I recently sent an email on behalf of my suite to ask for a favor from the hackathon. This is perhaps the most obvious example of an Accusations Audit, popularized by Chris Voss. Notice how in the first paragraph, I calibrate their expectations and give an exhaustive list of what they may be thinking.

Subject: An Enormous Request Regarding CU Hacking Health Registration

Dear CU Hacking Health Organizers,

I hope this email finds you well. First, I would like to express our sincere apologies for any inconvenience our request may cause. You may find that we had not been prioritizing our commitments properly, that we do not understand the importance of following the hackathon rules, and that that our request is unfair, irresponsible, and to your extreme inconvenience.

My team and I were originally registered for the Columbia CU Health Hackathon, but unfortunately missed the confirmation deadline on January 25. Last week, Yale announced a Yale-sponsored annual ski trip on February 17-18, which conflicted directed with the hackathon. Due to miscommunication and diffusion of responsibility, none of our members reached out to alert you of the update (which we take full responsibility for), However, this event fell through just today, and so we are actually available on February 17-18.

We are writing to kindly request if we may be registered for the hackathon. Additionally, if we may, we were wondering if we may include BM as a fifth member of our team. We take full responsibility for missing the confirmation deadline and understand if our request cannot be accommodated.

If there is any way that we can still be considered for the hackathon, we would be grateful for your consideration. We are eager to contribute to the event and hope that our participation may be an asset to the hackathon.

I have CC’ed the team to this email. Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely, Braden Wong he/him/his B.A. Ethics, Politics, and Economics Yale University | Class of 2024