AI for Normies.

Your cheat sheet

Five things to try with Claude this week.

Open claude.ai, pick one of these, and type the example. That's it. No setup, no account upgrades, no tricks.

01

Draft an email you've been putting off

Tell Claude who it's to, what it's about, and the tone you want. You'll get a full draft in seconds. If it's not quite right, just say "warmer" or "shorter" or "less formal."

I need to email my energy provider. My bill has been wrong for three months and they keep ignoring me. I want to be firm but not rude.
02

Summarise something long

Paste in a document, article, or set of terms and conditions. Ask Claude to pull out what matters in plain English. Works brilliantly with school policies, contracts, and anything from a solicitor.

Here's a letter I received from HMRC. Can you explain what they want me to do, in plain English, and tell me by when?
03

Plan something with constraints

Claude is excellent at logistics. Give it a budget, a time window, and what you care about. It'll give you a proper plan you can actually use.

I'm planning a weekend in Edinburgh with my partner. We arrive Friday at 3pm, leave Sunday at 5pm. We like good food, history, and walking. Budget is about 200 pounds for activities and meals.
04

Think through a decision

Claude won't tell you what to do. But it will help you think about angles you might have missed. Great for career moves, big purchases, or anything you've been going back and forth on.

I've been offered a new job. It pays more but the commute is much longer. My current job is comfortable but I'm bored. Help me think through this.
05

Get a difficult message right

When you need to say something carefully -- to a colleague, a friend, a neighbour -- tell Claude the situation and ask for help wording it. You'll get a starting point that's better than staring at a blank screen.

I need to tell my neighbour that their building work is disrupting my ability to work from home. I want to be friendly but clear. We get on well and I don't want to damage the relationship.

The trick is: there's no trick. Talk to Claude like a person. The more specific you are, the better it gets. And if the first answer isn't right, just push back -- "shorter," "warmer," "more like me" -- and it adjusts.

This cheat sheet is from AI for Normies, a plain-English blog and monthly workshop in Berkhamsted. Made by Myk.

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