/dealing-with-reporters

Reorganizes a memo, email, status update, or report so the bottom line is up front. Implements Kramon's BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) rule. Use when a draft buries the lede, opens with context instead of conclusion, or builds up to the point with "organ music." Triggers on "BLUF,"

Cuts a draft to a target word count without losing substance. Two modes behind one skill. target-count hits a specific number (200 for a cold email, 500 for an op-ed, 6 for a product summary). redundancy catches the specific failure where a phrase says what the verb or context

Rewrites blunt downward or peer feedback as "what I like plus what I would like," focused on the work rather than the person, ideally phrased as a question. Use whenever the user is drafting a performance review, a Slack message to a report, a 1:1 talking point, an HR

Finds the unexpected, dry, or self-deprecating angle that makes an email memorable. Turns "professional and polite" into "this person sounds like a real human." Use when a draft is technically correct but forgettable, when the user wants humor without slapstick, or when they

Rewrites section titles, slide titles, op-ed headlines, email subject lines, and chapter headings from category labels into bold arguable claims. Implements Constine's "punchy slide titles that tell the story" rule and Kingsbury's NYT Opinion guidance that headlines should make

Cuts cinematic details that don't serve the main point. The opposite move from vividness. Vividness adds sensory detail; this skill removes detail that's vivid but distracts from the argument. Use when a narrative paragraph has impressive sensory texture (sounds, colors,