Free to read · no account needed

16 min · writing

Style guides that stick in Claude

Goal: Turn a short voice guide into standing instructions Claude actually follows—without a 20-page brand PDF nobody reads.

Best for: Teams sending repeated customer or internal writing through Claude Projects / custom instructions.

A one-screen guide with sample sentences beats a PDF nobody opens. Test it with a deliberately sloppy draft.

Long brand books get ignored. A one-screen style guide with examples and bans works better. Pair with negative constraints and a rubric.

A style guide the model ignores is wallpaper. Keep it short, attach one good example and one bad example, and put “Style guides that stick in Claude” rules above nice-to-haves.

Why beginners skip this

Skipping the hard part of “Style guides that stick in Claude” feels fine until a live thread pays the bill. Hold: Short voice card in standing instructions beats a unread PDF—one live pass/fail, or it was only a title Mid-week cost shows up as rework, not as a missing bookmark.

Step 1 — One-screen guide

Do this step with a real artifact open—not from memory.

Voice: [plain / warm / formal]
We say: [3 sample sentences you like]
We never say: [slop + banned promises]
Formatting: [bullets vs prose; max length defaults]
If unsure about a claim: mark Unknown — do not invent

Step 2 — Install and test

Put the guide in Project instructions (or the product’s custom instructions). Test with a deliberately sloppy draft:

Example

Filled prompt

Compress this style wish-list into a 10-line sticky guide for Claude Projects: tone calm, HK bilingual emails OK, no emojis in client mail, max 150 words unless asked, never invent prices. Add one good/bad reply pair about a delayed shipment.

What good output looks like

  • Pulls from Project/file named in the ask for “Turn a short voice guide into standing instruction”
  • Standing instructions respected; no silent scope creep
  • Decisions quoted or labeled Unclear — never “sounds good”
  • One-minute check: does output match claude-style-guides-that-stick Done?

Step 3 — Version the guide

When the model slips, add one ban or one sample sentence—bump voice-guide-vN. Do not paste a new novel.

Example

Filled prompt

Standing voice card already in Project.
Revise ONLY paragraph 3 of client update to match. List banned words you removed.

What good output looks like

  • Standing instructions respected; no silent scope creep
  • Decisions quoted or labeled Unclear — never “sounds good”
  • One-minute check: does output match claude-style-guides-that-stick Done?
  • Pulls from Project/file named in the ask for “Turn a short voice guide into standing instruction”

Save this card

Card: Short voice card in standing instructions beats a unread PDF—one live pass/fail, or it was only a title. Keep this beside the tool; read before you start.

1. What I shipped: ___ 2. What I refused: ___ 3. What I will never-do again: ___ (date: Asia/Shanghai)

  • [ ] Tools/writes paused
  • [ ] Refuse-line dated
  • [ ] Artifact path saved
  • [ ] Next link chosen (or stop)

Before you start

Open the Claude Project you will keep. Confirm standing instructions + the knowledge file for “Turn a short voice guide into standing” are current. Guide: claude-style-guides-that-stick. If you only have a blank practice box, stop and fetch the real job first.

  • Goal in one line: ___
  • Allowed tools: ___
  • Forbidden: ___
  • Human approve needed for: ___

How to use this week

This week in Claude: paste a 5-line voice card into Project instructions; rewrite one real paragraph against it. Keep the before/after on a live artifact—not a blank demo. Write one refuse-line and date the note (Asia/Shanghai). If you only skimmed claude-style-guides-that-stick, put 25 minutes on the calendar and redo once.

Ten lines max

If the style guide needs scrolling, it will be ignored. Put never-do first; attach one good/bad pair.

Pin above the chat

Keep the 10-line guide visible while Claude streams. Out of sight is out of style.

Ship the practice

Close the tab only after Practice now is done on a real artifact.

Test on an old draft

Paste one old email through the guide. If hype adjectives survive, tighten the never-do and retest.

Do not bookmark-only

Finish Practice now, then tick this guide on your path. Titles unread are not skills.

Close the loop

After Practice now, write one line: what you will refuse next time. That line is the habit.

Example

Filled prompt

Voice card in Project already.
Revise paragraph about pricing: ban "seamless/robust"; keep Unknown on Pro.
List removed words.

What good output looks like

  • Pulls from Project/file named in the ask for “Turn a short voice guide into standing instruction”
  • One-minute check: does output match claude-style-guides-that-stick Done?
  • Standing instructions respected; no silent scope creep
  • Decisions quoted or labeled Unclear — never “sounds good” [claude-style-guides-that-stick#3]
Example

Filled prompt

Voice card in Project.
Revise pricing paragraph; ban seamless/robust; Pro price Unknown.
Context: real workstream this week (Asia/Shanghai). Name actual files/people.
Constraints: no invented metrics/owners/prices; label Unknowns; stop before send/delete/pay.
Done check: I can mark pass/fail in one minute on the output.

What good output looks like

  • Decisions quoted or labeled Unclear — never “sounds good”
  • Pulls from Project/file named in the ask for “Turn a short voice guide into standing instruction”
  • One-minute check: does output match claude-style-guides-that-stick Done?
  • Standing instructions respected; no silent scope creep

Red flag

Guide of vibes with no checks; conflicts with standing instructions; unread 20-page PDF—cut to ≤10 checks.

Pitfalls

PitfallFix
40-page PDF dumpOne screen + examples
Guide without testsSloppy-draft drill
Contradictory samplesPick one voice
No Unknown ruleAdd claim honesty line

Practice now

Live card: one Claude artifact/diff/email pass for “Style guides that stick in Claude” with Blind before share (Asia/Shanghai).

Today: compress your style guide to ≤10 checkable rules and rewrite one old paragraph to match. Date the card (Asia/Shanghai).

Today card (copy) — claude-style-guides-that-stick: 1. Artifact I will produce: ___ 2. Pass/fail check: ___ 3. Refuse-line if tempted to skip verify/send: ___ (date: Asia/Shanghai) 4. One never-do from this guide: ___

  • [ ] Artifact path written
  • [ ] Refuse example would say "yes"
  • [ ] Dated Asia/Shanghai

One sentence takeaway

Short voice card in standing instructions beats a unread PDF—one live pass/fail, or it was only a title

  • You can point to a dated refuse-line
  • You have one artifact path from tonight
  • You can teach the red flag in one sentence

Next

Claude Projects · Negative constraints · Reject AI slop · Email polish · Edit pass voice

Pair with today: open the first Next link (claude-projects-knowledge-and-instructions) only after you dated a refuse-line for this guide (Asia/Shanghai).

← Back to home · Learn · Tools · Compare · Start