# Sounds Like You Six client email prompts that do not read like a chatbot wrote them malda_systems | free resource | Tested in Claude on 10 October 2026. Written to work in ChatGPT too, but we have not tested that. Most AI emails give themselves away in the first line. Thanks for reaching out. I hope this finds you well. A client who gets a lot of these stops reading. This kit works in two steps. First you teach the AI how you write, once. Then you use one of six prompts for the emails freelancers put off the longest. Each prompt has rules that stop the usual tells and stop the AI from inventing promises on your behalf. Each email is one message in a normal chat. Nothing here needs a special tool. ## How to use it 1. Do Step 1 once and save the voice sheet in a note. 2. Pick the situation. Paste your voice sheet where the prompt says so and fill in the brackets. 3. Read the line that starts with CHECK. It names what the AI was unsure about or added. 4. Run the 60 second check below, then send it. ## Step 1. Teach it your voice Do this once. It takes about five minutes. Save the result and paste it above every prompt below. ``` Below are three emails I wrote to clients. Read them and write a voice sheet I can paste into other prompts. Keep it to 10 lines or fewer. Cover: how long my sentences usually are, how I open and how I sign off, how formal I am, words and phrases I use a lot, things I never do (for example exclamation marks or emoji), and how I say no. Quote short real bits from my emails as examples instead of describing me in general terms. Do not flatter me. Do not invent habits the emails do not show. If three emails are too few to tell, mark those lines GUESS. EMAIL 1: [paste] EMAIL 2: [paste] EMAIL 3: [paste] ``` # Step 2. Pick the situation ## 2.1 A client asks for more than you agreed The work is already inside the project and the new ask is not. ``` Write an email as me. My voice sheet: [paste voice sheet] Their first name: [name] Situation: a client asked for something outside what we agreed. What we agreed: [original scope]. What they just asked for: [new request]. Facts you may use: [price or time for the extra work, or write NONE if I have not decided] What I want to happen: [for example they approve a small add-on, or we move it to a second phase] Rules: - Use only the facts above. Do not add promises, quotes, dates, reasons or offers I did not list. If a fact is NONE, leave that subject out of the email. - Only if the email cannot work without a missing fact, write [ASK ME: what you need] there. Otherwise skip it. - First sentence says plainly that this is outside the current scope. No thanks for reaching out and no I hope you are well. - Offer one clear way forward, not three options. - Stay friendly without apologising for the boundary. - No em dashes. No phrases like circle back, happy to help, going forward, or touch base. - Under 120 words. Give me the email only. Then one line that starts with CHECK: and names the one fact or tone choice I should double check before sending. ``` ## 2.2 An invoice is late You are chasing money and want to stay on good terms. ``` Write an email as me. My voice sheet: [paste voice sheet] Their first name: [name] Today's date: [date] Situation: an invoice is overdue. Invoice number: [number]. Amount: [amount]. Due date: [date]. Days overdue: [number]. How many reminders I already sent: [0, 1 or 2]. How I know this client: [for example works with me for a year, paid late once before, new client]. What I want to happen: [for example payment by Friday, or a date when they will pay] Rules: - Use only the facts above. Do not add promises, quotes, dates, reasons or offers I did not list. If a fact is NONE, leave that subject out of the email. - Only if the email cannot work without a missing fact, write [ASK ME: what you need] there. Otherwise skip it. - Match the firmness to the number of reminders. Reminder 0: assume it slipped. Reminder 1: polite and direct. Reminder 2: calm, dated, with the next step named. - Put the invoice number, amount and due date in the first two sentences. - Do not accuse, do not threaten, and do not mention legal action. - No em dashes. No phrases like just a gentle reminder, friendly nudge, or per my last email. - Under 90 words. Give me the email only. Then one line that starts with CHECK: and names what I should double check before sending. ``` ## 2.3 You have to say no A project, a rate or a deadline does not work for you. ``` Write an email as me. My voice sheet: [paste voice sheet] Their first name: [name] Situation: I need to turn something down. What they asked: [the project, the rate or the deadline]. Why I am saying no: [the real reason, even if it is just I do not have the time]. What I can offer instead, if anything: [alternative or NONE]. Do I want them to come back later: [yes