Lesson 2 — Show, don't just tell

Learn

Descriptions of style are fuzzy. Examples are not.

"Professional but warm" means something different to every reader, your agent included. One real example — a message you actually sent, a reply you were proud of — pins it exactly. This is the single most reliable technique in working with AI: show one or two examples of what good looks like, then ask for the next one.

It works because the model is a pattern-matcher before it is anything else. Given a pattern, it continues the pattern. Given an adjective, it guesses.

Two examples beat one. Three rarely add much. Pick examples that show the *range* you want — one short and casual, one longer and careful — and the agent learns the boundaries, not just the middle.

Build

Find two messages you have written that sound like you at your best. Paste them into your agent's instructions under a line that says: "Match the tone of these examples." That is a permanent upgrade — every future draft starts from your voice.

⚡ Do

Ask your agent for a draft you would normally write yourself — a customer reply, a follow-up note. First without examples, then with your two examples in place. Read both aloud. The second one sounds like you. That is the point.