A good prompt in five parts

The difference between a vague and a useful AI answer almost always lies in the request. You don't need tricks. A good prompt reads like a good briefing for a new colleague. With these five building blocks you'll usually be on the right track.

1. Role

Say which perspective the AI should take. "You are an experienced customer service adviser" or "Think like a demanding accountant." It shapes the wording and what gets attention.

2. Task

Say exactly what you want. Not "something about our new service" but "an announcement email of no more than 150 words for existing customers".

3. Context

Give the background a colleague would need: who you are, who the text is for, what happened before and what it should achieve. This is the part most often missing, and the one that makes the biggest difference.

4. Format

Specify what the result should look like: length, tone, bullet points or prose, language, how to address the reader. "Friendly but professional. No jargon. End with one clear question."

5. Example or criteria

Show an example of what you like, or give criteria the result must meet. "This is how we usually write: [example]." Or: "It must be skimmable in ten seconds."

Before and after

Vague:

Write an email about our price change.

With all five parts:

You are a customer-focused business owner (role). Write an email to our regular customers about a price change from 1 January (task). We're a cleaning company with 25 staff. Prices are going up by 4 per cent because of higher wage costs. Customers value us for our reliability (context). No more than 150 words, friendly and honest, without excessive apologies (format). After reading it, the customer should know what's changing, why, and who to contact with questions (criteria).

The second answer will be much closer to an email you can actually send. It costs you an extra minute and usually saves several rounds of edits.

Two more tips

• Let the AI ask questions first. End with: "Ask me any questions you need answered before you start." Useful when you're not sure what to include.
• Keep going in the same conversation. A first answer is a starting point. "Shorter", "less formal" or "add a concrete example" work very well.

Exercise

Take a prompt you've used recently or need often. Rewrite it using the five building blocks. Tick what you've added:

Try both versions and compare the answers.

Prompt to copy