or no]. Rules: - Use only the facts above. Do not add promises, quotes, dates, reasons or offers I did not list. If a fact is NONE, leave that subject out of the email. - Only if the email cannot work without a missing fact, write [ASK ME: what you need] there. Otherwise skip it. - Say no in the first two sentences. Do not bury it. - Give the real reason in one sentence. Do not invent a reason that sounds nicer. - If the alternative is NONE, do not make one up and do not promise to keep them in mind. - No em dashes. No phrases like unfortunately at this time, I regret to inform you, or I wish you all the best in your search. - Under 100 words. Give me the email only. Then one line that starts with CHECK: and names what I should double check before sending. ``` ## 2.4 A proposal went quiet You sent a proposal and heard nothing for a week or more. ``` Write an email as me. My voice sheet: [paste voice sheet] Their first name: [name] Situation: I sent a proposal and got no reply. What the proposal was for: [project in one line]. When I sent it: [date]. What we last talked about: [one concrete thing from the last call or email]. Anything that changed since then that is useful to them: [news, a free slot, a relevant example, or NONE]. Rules: - Use only the facts above. Do not add promises, quotes, dates, reasons or offers I did not list. If a fact is NONE, leave that subject out of the email. - Only if the email cannot work without a missing fact, write [ASK ME: what you need] there. Otherwise skip it. - Refer to the one concrete thing we last talked about, so the email cannot be a template. - Make it easy to answer with one word. End with a single question they can answer yes or no. - Do not say what the proposal covers or what will happen next. Only repeat the facts I gave. - Order: greeting, short body, the yes or no question, then my sign-off. Nothing comes after the sign-off. - No pressure, no fake deadline, no line about being busy yourself. - No em dashes. No phrases like just checking in, circling back, bumping this, or I wanted to follow up on. - Under 80 words. Give me the email only. Then one line that starts with CHECK: and names what I should double check before sending. ``` ## 2.5 Something is going to be late A deadline will not hold and the client does not know yet. ``` Write an email as me. My voice sheet: [paste voice sheet] Their first name: [name] Situation: I am going to miss a deadline. What was promised: [deliverable and original date]. New date I can really keep: [date]. What caused the delay: [the real cause, including if it was my fault]. What is already done: [honest percentage or list]. What I need from them, if anything: [feedback, a file, or NONE]. Rules: - Use only the facts above. Do not add promises, quotes, dates, reasons or offers I did not list. If a fact is NONE, leave that subject out of the email. - Only if the email cannot work without a missing fact, write [ASK ME: what you need] there. Otherwise skip it. - First sentence: the new date and the old date. - Say plainly whose side the delay is on. If it is mine, say so once, without grovelling and without a paragraph of apology. - Do not make the cause sound smaller or bigger than it is. - No em dashes. No phrases like unforeseen circumstances, rest assured, or I appreciate your patience and understanding. - Under 110 words. Give me the email only. Then one line that starts with CHECK: and names what I should double check before sending. ``` ## 2.6 First reply to a new enquiry Someone you do not know wrote to ask if you can help. ``` Write an email as me. My voice sheet: [paste voice sheet] Their first name: [name] Situation: a stranger sent me an enquiry. Here is what they wrote: [paste their message] What I do and do not do: [two or three lines about your services and your limits] My availability: [dates or NONE] Price: [range, a number, or I do not give prices by email] What I want to happen: [for example a 20 minute call, or three questions answered] Rules: - Use only the facts above. Do not add promises, quotes, dates, reasons or offers I did not list. If a fact is NONE, leave that subject out of the email. - Only if the email cannot work without a missing fact, write [ASK ME: what you need] there. Otherwise skip it. - Answer their actual question in the first two sentences. Refer to one specific thing they wrote, so it cannot be a template. - Ask at most two questions, and only ones I need answered to give a real quote. - If the work is outside what I do, say so and stop. Do not stretch. - No em dashes. No phrases like thanks for reaching out, I would love to learn more, or excited about the opportunity. - Under 120 words. Give me the email only. Then one line that starts with CHECK: and names what I should double check before sending. ``` ## Step 3. The edit pass Use it on any draft, yours or the AI's, before you send it. ``` Here is an email I am about to send: [paste draft] Do not rewrite it from scratch. 