How ChatGPT coached me to email greatness

When it comes to professional exchanges, I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m a bit awkward. Sometimes my tone is more terse than intended (sorry!) or I’m just not as clear as I’d like to be from the get-go. Weirdly enough, sometimes I’m more comfortable writing from the perspective of a fictional character than from my own, though it depends on the type of writing. 

Since I work from home and communicate with my coworkers via text the majority of the time, I decided to elicit help from the all-knowing chatbot otherwise known as ChatGPT. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by the offered guidance and often found myself using the chatbot as a soundboard for my email drafts. Not only does it give pretty solid prompts and tips, but it also recommends revisions and on-the-fly tweaks.

Asking ChatGPT for general guidance

The first thing I wanted from ChatGPT was general guidance for writing emails with confidence. So, the first question I typed into the chat box at the bottom was simply: “How do I write confident emails to my colleagues and other professionals?” 

The bot offered three different responses. The first two were in the form of lists (more like step-by-step guides) with overlapping information. These lists highlighted the importance of clear subject lines and stating your purpose early on in the exchange. However, the third was an email template that illustrated concise language and a polished ending. Bingo! That’s the one I clicked on. 

Though I appreciate how ChatGPT organizes information in easy-to-digest lists, I gravitated to the third response because I prefer to learn by example. The template emphasized clear and concise language, no doubt an important aspect to consider when constructing professional emails, but the tone was too stiff for my liking. Here’s what the bot churned out: 

Subject: Proposal Approval Needed

Hi [Recipient’s Name],

I’m writing to request your approval on the updated proposal for the Q2 project. The revised document is attached for your review.

Key updates include:

• Adjusted timelines to align with new deliverables.
• Additional resources allocated to streamline production.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I’d appreciate your approval by [date] to ensure we stay on track.

Best,
[Your Name]

While I agree it’s important to be direct, the above AI-generated example is almost too direct. I wanted to see a friendlier and less formal template (as well as something more specific to my line of work), so I asked the bot to help me craft a new email. 

More warmth please

ChatGPT asked me to provide more context. Am I providing an update on a group project? Am I requesting something from a manufacturer? I asked ChatBPT to write an email requesting a laptop for review, but to make it more casual in tone. This was the response the bot cobbled together:

Subject: Request for Laptop Review

Hi [Recipient’s Name],

I hope you’re doing well! I’d like to request a laptop for review to [briefly mention purpose, e.g., test compatibility with our software, evaluate performance for our team, etc.]. If one is available, please let me know the process for checking it out.

Let me know if you need any details from my end. I appreciate your help!

Best,
[Your Name]

The above AI-generated email was more specific to my line of work, but it still felt a bit soulless, so I tried a different approach and asked ChatGPT to evaluate an email I’d written up. While it helps to have a template to look back on, I find that constructive feedback (even if it’s from a bot) is the most helpful.

Asking ChatGPT for constructive feedback

Sometimes it’s nice to have a sounding board, even if that sounding board is a chatbot. I asked ChatGPT to evaluate an email I’d written and to recommend revisions. Here’s my original email:

Good afternoon,

My name is Ashley Biancuzzo and I oversee the laptop section at PCWorld. I’m interested in getting a couple of entry-level laptops in for review, as I’m looking to expand our coverage of more budget-friendly machines. I would love to get this plan in motion sooner rather than later, so I’d appreciate a swift response.

Thank you so much!

Best,
Ashley Biancuzzo

And here’s the revised version of my original email (plus suggestions):

This feedback is really worth its weight in gold, as it really irons out the bumpiness of the original construction. I struggle with sounding natural in professional emails and ChatGPT definitely clocked me on that. The bot also asked me to soften the urgency of my laptop loan request, which makes total sense. I had asked for a swift response in my version, but that might be too demanding in tone.

The other thing I struggle with is integrating my name in a natural way, especially in introductory emails. It looks clunky and is probably difficult to read on the receiving end. ChatGPT clocked me again here, as you can see in the above snapshot. For some reason, I often forget that my name is in my email signature, so there’s no need for me to start the exchange with it.

I didn’t like the em dash in the final sentence of ChatGPT’s revision, so I asked the bot to remove it and also tweak that last sentence. Here’s what ChatGPT came up with:

Subject: Entry-Level Laptop Review Request

Good afternoon,

I hope you’re doing well! I oversee the laptop section at PCWorld and am interested in reviewing a couple of entry-level laptops as we expand our coverage of budget-friendly machines. I’d love to get this process started soon. Please let me know if units are available and how we can move forward.

I appreciate your time and look forward to your response.

Best,
Ashley Biancuzzo

I love that I can ask ChatGPT to make minor tweaks to current revisions. It’s a lot faster than asking ChatGPT to construct a new email from scratch.

My takeaway

I don’t use ChatGPT for every email I send, especially if it’s a quick, straightforward exchange between myself and a colleague. However, for introductory emails or something more complex, I’ll ask ChatGPT for recommendations and revisions, as I want to be as clear as possible. It turns out to be a useful second set of eyes and an antidote to the pitfall of overthinking it.