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Prompts That Actually Work: The 5-Part Formula

Why the same AI gives brilliant answers to some people and mush to others, and the formula that fixes it.

A vague question gets a vague answer. A prompt is a short work order, and the same things that make a good work order for a new hire make a good prompt.

The formula: R-T-C-F-C

1. Role: who should it act as? ("You are a seasoned operations manager.")
2. Task: what exactly do you want done? ("Draft a two-paragraph reply to this customer.")
3. Context: what does it need to know? Who is the audience, what happened, what is at stake?
4. Format: what should the output look like? (Bullets, a table, 150 words, an email.)
5. Constraints: what should it avoid or respect? (No jargon, keep my tone, do not invent facts.)

Before and after

Weak: "Write a follow-up email."

Strong:

You are an experienced account manager.
Write a follow-up email to a client who received our proposal 10 days ago and has not replied.
Context: they are a 40-person company, price was their main concern, we can offer a payment plan but I do not want to lead with a discount.
Format: under 120 words, three short paragraphs, one clear question at the end.
Constraints: friendly but not pushy, no phrases like "just checking in", do not invent details.

Three habits that separate good users from frustrated ones

• Let it interview you. End any prompt with: "Before you answer, ask me up to 3 questions that would make your answer better."
• Iterate like you would with a colleague. "Shorter." "More direct." "Keep paragraph 2, redo the rest." You are not starting over each time.
• Show an example. Paste something you wrote and say "Match this voice." This works better than any adjective.

When the answer is bad

Do not blame yourself or the tool. Ask: "What information were you missing to do this well?" It will often tell you exactly what to add.