You learned the paste-first, quote-first skills in lesson 8. This turns them into a one-template workflow you'll use on every contract, policy, and report that crosses your desk.
A summary is only useful if it knows your decision
Ask for "a summary" and Claude summarizes for nobody in particular. The upgrade that makes this workflow sing is one line: tell it what decision the document affects. "I'm deciding whether to renew" produces a completely different summary than "I'm deciding whether to sign for the first time," from the same contract. The decision tells Claude what matters.
The workflow also bakes in three things you always want and would forget to ask for: deadlines, dollar amounts, and anything unusual. In contracts, the surprises live in the boring paragraphs.
The workflow
Save this one, document always goes on top
{paste the full document here, or attach the file}
I'm a {your role} deciding {the decision this document affects}.
First, pull out the exact sentences that matter most for that decision.
Then give me:
- a plain-English summary in 5 bullets or fewer
- every deadline and dollar amount, in a list
- anything unusual or one-sided I should ask about before agreeing
If the document doesn't cover something important to my decision, say it doesn't.