Made for Swiss self-employed & SMEsMost Swiss offices still think and write in German — and the best AI prompts are the ones you write in the language you actually think in. This post gives you ten copy-paste German prompts for the tasks that show up every week: emails, offers, and planning. No setup, no jargon. Copy one, replace the parts in [square brackets], and adapt the result until it sounds like you.
There is no trick to prompting. A good prompt simply tells the tool three things: who you are, what you need, and in which tone the result should be written. Everything else is detail. The prompts below follow that pattern, and each one ends with a concrete next step you can check — a date, a number, a name. That is where you stay in control.
Why write prompts in German?
Two quiet reasons. First, the output tends to be more natural for your clients. A German prompt about a Zahlungserinnerung produces a text that sounds like it was written in a Swiss office, not translated from English. Second, you can check the result much faster when the language matches the way you think. Reviewing a draft is the part of the work that matters most, and it gets easier when you are not mentally switching languages.
You do not need perfect wording. The tools understand short, plain sentences. The only habit worth keeping is honesty about the details: if a prompt asks for a number or a date, give the real one.
How to use these prompts
One habit makes all ten prompts work better: review in two passes. The first pass checks facts — dates, amounts, names, and numbers. The second pass checks tone. If the draft sounds too formal for your relationship with the client, add one line to the prompt: “Schreibe weniger formell.” If it sounds too casual, ask for a calm, factual style instead. After a few tries you will know which instruction your tool needs, and for most messages the second pass becomes quick.
You also do not need to remember the prompts by heart. Keep them in a note, a text file, or the custom instructions of your tool. The goal is not to become a prompt expert. The goal is to have a small set of reliable starting points for the work you repeat.
Three prompts for emails you write every week
1. A friendly reply to a client enquiry
Du bist [Beruf] in der Schweiz. Beantworte die folgende Anfrage einer Kundin in einem ruhigen, freundlichen Ton auf Schweizer Hochdeutsch. Gehe auf alle Fragen ein, schlage einen konkreten nächsten Schritt vor und bleibe höflich, ohne zu übertreiben. Anfrage: [Anfrage hier einfügen]
Use this when a client writes a long, multi-part message and you want a first draft that covers everything. Replace the placeholder with the actual enquiry, then rework the draft in your own words. Most of the value is in the structure: nothing gets forgotten, and the tone stays calm.
2. A polite request to reschedule a meeting
Formuliere eine kurze E-Mail, um einen Termin zu verschieben. Erkläre den Grund kurz, schlage zwei konkrete Alternativen vor und entschuldige dich höflich. Ton: freundlich und unaufgeregt. Ursprünglicher Termin: [Datum und Uhrzeit]
Rescheduling is a weekly task for most self-employed professionals. The prompt keeps the message short, which is exactly what a rescheduling email should be. Fill in two alternative times yourself — the tool should not invent your calendar.
3. A reminder that stays friendly
Schreibe eine freundliche, aber klare Zahlungserinnerung an einen Kunden, der eine Rechnung übersehen hat. Erwähne Rechnungsnummer und Betrag, nenne ein Zahlungsziel und biete an, bei Fragen zu helfen. Ton: verständnisvoll, nicht vorwurfsvoll. Rechnungsnummer: [Nummer], Betrag: [Betrag]
Payment reminders are delicate. Most people do not owe you money on purpose, and a calm reminder gets paid just as reliably as an aggressive one. The prompt makes sure the facts are in the message; you decide whether the situation calls for this tone or a firmer one.
Three prompts for offers
4. From call notes to a first offer outline
Erstelle aus meinen Notizen einen ersten Entwurf einer Offerte: Ausgangslage, Leistungen, Aufwand, Termine, Preis. Halte die Sprache klar und sachlich. Notizen: [Notizen hier einfügen]
After a discovery call you usually have notes in your own shorthand. This prompt turns them into a structured outline you can expand. Keep your pricing out of the draft if you are not ready to commit to it — or add it and use the draft as your working document.
