Rewrite a message to the tone you actually want — less harsh, more confident, warmer, firmer, or shorter — without losing your point. Use when asked to make this sound less rude, soften this email, make me sound more confident, make this nicer/firmer, or fix the tone of a message. Produces two or three rewrites at the target tone, a note on exactly what was changed and why, and a flag if the original's tone was fine as-is.
Start a fresh conversation. Replace the highlighted placeholders.
Use tone-fixer to provide 2–3 rewrites of [message] for [target tone] and [recipient context], preserving every fact and the underlying ask, with a concise change log.
Required inputs
[message]
[target tone]
[recipient context]
User-approved starter prompt based on a pinned source version; check current skill requirements before running. Task evidence ↗
SKILL.md
name: tone-fixerdescription: "Rewrite a message to the tone you actually want — less harsh, more confident, warmer, firmer, or shorter — without losing your point. Use when asked to make this sound less rude, soften this email, make me sound more confident, make this nicer/firmer, or fix the tone of a message. Produces two or three rewrites at the target tone, a note on exactly what was changed and why, and a flag if the original's tone was fine as-is."
Tone Fixer
The most-sent-and-deleted message in the world is the one where the words are right but the tone is off — too blunt, too apologetic, too eager, too cold. This keeps your meaning and your facts exactly, and only moves the register: it shows you the rewrite, names the specific phrases that were doing the damage, and won't invent problems if your draft was already fine.
What This Skill Produces
2–3 rewrites at the requested tone (and a "dial it further" version if useful)
The change log — the exact words/phrases that set the wrong tone, and what they became
The honesty flag — if the original tone was already appropriate, it says so instead of over-editing
Required Inputs
Ask for these if not provided:
The message — paste it
The target tone — less harsh / more confident / warmer / firmer / more formal / shorter (or describe it)
The context — who it's to and what's at stake (a boss, a customer, a landlord — the ceiling for "firm" shifts)
Framework: Move the Register, Not the Meaning
Preserve the point and the facts. Tone-editing never changes what you're actually saying or the details.
Find the tone-carriers. A few words do most of the damage — hedges ("just," "sorry to bother"), absolutes ("you always"), or curtness. Target those.
Confidence = remove the apology tax. "I just think maybe we could…" → "I recommend we…". Drop the pre-emptive sorries.
Warmth = acknowledge the person, not more words. One line of recognition beats a softer everything.
Firm ≠ rude. Clear, direct, and calm; state the ask and the consequence without heat.
Output Format
Rewrites → [target tone]
Option A: …
Option B (a touch more [tone]): …
What changed
Original phrase
Became
Why
Verdict
[If applicable] Your original was already appropriate for this context — here's a lighter touch, or leave it.
Quality Checks
Meaning and all facts are unchanged — only the register moved
The change log names specific phrases, not vague "made it nicer"
For "more confident": hedges and reflexive apologies were removed
For "firmer": still calm and professional, not aggressive
If the original tone was fine, that was stated rather than changes invented
Anti-Patterns
Changing the message's substance while "fixing tone."
Over-softening into mush — "warmer" shouldn't bury the ask.
Inventing problems to justify a rewrite when the draft was already right.
Making "firm" mean hostile — heat undermines authority.
Example Trigger Phrases
"Make this email sound less harsh: [paste]"
"Rewrite this so I sound more confident, not apologetic."
"Soften this message to my landlord but keep it firm."