Writing Prompts That Get Usable Work

Most disappointing AI answers come from short, vague requests. “Write an email to a client” gets a generic email. A good prompt gives the tool what a new colleague would need to do the job well.

The five-part formula

1. Role. Who should the AI act as? “You are an experienced office administrator in Kenya.”
2. Task. What exactly should it produce? “Write a reminder email about an unpaid invoice.”
3. Context. What does it need to know? The client’s name, the invoice number, how late it is, your relationship, anything already said.
4. Format. Length, tone, structure. “Under 120 words, polite but firm, end with the M-Pesa paybill details I give you below.”
5. Check. Ask it to flag uncertainty. “List anything you assumed or are unsure about.”

You do not need all five for a quick question. For any work you will send to someone else, use all five.

Before and after

Weak: “Summarise this report.”

Strong: “You are a senior analyst. Summarise the report below for a busy director who has two minutes. Give five bullet points: the main finding, the two biggest risks, the decision needed, and the deadline. Use plain English and keep each bullet under 25 words. If the report does not state something, write ‘not stated’ rather than guessing.”

The second version tells the tool who the reader is, what matters, how long, and what to do when information is missing.

Improve in the same chat

The first answer is a draft. Keep the conversation going instead of starting again:

• “Shorter, and drop the second paragraph.”
• “Make it warmer; this client has been with us for years.”
• “Rewrite for someone who reads English as a second language.”
• “Give me three subject lines to choose from.”

Each follow-up builds on everything already in the chat.

Give examples

If you have a past email, report or post you liked, paste it in and say “match this style.” One good example often does more than a paragraph of instructions.

Build a prompt library

When a prompt works, save it with blanks for the parts that change, for example: “Write a payment reminder to [client] for invoice [number], [days] days overdue.” Over a month you will build a set of prompts for the tasks you do every week, and your results will become consistent. Our practical prompt engineering guide has more templates.

Never paste what you should not share

A good prompt needs context, but not everything belongs in a chat. Lesson 7 covers what personal and client information to keep out of AI tools under Kenya’s Data Protection Act.

Key takeaways

• A useful prompt has five parts: role, task, context, format and a request to flag what the AI is unsure of.
• Most generic AI answers come from missing context about your situation and your reader.
• Improve a draft in the same chat with short instructions instead of starting again.
• Save the prompts that work, with blanks for the parts that change, and reuse them every week.