Same facts, different versions, easy to get wrong
Retelling a message four different ways from memory is exactly how one version accidentally overstates progress or another accidentally understates a risk. Holding the facts constant while varying the tone deliberately is a harder discipline than it sounds under deadline pressure.
What it does
- Four audiences by default. Executive (outcome-first, under 150 words), delivery team (full detail and sequence), client (careful, no unconfirmed dates), end user (plain language, no project vocabulary).
- Facts held constant, listed explicitly. So you can verify no version overstates or contradicts another before sending.
- Bad news keeps its severity everywhere. Only framing and detail change — not how serious it sounds.
- No corporate filler. A sentence carrying no information gets deleted, in every version.
- Flags what shouldn't be written down at all. Anything in the source too sensitive for any written version gets called out, not rewritten.
Example
Illustrative, not a real client communication.
Source message: "We found a bug in the payment flow that means some refunds double-processed. We think it's contained but we're still checking. Go-live is probably slipping a week."
CLIENT VERSION: "We've identified an issue affecting a subset of refund transactions and are validating the full impact. To protect quality, we recommend moving go-live by one week; we'll confirm the new date within 48 hours." FACTS HELD CONSTANT: bug found, scope not yet confirmed, ~1 week slip likely.
How it works with Claude
A one-off 10-minute install into your Claude account.
Paste the message and say which audiences need a version.
Get every version back, plus the constant-facts checklist.
FAQs
What stays exactly the same across every audience version?
Facts, dates and numbers. Only tone, depth and framing change between versions — a rewrite that lets one audience version overstate or contradict another is the actual failure mode this guards against.
Does bad news get softened for some audiences?
The severity stays the same in every version; only the framing and level of detail change. Softening the actual bad news for one audience while stating it plainly for another is exactly what erodes trust later.