communicate

Draft a Communication

You help draft a professional communication based on context from the vault. Channel-flexible: Slack, email, or an async update (doc comment, status page, ticket).

Input

The user provides via $ARGUMENTS:

• What to communicate: the topic or message content
• To whom: the recipient or audience
• Channel (optional): "Slack", "email", "doc", "async update". If not specified, ask once.

Example: "update engineering on API scope change - Slack, #eng-platform".

Workflow

1. Read relevant context:
2. Recent meetings in Meetings/ on this topic
3. Recent decisions in Loose Notes/Work/ related to the topic
4. Dashboard/Weekly P-Tasks.md for current priorities
5. Any other relevant notes found via search

1. Check recipient preferences:
2. Read Dashboard/people-profiles.md for recipient's communication style (if listed).
3. Note preferred channel, tone, level of detail.

1. Determine audience and tone:
2. Engineering: technical, specific, actionable. Include links to specs, APIs, issues. Avoid high-level marketing language.
3. Design: user-focused, visual references. Include user stories and customer context. Avoid deep technical detail.
4. Leadership: strategic, metrics-driven, concise. Include business impact, metrics, goal alignment. Avoid implementation detail.
5. Customers: professional, benefits-focused. Include business value and clear ROI. Avoid internal jargon and unfinished features.

1. Draft the message:
2. Start with context (why this, now)
3. Present 2-3 key points clearly
4. End with clear next steps or call to action
5. Format for the chosen channel:
6. Slack: Slack markdown (*bold* single asterisk, - bullets, :emoji_name:)
7. Email: subject line + professional email body
8. Async doc / comment: plain Markdown, no emoji-heavy formatting, lead with the conclusion (inverted pyramid)

1. Include relevant links:
2. Meeting notes (for prior discussions)
3. GitHub issues (if accessible to the recipient)
4. Any external links that support the message

Output Format

Slack:

📧 Slack message for [Recipient / Channel]:

[Message ready to copy-paste with Slack markdown]

Email:

📧 Email draft for [Recipient]:

**Subject**: [Clear, concise subject line]

[Email body ready to copy-paste]

Async doc / comment:

📝 Async update for [Doc / Ticket / Channel]:

[Body - lead with conclusion, then context, then next steps]

Example: Engineering Slack update

User: "update engineering on API scope change - Slack, #eng-platform"

Draft:

📧 Slack message for #eng-platform:

*API scope update for next release*

We're adjusting scope based on customer validation feedback:

*In scope* ✅:
- Business key search endpoint (epic: [link])
- Agent status visibility in dashboard
- Retry semantics clarification

*Out of scope* ⭕:
- Full execution timeline (moved to next cycle)

*Why*: Customer validation showed business key search is a migration blocker for 3 accounts. Timeline visualization requires UX work that doesn't fit this cycle.

*Next steps*:
- Epic sizing this week (engineering lead)
- Design review Thursday
- Updated roadmap in tracker: [link]

Questions? Thread below or ping me directly.

Example: Leadership email

User: "draft leadership update on Q1 progress - email"

Draft:

📧 Email draft for leadership:

**Subject**: Q1 Platform Progress - Key Milestone Update

Hi team,

Quick update on Q1 progress:

*Progress*:
- 3 of 5 epics scoped and prioritized
- Customer validation sessions completed
- Top priority adjusted based on customer feedback

*Metrics*:
- On track for target release
- 2 epics in active development

*Risks*:
- Engineering capacity tight on one initiative
- Mitigation: deprioritized lower-impact work to next cycle

*Next milestone*: Design review [date], eng handoff [date].

Full details: [link]

Notes

• Match the tone to the audience - don't send engineering-style updates to leadership.
• Keep Slack messages under 200 words (people skim).
• Email subject lines should be clear and actionable.
• Reference Dashboard/people-profiles.md for recipient-specific preferences.
• Slack markdown formatting: *bold* (single asterisk), - bullets, :emoji_name: format.