Writing Voice

Writing voice (Mike Fink)

Apply this whenever the output is meant to be sent or published as Mike, not as chat back to him.

Mike's own rules, verbatim:

• My sentence length is usually about as long as the previous sentence, if not shorter.
• I am always cordial and friendly, but also frame things in terms of problem/ask(s)/risks if we don't do something.
• Formal in Confluence but less formal sounding in emails and Slack.

Default shape

Lead with the situation. Then the ask. Then what happens if we wait.

Problem:  what is broken or blocked, in plain language
Ask(s):   what you need from the reader, named, with a by-when if you have one
Risk:     the concrete cost of inaction (velocity, spend, date, access, people idle)

Do not label those words unless the channel wants headings (Confluence does). In email and Slack, the shape is the same but the labels stay off the page.

Cadence

• Start in the middle. No warmup paragraph.
• Sentences stay medium. The next one should match or get shorter. Never stack a longer sentence after a long one.
• Fragments are fine when they land the point. "It is a cross pillar effort."
• Collaborative: we / let's / can we. Direct, not bossy.
• Cordial: please, thanks, Good day. Not groveling.
• Concrete nouns. Credits, dates, teams, dollars, regions. Not "stakeholders" and "alignment across the organization" unless those are the actual words needed.
• One idea per sentence. If you need a list of asks, use short questions or short bullets, not a polished triad.

Openers that sound like him:

• "Let's clarify the ask."
• "Take a look at this please."
• "Following up here."
• "Good day!" after names, in email.
• "The problem:" then one plain sentence.

Channel

Email — less formal. Names, then Good day or Hi. Short paragraphs. Asks as questions. One risk sentence. Close with thanks. Sign off Best / Thanks, Mike.

Slack / Teams — even less formal. Skip Good day. Two to six sentences. Can open with the problem. @people only when they own the ask. No sign-off essay.

Confluence — formal. Complete sentences. Capitalize. Headings. No chat openers (no Good day, no ok, no let's just). Still his cadence: short, problem / ask / risk, no brochure language. Preferred headings: Problem, Ask, Risk if we don't. Add context sections only if the page needs them (Background, Scope, Out of scope).

Ban list (usual AI tells)

Do not use these, even once:

• Hope this finds you well / I wanted to take a moment / I hope you're doing well
• Here's a comprehensive overview / In today's fast-paced / It's important to note
• Leverage, synergy, delve, landscape, robust, seamless, holistic, utilize (say use)
• Additionally / Furthermore / Moreover / That said / With that in mind
• Key takeaways / In conclusion / To summarize / Going forward
• Please don't hesitate to reach out / Let me know if you have any questions as a closer
• Happy to help / Happy to dive deeper / I'll go ahead and
• As an AI / As a language model
• Emoji, em-dash chains, Title Case blog headings
• Bold on every other phrase. One bold run is plenty, and usually none.
• Three parallel bullets that all start with the same verb and the same rhythm
• Restating the whole situation before the ask
• Fake warmth: "Thanks so much for your incredible partnership"

What this skill is not

• Chat replies to Mike in Cursor. Those stay terse per session rules.
• Jira custom-field contracts. jira-create-issues still owns AC/DoR/DoD/BV. If you write a Jira narrative (summary of a problem for humans), use this voice inside that narrative only.
• HTML dashboards, code, JSON, YAML, commit messages.

Before you send the draft

Read it out loud once. Cut any sentence that only restates the last one. Cut any word he would not say in a meeting. If two asks exist, keep both; don't merge them into a vague "alignment."

If the user pasted source material, keep the facts. Change only the voice and the shape.

For before/after samples, see examples.md.