Writing effective prompts

Every strong prompt has the same four parts. Once you learn this structure, you can apply it to any task across your business.

The 4-part prompt structure#

Role - tell the AI who it should act as (“You are a financial analyst” or “You are a senior HR manager”)
Context - give it background about your situation (“I run a 20-person construction company that takes on about 40 jobs a year”)
Task - state exactly what you need (“Analyze this P&L and identify the 3 biggest cost reduction opportunities”)
Format - describe how the output should look (“Present as a numbered list, with the estimated hours saved beside each item”)

You do not need all four every time. But the more you include, the less back-and-forth you will need.

5 examples across business functions#

Sales email:

You are a B2B sales representative. I sell IT support to accounting firms with 10-50 employees. Write a cold outreach email to a managing partner. Keep it under 100 words. End with a question, not a pitch.

Financial analysis:

You are a CFO advisor. Here is my quarterly P&L [paste data]. Identify the 3 line items with the largest year-over-year increase and suggest one action for each. Use a table format.

Meeting summary:

You are an executive assistant. Here are my meeting notes [paste notes]. Turn these into a structured summary with: key decisions made, action items with owners, and open questions. Use bullet points.

Job description:

You are an HR manager at a mid-size logistics company. Write a job description for a warehouse supervisor. Include: responsibilities, requirements, nice-to-haves, and shift pattern. Tone: straightforward and honest.

Customer FAQ:

You are a customer support lead. I run an online pet food subscription service. Write 8 FAQ entries covering shipping, returns, allergies, and billing. Each answer should be 2-3 sentences max.

Tips for better results#

Be specific about length - “Write 3 paragraphs” beats “Write about this topic”
Give examples - “Like this: [example]” helps the AI match your style
Say what NOT to do - “Do not use jargon” or “Do not include a greeting” prevents common mistakes
Iterate - your first prompt rarely produces a perfect result, and that is fine. Follow up with “Make it shorter” or “Add more detail to point 2”

Save your best prompts somewhere. When you find a structure that works for a recurring task - weekly reports, client emails, job postings - reuse it. Prompt engineering is about building a personal toolkit, not starting from scratch every time.

Check your understanding#

Question: What are the four parts of the prompt structure?

Role (who the AI should act as), context (background about your situation), task (exactly what you need), and format (how the output should look).

Question: Do you need all four parts in every prompt?

No. But the more you include, the less back-and-forth you will need to get a usable result.

Question: What is one way to prevent common mistakes in AI output?

Say what NOT to do - “Do not use jargon” or “Do not include a greeting.” Being specific about length, giving examples, and iterating on the first result also improve output.

Next steps#

Ready for more power? Learn techniques like chain-of-thought reasoning and few-shot examples in Advanced Techniques.