# Turn a complaint into a clear, kind request

Rewrite frustrated words for a partner, roommate, or family member into a specific request that is more likely to be heard.

- Topic: Personal Life & Wellbeing
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Rewrite & Edit, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/turn-a-complaint-into-a-clear-kind-request

## Prompt

```text
Help me turn a complaint into a request someone can actually act on.

**Who I'm talking to:** [e.g. "my partner", "my roommate", "my teenage son"]
**What I want to say right now (unfiltered is fine):** [e.g. "You never help with anything and I'm sick of it"]
**The specific situation behind it:** [WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS, WHEN]
**What I actually want them to do:** [IF YOU KNOW]
**How I'll say it:** [in person / text]

Rewrite it using this structure:
1. **Observation:** what happened, stated as a fact anyone could see, without "always" or "never."
2. **Feeling:** how I feel, using "I feel..." (not "I feel like you...").
3. **Need:** what matters to me underneath it (rest, fairness, respect, connection).
4. **Request:** one specific, doable action with a time frame, asked as a real request they can discuss.

Return:
- The rewritten request (2-4 sentences), plus a more casual version that doesn't sound scripted.
- A short note on which words in my original were likely to trigger defensiveness, and why.
- How to respond if they push back or bring up something I did.
- A follow-up line for noticing and thanking them when they do it.
```

## What to fill in

- e.g. "my partner", "my roommate", "my teenage son"
- e.g. "You never help with anything and I'm sick of it"
- WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS, WHEN
- IF YOU KNOW
- in person / text

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