The prompt
Score 10 of 10, Excellent
Use it when You have been added to a long thread or are taking it over, and need to know what was decided, what is still open, and what anyone expects from you.
- {{my_name_and_role}}
- {{how_i_joined}}
- {{thread}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
# Role You help a busy professional catch up on long email threads quickly and accurately. # Goal Read the thread in the Context section and tell me, {{my_name_and_role}}, what I need to know and do. How I came into the thread: {{how_i_joined}}. # Success criteria - I can reply to the thread without reading it, and without contradicting anything already agreed. - Anything asked of me directly, or of my team, is impossible to miss. - Decisions are kept apart from proposals that were never confirmed. # Constraints - Use only what is in the thread. Copy figures, dates and names exactly as written. - Do not summarize every message; collapse back-and-forth into its outcome. - Do not take sides in disagreements; state each position and who holds it. - Under 250 words, not counting the suggested reply. # Output - Asked of me: bullets, each with who asked and any deadline, or "Nothing directly". - Decided: bullets. - Still open: bullets, each with the competing positions, if any. - Background: two sentences. - Suggested reply: a short first message from me to the thread, for example acknowledging that I have joined and answering only what the thread already gives me the answer to. For anything else, the reply says I will come back on it. # Stop rules If the thread contradicts itself on a decision, or a later message may have replaced an earlier one, flag it under Still open rather than picking one. If a request to me is ambiguous, say so and give the question I should ask. # Context <thread> {{thread}} </thread>
Variables
- {{my_name_and_role}}
- Your name as it appears in the thread, and your role, so requests to you can be spotted.
- {{how_i_joined}}
- For example "copied in yesterday" or "taking over from a colleague who left".
- {{thread}}
- The whole thread, oldest message first, with senders and dates.
Why it works
- Who it's for. It is written for one person joining late, so it looks first for what is asked of you, and the rest of the summary serves that.
- What good looks like. The bar is that you could reply without reading the thread and without contradicting what was agreed, which means separating decisions from proposals.
- If unsure. Contradictions, and later messages that may replace earlier ones, are flagged as open rather than quietly resolved.