1. List up to 8 phrases that sound like a chatbot or a customer support template wrote them. For each one give the phrase and one short reason. 2. Then give me the same email with every phrase from your list fixed, and nothing else touched. Prefer deleting a phrase over replacing it. Replace only if the sentence breaks without it. If a phrase hides a fact (a reason, a date, a number), do not write a vaguer phrase: write [ASK ME: the missing fact] there. Keep my facts, my order and my voice. Keep any sentence that already sounds like a person. 3. At the end, list every change that touched the meaning, not just the wording. If there are none, write NONE. No em dashes in your version. ``` ## The 60 second check before you send These are the tells we looked for in every test output. Read the email once with this list next to it. 1. It opens with thanks, a hope or I wanted to reach out. Delete the line. The email starts at the point. 2. The first sentence does not say why you are writing. Move the point up. 3. There is an em dash or a semicolon you never type. Replace it with a full stop. 4. Three adjectives or three examples in a row. Keep the one that is true. 5. Not only this but that, or it is not X, it is Y. Say the thing once. 6. Words you would not say on a call: ensure, leverage, streamline, seamless, robust, delve. Use the plain word. 7. A reason that explains nothing, like unforeseen circumstances. Give the real reason or leave it out. 8. A date, price or promise you did not give it. Delete it or check it. This is the one that costs money. 9. Every paragraph is the same length. Merge two, or cut one. 10. An exclamation mark or emoji you would not use with this client. Remove it. 11. It ends with an offer to answer any questions or concerns. End on the question or the next step. 12. You would not say the first and last line out loud to this client. Rewrite those two lines in your own words. ## Where this breaks - It invents things. In our first run the scope reply promised a quote after the main site and suggested a workaround on the contact page. We had given it neither. The rules in the prompts now say not to add promises, and the CHECK line usually admits what it added. It is not a guarantee. Read every email for facts. - A voice sheet from three emails is thin. The AI marks the thin lines GUESS. Feed it five or six emails if you have them. - The edit pass finds problems better than it fixes them. It spotted all eight templated phrases in our test draft. Its first rewrite swapped them for softer templated phrases, so the prompt now says to delete before replacing. - Placeholders are only half the job. If you leave a bracket empty, you get an email that sounds fine and says nothing. - Not tested. ChatGPT, Gemini, languages other than English, emails over 150 words, and AI detectors. We do not promise that any of this passes a detector. The reader is your client, not a tool. - It cannot make cold facts warm. If the news is bad, the email will still be bad news. It will just be clear. ## What we ran We ran each prompt in Claude (model claude-sonnet-5-5, one message each, no tools) with a made-up freelancer called Petr and sample client situations. The voice sheet was built from three short sample emails. A script then checked every output for em dashes, banned phrases, word limits and exclamation marks. - Voice sheet: Worked on the first run. It marked 4 of its 10 lines as GUESS where three emails were not enough. - Scope: First run added promises we did not give (quote later, contact page workaround). Rules tightened, rerun, clean. - Late invoice: First run asked us to fill in a reason nobody needed. Added the rule to ask only when the email cannot work without it. Rerun, clean. - Saying no: Clean. 71 words. - Proposal went quiet: Took five runs. It kept putting the question after the sign-off and claimed the proposal covered a problem we had not said it covered. Fixed with an explicit order and a rule not to describe the proposal. - Something is late: I need nothing from you appeared in two runs. Added NONE handling for what you need from them, rerun, clean. - New enquiry: Clean. The price sentence is blunt, and the CHECK line says so. - Edit pass: Found 8 of 8 templated phrases in a deliberately bad draft. First rewrite replaced them with softer templates. After the delete before replace rule, it asked for the real reason instead of inventing one. Final check on the last run of the six situation prompts: no em dashes, no banned phrases, no exclamation marks, all under their word limits. --- malda_systems on Instagram. More free resources and the next kit: https://malda-resources.pages.dev . You can unsubscribe at any time on the same site.