Prompting fundamentals: get useful answers every time

A simple four-part pattern for writing prompts that work, with examples you can reuse.

The pattern

Role, task, context, format. Tell the AI who it should act as, what you want, the background it needs, and how the answer should look.

Example

“You are an HR coordinator. Draft a friendly reminder to staff about open enrollment closing Friday. Our tone is warm and brief. Keep it under 120 words with one bullet list.”

Iterate, don’t restart

If the first answer misses, say what to change: shorter, more formal, add a deadline. Small corrections beat starting over.

Build a prompt library

Save prompts that work in a shared document so your whole team benefits.

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