The messages you send all day, made faster and easier to get right. This is one of the 6 Recipe categories. Each recipe below opens to reveal its full steps, an example, and a live demo you can run. Filter by effort if you want the quicker ones first.
The messages you send all day, made easier to get right
What is a recipe?
A recipe is a short, numbered sequence that combines a few moves into a repeatable result. Each one below opens to reveal its purpose, when to use it, the full steps, an example, and a live demo. For single one-prompt moves, see the Playbook. Recipes are grouped into 6 categories; this article is one of them.
The Recipes
Each recipe is collapsed by default. Click one to expand its purpose, when to use it, the numbered steps, an example, and a demo you can run right there. The badge shows the effort.
The great email in your voice a reply that sounds like you, fast Quick ▸
Purpose: The everyday workhorse. Turns "I need to reply to this" into a send-ready message in your tone, with options, in under two minutes. Pairs with your My Voice persona.
When to use this: Any reply you would normally labor over: a client email, a delicate update, a message you want to sound like you and not like a template.
| # | What you do | What you should see |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Select your My Voice persona | Active in the dropdown |
| 2 | Paste the thread or describe the situation | Smith understands the ask |
| 3 | "Draft a reply" | A first version in your tone |
| 4 | "Give me 3 versions: warm, firm, brief" | Options, not one take |
| 5 | Pick one: "tighten paragraph 2, keep my sign-off" | Send-ready |
You end up with: a reply that sounds like you, fast.
The difficult message a hard message you can actually send Few steps ▸
Purpose: For bad news, pushback, or a hard boundary, the messages you draft five times and still hesitate to send. Forces a strategy choice before wording, and checks for how it could be misread.
When to use this: Delivering disappointing news, pushing back on a request, or setting a boundary with a colleague or client.
| # | What you do | What you should see |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Describe the tension and your goal honestly | Smith grasps the stakes |
| 2 | "Give me 2 approaches and their tradeoffs before drafting" | A strategy choice |
| 3 | "Draft approach 1" | A version aligned to intent |
| 4 | Adjust tone, softer or sharper | Calibrated |
| 5 | "How might this be misread?" | Blind spots caught |
You end up with: a hard message you can actually send.
Inbox triage to zero an inbox at zero in one pass Few steps ▸
Purpose: Clear a backlog in one sitting. Smith sorts what needs action from what is noise, then drafts the replies, so triage stops being an all-morning task.
When to use this: A flooded inbox after time off, or any morning the backlog feels unmanageable.
| # | What you do | What you should see |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paste several messages or a long thread | Smith has them |
| 2 | "Sort by: needs a reply / FYI / ignore" | A sorted inbox |
| 3 | "Draft quick replies to the ones that need them" | Replies ready |
| 4 | Skim, tweak, send | Inbox cleared |
You end up with: an inbox at zero in one pass.
The poll from a debate a decision-ready poll out of a circular debate Few steps ▸
Purpose: When a thread is going in circles, convert the argument into a clean vote. Extracts the real options people are debating and frames them neutrally.
When to use this: A group email or channel thread that has been going back and forth without converging.
| # | What you do | What you should see |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paste the email or Teams thread | Smith reads it |
| 2 | "What distinct options are being debated?" | A clean list |
| 3 | "Turn this into a poll: one question, 3-4 options" | Vote-ready |
| 4 | "Add a one-line neutral summary above it" | Fair framing |
You end up with: a decision-ready poll out of a circular debate.
Global meeting scheduler clear options a global group reads instantly Quick ▸
Purpose: Coordinate across timezones without the mental math or the error-prone conversion. Offer times everyone can read in their own zone.
When to use this: Scheduling with colleagues or clients in different time zones.
| # | What you do | What you should see |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paste your available slots in your timezone | Smith has them |
| 2 | "Show these in PST, EST, GMT, and IST" | A timezone grid |
| 3 | "Write a short invite offering these times" | Ready to send |
You end up with: clear options a global group reads instantly.
The chase-up that doesn't nag a follow-up that gets a reply, not an eye-roll Quick ▸
Purpose: Follow up on something overdue without sounding passive-aggressive or apologetic. Gets the response while keeping the relationship.
When to use this: Anything overdue, an unanswered proposal, a pending approval, a quiet client.
| # | What you do | What you should see |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "I need to follow up on X, it is [N] days late" | Smith has context |
| 2 | "Draft a friendly but clear nudge" | A balanced chase |
| 3 | "Give me a firmer version for if this one is ignored" | An escalation ready |
You end up with: a follow-up that gets a reply, not an eye-roll.
Rehearse a tough conversation answers ready for the objections you will actually face Few steps ▸
Purpose: For a live conversation you are nervous about, a salary ask, a difficult review, a client renegotiation. Smith role-plays the other person and preps your answers.
When to use this: Before any high-stakes live conversation you want to walk into prepared.
| # | What you do | What you should see |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Describe the conversation, who you are talking to, and your goal | Smith grasps the dynamic |
| 2 | "Play [the other person] and push back like they would" | A realistic role-play |
| 3 | Respond as yourself; let it counter | A back-and-forth that surfaces objections |
| 4 | "What are their 3 likely objections, and how should I answer each?" | A prep sheet |
| 5 | "Give me one strong opening line and one clean closing line" | Bookends ready |
You end up with: a rehearsed conversation and answers ready for the objections you will actually face.
See a Full Workflow in Action
These recipes shine when they run together. Here is one morning of communications work, triage, a hard reply, and scheduling, as a single flow.
Three communications recipes, one morning
Watch several of these recipes run together as one continuous flow.
Next Steps: Open one recipe and run it end to end today. For single one-prompt moves, browse the Playbook. Working through your first month? The First 30 Days plan tells you which recipes to use each week.
Related Articles
Recipes 3: Other Apps & Tools
The next category of multi-step recipes.
Recipes 1: Building Your Smith Setup
The previous category of recipes.
The Playbook
Looking for single one-prompt moves instead?
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