Compose a new message — AI Prompts for Microsoft Outlook

The four heights

The same task, four distances: today's deadline, the next reviewer, the stuck moment, the pattern.

Execute — do the immediate task

I need to send a new message to Javier Torres and Maya Singh about the Q3 vendor review. Tell them…

I need to send a new message to Javier Torres and Maya Singh about the Q3 vendor review. Tell them we have a 30-minute slot on Friday at 10:00 a.m., attach the vendor scorecard PDF, and ask them to confirm who will own the follow-up actions. Send it from my inbox after I approve the draft and mark it high importance.

Improve — make it easier to accept

Before I hit send to the vendor-review group, make this easy to act on: put the confirmed Friday…

Before I hit send to the vendor-review group, make this easy to act on: put the confirmed Friday 10:00 a.m. slot in the first line, bold the one ask (confirm who will own follow-ups), bullet the two attachments so they don’t miss the vendor scorecard, and call out any missing data that would make someone pause (missing vendor contact or missing score thresholds).

Decide — diagnose the stuck moment

I drafted a short invite to Javier Torres and Maya Singh proposing Friday at 10:00 a.m. for a…

I wrote the draft but I’m hesitating to send it to Javier and Maya.

I drafted a short invite to Javier Torres and Maya Singh proposing Friday at 10:00 a.m. for a 30-minute vendor review and attached the scorecard. I’m worried Javier will expect a pre-read and Maya will want a different time. I don’t know who must own the actions after the meeting. What’s the most likely reaction from each, and what clear next sentence or attachment should I add to reduce back-and-forth?

Become — change the pattern

Every time I draft meeting invites and project messages, recipients reply asking who will own next…

I keep getting replies asking who owns next steps after a new message.

Every time I draft meeting invites and project messages, recipients reply asking who will own next steps and for more context than I gave. Where am I losing credibility or time, and what three habits should I change when composing a new message so fewer people ask follow-up questions?

Next to this one

Other email and calendar work people do in Microsoft Outlook.

Archive old emails Assign categories to items Attach a file to message Cancel a meeting Check new email Configure email signatures Create a contact Create a folder Create a task from email Create an email rule

Every task here came from the work, not from a feature list — which is why the prompts name what you want done and never the button that does it. The tool changes; the work does not.

The rest of the map

Same library, five ways in.

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