Exactly what you need, for example "review three paragraphs of the contract for tax wording".
- {{reason}}
- Why it matters and what is at stake, for example "the proposal goes to the client on Friday".
- {{deadline}}
- When you need it, and whether that date can move.
- {{effort}}
- Your estimate of their time, for example "about 30 minutes", or "not sure".
- {{already_tried}}
- What you have done yourself so far.
- {{give_back}}
- What you can offer in return, or "nothing specific".
- {{relationship}}
- For example "we have never worked together" or "they helped me last quarter".
Why it works
- Who it's for. It is written for people who owe you nothing, so the ask, the deadline and the size of the effort come in the first two sentences.
- What to avoid. No copying managers and no hints of escalation, because pressure on a team with its own priorities gets a slower yes, not a faster one.
- If unsure. A vague ask or an unknown effort gets a placeholder and a note to pin it down before sending, since unclear requests are the ones that get put off.