⌨️ How to write good AI prompts: the 3-ingredient method

A prompt is just an instruction

A 'prompt' is nothing more than the instruction you give an AI. If you've typed a question into a chatbot, you've already prompted. The word sounds technical, but it's simply 'what you ask for' — and like any instruction, clearer in means better out.

The three ingredients

• Context — who you are and what you're doing.
• An example — show the style or format you want.
• A clear ask — say exactly what good looks like (length, tone, what to include).

Before and after

Weak: 'Write me an email.' Strong: 'Write a short, warm email to a customer named Sam explaining their order is delayed two days, offering 10% off, under 100 words.'

Same tool, same day — completely different quality. Specificity beats every 'secret prompt' you see sold online.

Prompting is a conversation

Write a decent prompt, read the result, tell it what to change: 'shorter', 'more formal', 'try again'. That back-and-forth — steering, not nailing it first try — is the whole skill.