Kingy AI Certificate ยท Lesson 5 of 6
Ask it properly
About 7 minutes. No signup.
What you type into AI is called a prompt. A vague prompt gets a vague answer. A clear one gets something you can use first time.
Why it matters
AI doesn't know who you are, who the message is for, or what the facts are. If you type "write a notice about Friday", it has to guess all of that. You get a long, generic notice you have to rewrite.
Thirty extra seconds on your prompt saves you five minutes of fixing.
The habit: four things in every prompt
- The job. What to write: "a text message", "a short email reply", "a poster".
- Who it's for. "Parents of young children", "new staff", "customers, many of them older".
- The facts. Paste or type the real details: dates, times, prices, what's changing. (Without the people's private details.)
- The format. How long, how it should sound, anything to include or leave out: "under 60 words, friendly, no hashtags, signed 'The Office Team'".
Try it (2 minutes, with your own AI)
You run a small dental practice's front desk. Here's the note from the practice manager. It's made up.
See a good way to do it
What to type:
Write a text message to our dental patients. Facts: our car park is closed on 3 and 4 December for resurfacing. Patients can park free at the Lindqvist Road car park, a 3-minute walk away. Appointments go ahead as normal. Keep it under 50 words, calm and friendly, and sign it "Your dental team".
Compare that with "write a text about parking". The first one gets a message you can send after a quick check. The second gets a guess.
Check yourself
1. Which prompt is better?
- "Write an email about the new rota."
- "Write a short email to kitchen staff: the new rota starts Monday 7 December and is on the noticeboard. Swaps must be agreed with the head chef. Friendly, under 80 words."
Answer
The second. It has the job, who it's for, the facts and the format.
2. Your message is for people who read English as a second language. Should you tell the AI?
- Yes, ask for short sentences and simple words
- No, AI writes simply anyway
Answer
Yes. Saying who it's for is one of the four things. It changes the words the AI picks.
3. The AI's message is 150 words and you wanted a short text. What's the quickest fix?
Answer
Ask again with the length: "Make it under 50 words." Better still, put the length in your first prompt next time.
In the certificate test
One task asks you to get your AI to write something for a stated audience in a stated format. This time we mark what you sent your AI: did you give it the job, the audience, the format and length, the facts and the tone? We also check you kept private details out and that your hand-in has the facts it needs.
In every task, tell your AI what you want in your own words. If you paste our task instructions into it instead, that task can score at most 5 out of 10. At work, nobody writes the instructions for you.