Lesson 78 · 2 min
Five prompt habits that always help
A handful of small habits lifts almost every answer, whatever chatbot you use and whatever you ask.
First, say who it is for. "For my 70 year old father" or "for a client who is in a hurry" changes the words, the length and the examples.
Second, give the material. Paste the email, the notes or the numbers instead of describing them. Third, say what good looks like: the length, the shape, the tone.
Fourth, invite questions: "If anything is unclear, ask me before you answer." Fifth, say what to avoid, like jargon, made-up numbers or a pushy sales tone.
You do not need all five every time. A quick question needs none. But when an answer matters, running through these takes 30 seconds and saves several rounds of fixing.
Do it now
Upgrade one prompt
- 1. Take a prompt you used today.
- 2. Add the five habits using the template below.
- 3. Run both and compare.
[YOUR TASK] It is for: [WHO WILL READ OR USE IT]. Here is the material: [PASTE]. Good looks like: [LENGTH, SHAPE, TONE]. Avoid: [WHAT YOU DO NOT WANT]. If anything is unclear, ask me first.
Quick check
Keep going
Next →Five prompt traps to avoidWords from this lesson
- Prompt
- The instruction or question you give an AI. Clearer prompts with context usually get much better answers.
- Context engineering
- Choosing which documents, instructions and history to give an AI so it has exactly what it needs for a task.