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Executive email ghostwriter

Drafts outbound emails in a specific C-level executive's voice, calibrated for internal vs. external audiences, with subject line options, a tone-matched body, and a clear ask. Use when an executive assistant needs to…

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Purpose

Produce a ready-to-send email written in a specific executive's voice — matched to their tone patterns and calibrated to whether the recipient is internal or external — so the assistant delivers a draft the leader can send with one glance instead of a rewrite.

When to Use

Invoke this skill when the user asks to:

  • Draft an email as or on behalf of a CEO, CFO, COO, or other C-level leader
  • Reply to an inbound message in the executive's voice
  • Write a company-wide announcement or team update from the leader
  • Send an introduction, warm follow-up, or relationship-nurturing note to an external contact
  • Escalate, decline, or push back on a request while protecting the executive's relationships
  • Match a leader's established writing style for a new communication

Inputs Required

Before starting, collect:

  • Executive profile: Name, role, and 3–5 words describing how they come across (e.g., warm-but-brief, formal, direct, folksy)
  • Voice samples: 1–3 examples of emails the executive has actually written, if available
  • Recipient: Who receives this — name/role and internal or external
  • Purpose: What this email needs to accomplish (announce, reply, introduce, escalate, decline, follow up)
  • Key points: The specific facts, decisions, or messages that must be conveyed
  • Desired outcome: What the recipient should do or feel after reading
  • Sensitivities: Anything to handle carefully — bad news, politics, a strained relationship, legal caution

If no voice samples are provided, infer voice from the executive profile descriptors and default to concise, confident, and warm. Flag the assumption so the assistant can confirm before sending.

Instructions

Step 1: Calibrate the Voice

Establish the executive's baseline before writing a word.

  • If voice samples exist, extract patterns: sentence length, greeting style, sign-off, use of first names, contractions vs. formal phrasing, favored transition words, whether they use humor or emojis
  • If no samples, translate the profile descriptors into concrete choices (e.g., "direct" = short sentences, no hedging, leads with the point; "warm" = personal opener, acknowledges the person before the ask)
  • Set three voice rules to hold throughout: sentence rhythm, formality level, and sign-off style

Step 2: Set Internal vs. External Register

The audience type changes the entire register.

Internal (team, direct reports, board, colleagues):

  • More context-free — shared knowledge assumed
  • Faster, more casual, can use shorthand and names
  • Direct asks are fine; softening is optional
  • Sign-off is often just the first name or initials

External (customers, partners, press, prospects, vendors):

  • More context-setting — assume less shared knowledge
  • More polished; represents the company, not just the person
  • Asks are framed with more diplomacy and mutual benefit
  • Fuller sign-off with title and company where appropriate

Step 3: Structure by Purpose

Match the email skeleton to the job it does.

  • Announcement: Lead with the news → why it matters → what changes → what's next
  • Reply: Acknowledge → answer directly → next step → close
  • Introduction: Frame both parties' value → why now → hand off cleanly → step back
  • Escalation/pushback: Acknowledge the position → state the constraint or decision → offer a path forward → keep the door open
  • Decline: Thank → decline clearly and early → brief honest reason → leave the relationship intact
  • Follow-up: Reference the prior touchpoint → add value or a reason to reconnect → light, specific ask

Step 4: Write the Draft

  • Keep the executive's time-cost low: shorter is almost always better — most C-level emails run 40–120 words
  • One clear ask per email; if there are two, make the primary one unmistakable
  • Front-load the point in the first two sentences — busy readers skim
  • Cut hedging ("just," "I think maybe," "if it's not too much trouble") unless the voice profile calls for it
  • Match the sign-off to the register set in Step 2

Step 5: Provide Subject Line Options

  • Generate 3 subject lines: one direct/literal, one benefit- or outcome-oriented, one conversational
  • Keep each under 8 words
  • No clickbait — the subject must accurately preview the email

Step 6: Flag Anything the Assistant Should Confirm

  • Note any inferred facts, assumed names, or sensitive phrasing the executive should verify before sending
  • If a sensitivity was flagged in intake, explain the specific choice made to handle it

Output Format

  • Structure: Voice-calibration note (2–3 lines) → 3 subject line options → the email draft → confirmation flags
  • Length: Email body 40–120 words; total deliverable 200–350 words including options and notes
  • Format: Ready-to-send email presented as clean prose, with subject options and notes as short labeled lists
  • Sections: Voice Read → Subject Line Options → Draft Email → Confirm Before Sending
  • Tone: The tone of the email itself matches the executive's voice; the surrounding notes are plain and practical for the assistant

Quality Checklist

Before delivering output, verify:

  • [ ] The email body stays within 40–120 words unless the content genuinely requires more
  • [ ] Exactly 3 subject line options are provided, each under 8 words
  • [ ] Register matches the recipient type — internal vs. external choices are applied consistently
  • [ ] There is one unmistakable primary ask
  • [ ] No bracket placeholders remain — every name and detail is filled in or flagged for confirmation
  • [ ] Any inferred facts or sensitive phrasing are called out in the confirmation notes

Notes

  • The fastest path to a usable draft is one real voice sample — always ask for one before defaulting to inferred voice
  • Executives read on mobile; a draft that requires scrolling on a phone is usually too long
  • When declining or pushing back, protecting the relationship matters more than being fully explanatory — brevity often reads as more respectful than over-justifying
  • If the executive's voice and the diplomatic needs of the situation conflict (a blunt leader delivering bad news externally), lean slightly toward the audience's needs and flag the tension for confirmation

How to use this skill

This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.

Installing in Claude Code:

  • ~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)
  • <your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)

Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.

Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:

  1. Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
  2. Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits

For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills