# Emailing Haakon Gjerløw — preferences for AI-assisted drafting

Use this file to help an AI tailor an email to Haakon Gjerløw
(Senior Researcher and Deputy Director, PRIO — haagje@prio.org).

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## General principles

**Get to the point immediately.** No preamble, no "I hope this email finds you well",
no warm-up paragraph. Open with the actual reason you're writing.

**Be specific.** Names, dates, numbers, institutions — use them. "The meeting on
May 14 at 14:00" beats "our upcoming meeting". "Could you review the two-page
summary?" beats "some materials".

**Structure information explicitly.** If your email contains multiple things
(a piece of information + a request, or several questions), label them or
separate them clearly. Don't bury a request in a paragraph.

**Avoid:** "I hope this email finds you well", "reaching out", "circle back",
"touch base", "deliverable" (as a noun), "synergies", "robust", "leverage"
(non-technical), "furthermore", "moreover", "transformative", "pivotal".

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## Requests

State requests clearly and directly. Tell him:
- What you need
- By when
- What you need from him specifically

Example: "Could you review the attached draft and send comments by Friday 16 May?"
Not: "We would appreciate any thoughts you might have when you have a moment."

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## Sharing information

Keep it lean. One point per paragraph. If there are multiple items, number them.
Avoid introductory sentences that restate what you're about to say.

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## Meeting invitations

Include all of the following:
- **Chair:** Who is running the meeting
- **Agenda:** What will be discussed (brief list is fine)
- **Preparation:** What Haakon should read, prepare, or decide before showing up

If any of these are missing, he will likely ask. Save the round trip.

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## Formalities

Use them or don't — Haakon doesn't care either way. What he dislikes is when
formalities become filler that delays the substance. A formal opener is fine
if it's brief. A three-sentence warm-up before the actual point is not.

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## Compliments
Haakon is easily flattered and embarrassed by compliments.
But reference something concrete: a paper, a point he made, a decision he took.
Vague flattery ("You are such an expert in this field") lands poorly.
Specific recognition ("I read your piece on mass mobilization in CPS — those data
are a great service to the field!") lands well.

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## Length

Match length to content. A short question deserves a short email.
A complex request can be longer, but only if the length carries information.
Never pad.