SecondPen.aiNetworking coffee / advice request template
Origin: Informational-interview practice (Richard Bolles, What Color Is Your Parachute?).
Start from this templateFree, no account needed. The blank is written with guidance in each section, ready to fill in.
Structure
- Connection
- Specific reason
- Specific questions
- Time-boxed ask
How a tough reader scores it
When you score a draft against this format, the Critic evaluates this advice request. The weights add up to 100; the fixes for the weakest criteria arrive as cards in the editor.
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| Shows why this person and not someone else | 25 |
| Questions are specific and show homework | 25 |
| Ask is small and time-boxed | 20 |
| Offers a lower-effort alternative | 15 |
| Respectful, concise tone | 15 |
How it works in SecondPen.ai
Open the template and the editor writes the blank once, with a line of guidance under each heading that you delete as you fill it in. Write your abstract and the editor names the format it reads like. Ask for a document with a slash command and it offers to start from the matching format. When the draft is ready, the Critic scores it against the criteria above, the way this format's toughest reader would, and the three highest-leverage fixes become Editor cards.
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- Saying no gracefully (Yes–No–Yes)William Ury, The Power of a Positive No (2007)
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- Meeting recap / follow-upProject-management norm; sent within 24 hours