# Make my message sound collaborative, not defensive

Rewrites a tense or defensive reply so it stays firm on facts while inviting cooperation instead of a fight.

- Topic: Email & Workplace Communication
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Communication, Write, Rewrite & Edit, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/make-my-message-sound-collaborative-not-defensive

## Prompt

```text
Rewrite my message so it sounds collaborative rather than defensive, while keeping my position.

**My draft:** [PASTE]
**The message I'm responding to (if any):** [PASTE]
**Recipient and relationship:** [e.g. "peer who criticized my team's work", "client questioning our invoice"]
**What I must not give up:** [THE FACTS, BOUNDARIES, OR POSITION I'M KEEPING]
**What a good outcome looks like:** [e.g. "we agree a fix", "they accept the timeline"]

First, point out the defensive signals in my draft, quoting each phrase:
- Justifying or over-explaining, counter-accusations, "as I already said", sarcasm, absolutes ("always", "never"), passive-aggressive politeness, excessive CCs.

Then rewrite it to:
1. Acknowledge their concern or point in one sentence, without conceding what isn't true.
2. State the facts neutrally, separating what happened from interpretations.
3. Shift to the shared goal ("we both want...").
4. Propose a next step or ask a genuine question.
5. Keep my boundaries and key facts intact.

Return:
1. **The defensive phrases** and why each might land badly.
2. **The rewritten message.**
3. **An even shorter version** for Teams or Slack.
4. A one-line suggestion if this would go better as a call.

Don't change facts or make concessions I haven't approved.
```

## What to fill in

- PASTE
- THE FACTS, BOUNDARIES, OR POSITION I'M KEEPING
- e.g. "we agree a fix", "they accept the timeline"

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.