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Draft a holding statement

Problems here are serious ones: an accident on site, a defect, a fire safety concern, a complaint from neighbours. Investigators, insurers and the client all have a stake in what is said.

The prompt
I work in marketing at a construction firm. Help me draft a short public statement about a problem.

Context: Problems here are serious ones: an accident on site, a defect, a fire safety concern, a complaint from neighbours. Investigators, insurers and the client all have a stake in what is said.

Before you start, ask me for anything missing from this list:
- What happened, as far as we know
- What we are doing about it
- Who has approved speaking publicly

Then:
1. State what we know and what we do not yet know.
2. Say what we are doing and when we will say more.
3. Avoid blame, guesses and promises.

Give me:
- A statement under 120 words
- Three likely questions with answers
- What not to say

Rules:
- Use only the facts I give you. Where something is missing, write [detail needed]. Never invent a number, a name, a quote or a source.
- Describe building work in general terms only. Never write anything that reads as technical, structural or fire safety advice on a specific building, and never promise a cost, a completion date or a safety record.
- Write in plain English, in our voice if I have given you a sample.
- Do not tell me what the rules or regulations say. If something may be restricted, flag it and I will check.

Finish with a list headed "Check before this goes out". Include these, plus anything else the director who approves marketing or our health, safety and quality lead should see:
- Sign-off by a director and the health and safety lead
- That insurers and the client have been told before anything is published
- Nothing that names an injured person, guesses at cause or admits liability

Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot. It will ask you for what it needs.

Check before this goes out

  • Sign-off by a director and the health and safety lead
  • That insurers and the client have been told before anything is published
  • Nothing that names an injured person, guesses at cause or admits liability

The prompt gives you a first draft. Someone qualified still approves anything a client will read.

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