Level 1 · Guide 2 of 6

Your first conversation with Claude

Ask a real question, get a useful answer, and ask for changes until it fits.

Time

About 10 minutes

You'll need
  • A Claude account (see guide 1)
  • One small job you'd like help with, like an email you've been putting off
When you're done
  • You can ask Claude for something and send it
  • You can ask for changes instead of starting over
  • You can copy the result and find the chat later

The best way to learn Claude is to hand it a real job. In this guide we'll use one most owners know well: a customer asking why their price went up.

Our example business is a made-up landscaping company called Sunrise Landscaping. Swap in your own details as you go.

Step 1: Click New to start a fresh conversation

The Claude home screen with the New button marked as number 1.
Click the picture to make it bigger

Click New in the top left. Each conversation is like a separate file folder. Start a new one whenever you change topics, so Claude isn't confused by what you talked about before.

Step 2: Type what you need, then send it

The message box with a request typed in, marked 1, and the orange send arrow marked 2.
Click the picture to make it bigger

Click in the message box and type your request the way you'd explain it to a new employee. Then click the orange arrow, or press Enter on your keyboard.

Here's what we typed. Copy it and change the details to fit your business:

Copy this into Claude
I run a small landscaping company. A longtime customer emailed asking why their yearly quote went up 12% from last year. Write a short, friendly reply. Explain that fuel and plant costs went up, and offer to walk the property with them to see if we can trim anything.

Step 3: Read the answer like an editor

Claude's reply: a drafted email to the customer explaining the price increase.
Click the picture to make it bigger

Claude writes a full draft in a few seconds. Read it the way you'd read something a new hire wrote. Is it right? Does it sound like you? Is anything missing?

Step 4: Ask for changes in plain words

A follow-up request typed in the message box asking Claude to make the email shorter and sign it from Dave.
Click the picture to make it bigger

Don't start over if the first draft isn't right. Type what to change in the same conversation, just like you'd tell a person. We typed:

Copy this into Claude
Good start. Make it shorter, drop the subject line, and sign it from Dave at Sunrise Landscaping.

Step 5: Copy the finished version

The shorter revised email signed Dave, Sunrise Landscaping, with the Copy button marked.
Click the picture to make it bigger

When it's right, click Copy. That puts the text on your computer's clipboard. Then go to your email, click in the message, and paste it (Command + V on a Mac, Ctrl + V on Windows).

Step 6: Give the chat a name you'll remember

The chat title at the top of the page, selected so it can be renamed.
Click the picture to make it bigger

Claude names each chat for you, and it saves everything automatically. To give a chat a clearer name, click its title at the top of the page, type a new name, and press Enter. Your chats are listed down the left side, newest first.

Screenshots taken September 24, 2026. Claude changes its look now and then. If a button has moved, look for the same words nearby.