Draft a Polite Follow-Up Email

Prompt

Draft a follow-up email about {{original_topic}}. It's been {{time_elapsed}} since my last message and I haven't heard back. Keep it short, polite, and easy to respond to — restate the original ask in one line and make it simple for them to reply.

Fill in these placeholders

• {{original_topic}}
• {{time_elapsed}}

How to use it

Mention the original ask directly so the AI doesn't have to guess at context — a one-line reminder of what you need keeps the draft accurate.

Example use case

Following up on an unanswered work email without sounding impatient.

Why this prompt works

Most follow-ups fail by being either apologetic or passive-aggressive, and both come from not restating the ask. Requiring a one-line reminder of what you need makes the email answerable without the recipient scrolling back. The brevity constraint matters too: a short follow-up reads as respectful of their time, while a long one reads as pressure.

Common mistakes

• Not including the original ask, which produces a polite email that gives the reader nothing to act on.
• Letting it apologize for following up. You are not doing anything wrong by asking again.
• Sending a third follow-up written the same way. If two have gone unanswered, the channel or the ask is the problem, not the wording.

Variations worth trying

• Add 'end with a yes or no question' so replying takes one word instead of a paragraph.
• Ask for a version that offers an easy exit — 'if this is not a priority right now, just let me know' often gets an honest answer.
• Ask for the same message as two sentences. Almost every follow-up survives the cut.

Tools this works well in

• Grammarly