Tool 2 · 10.45 am to 12.45 pm
Gemini: Replies, Research and Reusable Assistants
You will produce: a reply to a difficult message and a Gem for your division.
What Gemini gives a manager
Gemini app
A chat assistant at gemini.google.com that works with any Google account.
Inside Gmail and Docs
A side panel that drafts, summarises and tidies in the file you have open.
Deep Research
Searches many websites and writes a report with links to its sources.
Gems
Reusable assistants you set up once with your own instructions.
The side panel in Gmail and Docs depends on your Google plan. Everything in this session works in the Gemini app.
Drafting sensitive replies
Give the AI
- The incoming message, with names removed
- The facts you can confirm
- The outcome you want
- The relationship you need to keep
Ask for
- A firm version and a conciliatory version
- How the reader may react to each paragraph
- Any line that could read as admitting liability
- A shorter version for WhatsApp or email
You send it, so you own every word.
Your turn
Scenario B: a difficult reply
An industry member writes to complain that the last batch of practical trainees lacked basic workshop safety habits. The letter hints at pausing future placements. This is a fictional case.
- 1Brief Gemini using the five parts, then ask for two tones.
- 2Edit the better version until you would put your name to it.
- 3Swap with a neighbour and mark any line you would not sign.
Deep Research for background you can check
Use it for
Background before a board discussion.
Use it for
What comparable institutions are doing.
Use it for
Testing a vendor's claims.
Research how TVET institutions in Malaysia and Singapore are using generative AI in training delivery and administration. Focus on examples from 2025 onwards. Give a link for every claim. Separate vendor marketing from independent evidence.
Remember: it takes several minutes to run, you must open the links behind the key claims, and it searches the public web only, so no internal matters.
Separating hype from what holds up
| The vendor says | You ask |
|---|---|
| “Saves every staff member ten hours a week” | Measured where, on which tasks and by whom? |
| “Automates assessment and marking” | Who verifies competency evidence, and will the accreditation body accept it? |
| “Your data is completely safe” | Where is it stored, who can see it and is it used for training? |
| “Works out of the box” | What training, templates and oversight will it need from us? |
Your turn
Check a claim before you buy
A vendor offers an AI admissions chatbot and says it will cut enquiry handling time by 70 per cent. This is a fictional case.
- 1Ask Deep Research what independent evidence exists for claims like this one.
- 2While it runs, write the questions you would put to the vendor.
- 3Open two of the sources it cites and judge whether they support the report.
A Gem that holds your house style
When ten staff each draft in their own way, a shared Gem keeps them sounding like one institution.
Set once
- Who the division is and who it writes to
- House style: British English, formal but plain
- Standard formats for memos, letters and notices
- What it must never include
Check every time
- Names, dates and figures
- Reference number and signatory
- Tone for this particular reader
- A named approver for anything public
Try it now: build a Gem called “Memo Drafter” for your division and test it on one real task.
Prompt library
More Gemini prompts for managers
Gemini works inside Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Drive, so many of these can reference your own files.
Summarise the unread emails from this week that need a decision from me. Group them by urgency and suggest a one-line reply for each.
Using @[proposal draft] and @[last year's report], draft a two-page update for the board on progress against last year's targets. Mark anything you could not find in the files.
In this sheet, create a column that flags programmes where completion rate fell more than 10% year on year, and add a summary table by division.
Research how Malaysian and ASEAN public training institutions are using AI in student services since 2023. Give 5 examples with sources, what worked, and what went wrong. Separate verified facts from opinion.
A vendor claims their AI platform cuts admin time by 60%. List the questions I should ask to test this claim, the evidence I should request, and red flags to watch for.
Act as my 'Board Paper Reviewer' Gem. For every draft I share, check structure, clarity, unsupported claims and missing risks, then give me the top five fixes in priority order.
Quick check
Reflection prompts. Answer them out loud at your table before moving on.
- 01What do you remove from a complaint before pasting it into an AI tool?
- 02True or false: a Deep Research report can be trusted without opening its sources.
- 03A vendor says its tool saves ten hours a week. What do you ask first?
- 04What is a Gem?