5. Make a service description easier to read
Schreibe die folgende Leistungsbeschreibung so um, dass sie eine Kundin ohne Fachwissen versteht. Kurze Sätze, keine Fachbegriffe ohne Erklärung, ruhiger Ton. Originaltext: [Text hier einfügen]
Fiduciaries, consultants, and IT specialists all write service descriptions that assume too much. This prompt is a gentle way to test that assumption. The result is usually shorter and clearer; you keep the technical precision where it matters.
6. A project outline with phases and costs
Erstelle einen Projektplan mit Phasen, ungefährem Aufwand und Meilensteinen für [Projektbeschreibung]. Nenne auch, welche Annahmen ich treffe und was ich mit der Kundschaft noch klären muss.
Use this when an offer needs more than a price: the client wants to understand how the work will run. The plan the tool produces is a first version, not a contract. Check the effort estimates against your own experience before anything goes out.
Two prompts for planning your week
7. From your Pendenzen list to a weekly plan
Hier ist meine Pendenzenliste. Sortiere die Aufgaben nach Priorität und schlage eine Verteilung auf die nächsten fünf Arbeitstage vor. Berücksichtige, dass ich pro Tag höchstens [Anzahl] Stunden für diese Arbeiten habe. Pendenzen: [Liste hier einfügen]
Your Pendenzen list is probably honest but unsorted. This prompt gives you a suggested order and a rough distribution across the week. Treat it as a proposal: move tasks around until the plan matches your energy and your appointments.
8. A clear agenda for your next meeting
Erstelle eine Sitzungsagenda für [Dauer] Minuten mit folgenden Traktanden: [Traktanden]. Für jedes Traktandum schlage eine Zeitvorgabe und eine klare Frage vor, die am Ende beantwortet sein soll.
Meetings drift when nobody has decided what should be decided. This prompt forces the question per topic, which is the quiet secret of good agendas. Send the result to participants the day before — it saves more time than the prompt costs.
One prompt for meetings
9. From rough notes to a usable protocol
Verwandle meine Sitzungsnotizen in ein Protokoll mit den Abschnitten: Teilnehmende, Entscheide, Aufgaben (mit Verantwortlichen und Termin) und offene Fragen. Halte dich strikt an die Notizen, erfinde nichts dazu. Notizen: [Notizen hier einfügen]
This is the single most useful prompt for managers. The strict instruction — do not invent anything — is the important part. Check the Entscheide and the Aufgaben with names and dates before you send the protocol, and you have a document your team can actually work with.
One prompt for everything else
10. Rewrite a text in calm Swiss Standard German
Schreibe den folgenden Text auf Schweizer Hochdeutsch um. Kurze, klare Sätze, ruhiger Ton, keine übertriebenen Floskeln und keine englischen Füllwörter. Originaltext: [Text hier einfügen]
Newsletters, website texts, internal notes — anything you wrote in a hurry can go through this prompt once. It is not about polishing every sentence into marketing language. It is about removing the clutter so the message reads as calm and clear, the way Swiss business writing should.
Where these prompts work
These prompts work in any modern AI tool, whether you use a cloud service, a business account with data protection, or a local model on your own computer. The wording does not need to change. What does change is what you feed into the tool. For client data — names, addresses, numbers, health information — use the setup you have approved for your business, not a private account. The prompts themselves are only text; the data you add to them is what deserves your attention.
A calm way to keep using them
Ten prompts are only useful if you find them again. Keep a simple text file or a note called “Prompts” and add the ones that work for you. After a few weeks you will have a small library that sounds like your business, not like a template collection.
One more habit: before you send anything an AI drafted, check the facts — dates, amounts, names, and numbers. The tools are excellent at structure and tone. The details are your job, and that is how it should be.
If a prompt does not work the first time, that is normal. Reword it, shorten it, or add an example of what you like. The tools are patient — and you are allowed to be patient too.
Start with the single task that costs you the most time this week. Use the prompt once, adjust it, and keep it. That is the whole method.
