AI in Practice — Writing Emails, Meeting Notes, and Work Messages with AI

Chapter 6 Overview: AI Transforms Business Communication

The average office worker spends 2–4 hours a day writing emails and messages. Using AI to cut that time in half — while communicating more clearly and professionally — is entirely possible.

1. Writing Business Emails

Prompts by purpose

Prompt (declining a proposal)

“Write an email politely declining a vendor’s proposal.

Reason for declining: [reason]
Relationship: needs to stay intact
Future possibility: keep the door open
Tone: professional and warm”

Prompt (requesting collaboration)

“Write an email requesting collaboration from another team.

What’s being requested: [details]
Expected contribution: [their role]
Deadline: [date]
Incentive: [mutual benefit]”

Core principles by email type:

Type	Opening line	Key focus
Request email	Lead with the purpose	Spell out the benefit to them
Decline email	Open with thanks	Reason + alternative
Apology email	Apologize immediately	Concrete prevention plan
Status-update email	Conclusion first	PREP structure

2. Automating Meeting Minutes

Paste a meeting recording or transcript into AI to auto-generate formal minutes.

Prompt: “Turn the meeting content below into formal minutes.

Include:

Date/time, attendees, agenda
Summary of discussion (key points only)
Decisions made (clearly stated)
Action items (owner and deadline)
Next meeting

[Paste meeting content]“

3. Optimizing Slack/Teams Messages

Prompt

“Turn the content below into a Slack message.

Urgency: [urgent/normal/low]
Audience: [manager/team/everyone]
Purpose: [announcement/request/status update]
Length: 3 lines or fewer
Content: [what you want to convey]”

Tone guide by channel:

Channel	Tone	Length
#urgent	Clear and concise	1–2 lines
#general	Friendly and informative	3–5 lines
#leadership-updates	Formal and structured	PREP format
#team channel	Casual and collaborative	Freeform

4. Rehearsing Difficult Conversations

Before delivering sensitive feedback or handling a conflict, rehearse it with AI first.

Prompt

“I need to deliver [message] to [person] in [situation].
Simulate the conversation so I can work toward a resolution
without reacting emotionally. Play the other person’s role
too, and teach me how I should respond.”

AI in Practice Series: Complete

By working through this series, you can achieve:

Lecture	Area	Time saved
Ch 1	Preparing your tax return	2–4 hours
Ch 2	Contract review	1–2 hours
Ch 3	Financial statement analysis	1–3 hours
Ch 4	Writing a cover letter	3–5 hours
Ch 5	Reports and proposals	2–4 hours
Ch 6	Emails and meeting notes	1–2 hours/day

AI in Practice, Chapter 5 — Reports and Proposals