Guide · 4 min read · Stan Hunter
How to write a prompt that gets useful answers first time
The five-part structure that turns a vague request into a draft you can actually use.
A prompt is a brief. Give an AI the same brief you would give a new member of staff and you get a similar quality of work. Give it "write me an email" and you get what that deserves.
The five parts
- Role: who it is writing as. "You are the owner of a family-run plumbing business in Southport."
- Task: what you want. "Write a reply to a customer who has complained about a late arrival."
- Context: the facts. Paste the complaint. Say what actually happened.
- Format: the shape. "Four short paragraphs, no bullet points, under 150 words."
- Tone: how it should sound. "Apologetic but not grovelling. Plain English. No corporate phrases."
An example
Compare "write an apology email" with: "You are the owner of a small plumbing firm. A customer emailed to say we arrived two hours late on Tuesday. We were held up on an emergency callout. Write a reply under 150 words that apologises properly, explains briefly, offers 10% off the invoice, and ends warmly. Plain English, no corporate language." The second one gets a usable email first time.
Two habits that help
Paste an example of something you have written before and say "match this tone". And when the answer is nearly right, say what is wrong rather than starting again: "shorter, and drop the second paragraph".