Who, what, how
- Level 1
- 3 minutes
- Free
Give Claude the context, the goal and the format, so the first draft is close to usable.
This lesson
- Read Now
- Try it
- Check
The idea
A good ask has three parts: who it's for, what you need, and how it should look.
Claude doesn't know your job, your team or your deadline. It only knows what you type. Anthropic's own advice is to write as if for someone with no background on the task.
Leave a part out and Claude fills the gap with a guess. The guess is usually bland. Fine for a birthday card. Less fine for a client.
- Who: who you are, and who will read it. "I'm a practice manager. This goes to patients."
- What: the result you want, and what it's for. "A flu-shot reminder, so more people book."
- How: length, tone, layout. "Under 100 words. Friendly. One clear date."
The same ask, twice
Do
“I lead a team of six. Write a two-line note thanking them for finishing the audit early. Warm, not gushing.”
Don't
“Write a thank-you note.” Claude has to guess who it's for, what happened and how long it should be.
The second one takes ten more seconds to type. It saves you three rounds of "no, not like that."
Write your out-of-office
Fill in the brackets, then paste the line into Claude:
I'm a [your job]. Write my out-of-office reply. I'm away [dates]. For anything urgent, contact [backup name and how to reach them]. Make it [tone, like friendly or formal] and under 60 words.
Check the reply has all three: your dates, your backup, your tone. If something is off, tell Claude what to change. That's the next lesson.
A quick question can skip all three. Anything another person will read needs them. Most work falls in the second group.
Quick check
Checked against Claude on 2026-09-25.