Polite request email
Paste your request. ToneSwap puts the ask up front, makes it specific, and keeps it easy to say yes, or no.
Your rewrite will appear here
Your own words, however rough. Or try the example to see what changes.
Keep Work Email for most messages, or pick Quick Reply for a colleague you write to every day.
The rewrite uses only the facts in your draft. Read it once, then copy it into your email.
Real kinds of drafts, rewritten with the advice below. The rewrites keep only what the draft says: no new facts, dates or promises.
Draft
Hi Kim, sorry to bother you, I was wondering if there might be any update on the contract at all? No rush!
Better
Hi Kim, is there any update on the contract? No rush.
Draft
Hey Chris, I was hoping that maybe at some point we could find some time to sit down and possibly chat about my role and responsibilities going forward, if that's okay?
Better
Hi Chris, could we set up time to talk about my role and responsibilities going forward?
Draft
Hi team, whenever you get a moment it would be great if you could maybe send over your hours for the month, I need them for payroll which closes on the 28th.
Better
Hi team, please send me your hours for the month by the 28th, when payroll closes.
Five rules that cover most cases.
A request after three lines of warm-up reads as nervous, and a busy reader may stop before they reach it.
"Could you review slides 4 to 7 by Thursday noon?" is easier to say yes to than "could you take a look sometime?".
Why you need it, in one line. The full backstory can go in an attachment or a call.
"If this week doesn't work, let me know and I'll ask someone else" makes a yes feel like a choice, not an obligation.
"Just", "possibly", "if you have time" and "no worries if not" in one sentence make the request sound optional, so it gets treated that way.
Small changes that make the same email clearer.
Fill in the brackets, then paste it into the box at the top to make it sound like you.
Hi [name], Could you [the specific ask] by [date]? [One line on why it matters.] [Optional: If that doesn't work, let me know and I'll [alternative].] Thanks, [you]
Not sure how your email will come across? Paste it into the email tone checker: it shows the tone, the words causing it, and what to change first. To write emails like this in Gmail without copying them here, add the Chrome extension, which puts a Rewrite button next to Send.
Other situations: say no in an email, follow-up email, apology email, reply to an email. More reading: confident email phrases and the email rewrite checklist.
Put the request near the top, phrase it as a question ("Could you..."), make it specific with what you need and by when, and add one line on why. Thank them once at the end.
Ask directly and name the thing: "Is there an update on the contract?" That is polite. What reads as rude is pressure, such as "ASAP" or "still waiting", not directness.
It is polite but weak. It hides the request and makes it easy to ignore. "Could you" is just as polite and much clearer.
Name the ask, give the reason in one line, and suggest a time or option so they only need to confirm. "Could we meet for 20 minutes this week to talk about my role? Thursday afternoon works for me."
It rewrites your draft so the request comes in the first or second sentence, keeps only the context needed, makes it specific using the details in your draft, and leaves room to say no. It does not add deadlines you did not write.
Yes. You can rewrite without an account, or sign up for 5 free rewrites a day. Every new account also gets 14 days of Pro, with no card.