Follow-Up Chaser Skill

Unanswered email dies in two ways: never chased (the ask silently expires) or chased badly ("just bumping this!" seven times, each one easier to ignore than the last). Good chasing is engineered: each follow-up lowers the cost of replying — restating the ask smaller, offering a default, adding a deadline with a reason — and the sequence escalates channel or stakes, not temperature. Three rungs, then a graceful close that converts silence into an answer.

What This Skill Produces

• The sequence — 2–3 follow-ups with dates, each drafted, each easier to answer than the last
• The re-ask engineering — the original request shrunk to its yes/no core with a default attached
• The channel escalation — when rung 3 moves from email to chat/call, and how to do it without ambush
• The graceful close — the final note that ends the thread with the relationship intact

Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:

• The original ask and its date — what was requested, how big the ask is (a signature vs. a favor vs. a decision), and any real deadline
• The relationship and power direction — chasing a report, a peer, a boss, and a customer are four different cadences
• The stakes — blocking your work? Nice-to-have? The sequence's pace and the close's shape follow

Framework: The Chase Rules