The Three Parts of a Good Prompt

Every Good Prompt Has Three Things

Part 1: Role or Context

Who are you? What is this for? This tells AI what world it's working in.

Examples:

• "I am a marketing manager for a health food startup."
• "I am writing an email to a difficult client."
• "I am creating a job description for a customer service role."

Part 2: The Task

What exactly do you want AI to do? Be specific, not vague.

Vague: "Write something about our product." Specific: "Write a 2-paragraph email to potential customers explaining why our app saves them 5 hours per week."

Vague: "Organize this list." Specific: "Sort these 15 customer complaints by priority. High priority = complaints about cost or data loss. Low priority = feature requests."

Part 3: Constraints

What are the rules? Format, length, tone, audience, any hard limits.

Constraints include:

• Length ("in 3 sentences", "under 200 words")
• Format ("as a bullet list", "as a table", "as a paragraph")
• Tone ("friendly", "professional", "conversational")
• Audience ("for a CEO", "for a 10-year-old", "for a technical audience")
• What to include or avoid ("don't mention pricing", "include 3 examples")

Four Examples

Example 1: Email

Role: I am a project manager at a software company. Task: Write an email to my team explaining why we are postponing the launch date. Constraints: Keep it to 2 paragraphs. Be honest but positive. The tone should feel like we are in control of this decision.

Example 2: Summary

Role: I am an operations manager. Task: Summarize this meeting transcript about our Q2 budget. Constraints: 5 bullet points max. Include only decisions made and action items. Skip background discussion.

Example 3: Job Description

Role: I run a small marketing agency. Task: Create a job description for a social media coordinator. Constraints: Make it 4 paragraphs. Include "must have" and "nice to have" skills. Tone should feel welcoming to entry-level candidates.

Example 4: Brainstorm

Role: I manage the website for a nonprofit. Task: Give me blog post ideas to promote our upcoming fundraiser. Constraints: 5 ideas. Each should be 1-2 sentences. Focus on angles that would appeal to donors who have given before.

How to Use This

Before you write a prompt, ask yourself:

1. What context does AI need? (Who am I? What is this for?)
2. What is the exact task? (Be specific.)
3. What are the rules? (Length? Format? Tone? Audience?)

Then write one sentence for each. That is your prompt.