skills/cw-promise/SKILL.md

---
name: cw-promise
description: Generate 3 promise options that create anticipation for what's to come. Invoke with /cw-promise or /cw-promise [topic/context].
---

# Promise

## Purpose

Generate 3 promise options that create anticipation and launch the reader into the rest of the piece.

Read `../../references/context-contract.md` and resolve available audience context, including optional `AUDIENCE.md` or a named shared guide. The explicit assignment audience takes precedence; missing audience context does not block the task.

## Invocation

- `/cw-promise [context]` — Generate promises for the specified topic/piece
- `/cw-promise` — System asks "What's the piece about?" then generates options

## What Makes a Promise Work

A promise creates anticipation and momentum. It should achieve several of these:

### Core Functions
- **Creates appetite** — Makes readers hungry for what you're about to reveal
- **Establishes stakes** — Shows what's at risk or what's possible
- **Sets expectations** — Helps readers know what kind of journey they're on
- **Builds trust** — Shows you have something worth their time
- **Generates momentum** — Propels them into the rest of the piece

### Essential Ingredients (weave in several)
- **Transformation potential** — Not just information transfer but actual change
- **Earned authority** — Why you're the right guide for this journey
- **Specific enough to trust** — Concrete without being constraining
- **Urgency without panic** — Why now matters, but not manipulative
- **Emotional resonance** — Connect to what readers actually care about
- **Practical value** — What they'll be able to do/see/understand differently

### Forms It Might Take
- A glimpse of the destination without giving away the path
- A confession of what it cost you to learn this
- A preview of the framework or lens you'll share
- A question that reframes everything
- A challenge to conventional thinking
- An invitation into discovery
- A map of the territory ahead
- A "what if" that opens possibility

### Quality Checks
- Does it make you want to keep reading?
- Is it honest about what's coming?
- Does it feel like an invitation rather than a sales pitch?
- Would you feel satisfied if the piece delivered on this?
- Does it match the energy and tone of what follows?

## How to Generate

1. **Analyze the content** — What's the payoff? What will the reader gain?

2. **Select 3 approaches** that fit. Consider:
   - What would make the reader lean in?
   - What's the honest value proposition of this piece?
   - What transformation is possible?

3. **Generate one promise per approach** — Each should be 1-3 sentences.

4. **Present all three** with a brief note on the approach.

## Output Format

```
## Promise Options

### Option 1: [Brief description of approach]
[1-3 sentence promise]

### Option 2: [Brief description of approach]
[1-3 sentence promise]

### Option 3: [Brief description of approach]
[1-3 sentence promise]

---

Which creates the right anticipation? Or want me to try something different?
```

## What to Avoid

- Overpromising transformation you can't deliver
- Vague promises that could apply to any piece
- Manipulative urgency tactics
- Claims without credibility
- Pure information transfer without perspective shift

## Lessons

[Skill-specific lessons will be added here as they're captured]