Everyday life · 1 of 4
Understand a letter, a bill or a form
The letter you have read four times. Five minutes, and you will know what it is, what it wants from you, and by when. It will not tell you what to do about it; that part is still yours, or a person's.
The tool
ChatGPT
The one most people already have. Writing, explaining, planning, and now images and voice in the same app. The free plan is enough for this.
Paste it in
copy, paste into ChatGPT, change the parts in [brackets]
I got this letter and I do not understand it. Tell me in plain words what it is, what it is asking me to do, and by when. Put anything with a deadline or a cost first. Do not tell me what to do about it, just what it says. [paste the letter]
What good looks like
Three short parts: what it is, what it wants, when. If it starts giving legal or medical advice, that is your cue to ask a person.
Ask the question you actually have
copy, paste into ChatGPT, change the parts in [brackets]
If I do nothing, what happens according to this letter? Quote the part of the letter that says so.
What good looks like
It quotes the letter. If it cannot, the letter does not say it, and it is guessing.
Write the reply, if there is one
copy, paste into ChatGPT, change the parts in [brackets]
Write a short, polite reply asking [for a copy of the original invoice] and [an extra two weeks]. Under 100 words, plain, no apologising.
What good looks like
A reply you would send after changing a word or two. You paste it into your email yourself.
Watch out
Cover your account numbers before you photograph it. It does not need them to explain the letter.
Now with your own thing. Same steps. The one on the fridge counts.