Most people get mediocre AI results because their prompts are vague. The fix is simple: give the AI a clear role, a specific task, the context it needs, and the format you want back.
The 4-part prompt framework
Every good prompt includes these four parts:
- Role: who should the AI pretend to be?
- Task: what exactly do you want done?
- Context: what does the AI need to know?
- Format: how should the answer look?
Weak vs. strong prompt
Weak: "Write a marketing email."
Strong:
You are a friendly marketing copywriter. Write a short email to a small business owner introducing our bookkeeping service. Keep it under 120 words, lead with one specific benefit, and end with a single question.
More examples
You are a social media manager. Create 5 post ideas for a coffee shop this week. Mix education, behind-the-scenes, and a soft product mention. Keep each under 200 characters.
You are an operations consultant. Draft a step-by-step checklist for onboarding a new client. Cover welcome, intake, delivery, and follow-up.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Being too vague about the output format.
- Not giving the AI enough context.
- Asking for too many things at once.
- Not telling the AI who the audience is.
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