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A prompt is the four things you would tell a person.

Not a magic sentence. Role, situation, problem, and what you need back. Here is the idea, my own example, and a template you can copy.

The idea, in one scene

You hand someone a scene from a film and ask what they would do in that character's place. They answer well, because they know four things: who they are, what is going on, what the problem is, and what you want back. Take any one of those away and the answer goes vague.

That is the whole of prompting. When an AI answer feels generic, it is almost never the model being weak — it is one of those four missing.

What I actually write

Role first, because it sets the vocabulary. Then the situation, in plain sentences, with the real constraint in it. Then the problem, stated as one question. Then the shape of the answer: how long, what format, what to do when it does not know.

The last line is the one people skip, and it is the one that saves the most time: say what to do when the information is missing. Without it, the model fills the gap with something that sounds right.

A template to copy

What this prompt is for: any job where you need something specific back and you are tired of getting an essay. Fill the brackets, keep the last line, and the model has nowhere to hide a guess.

Template — fill the brackets
You are a [role] with [X years] of experience in [field].

Situation: [what is actually going on, in plain sentences].
Constraint: [the real limit — budget, time, audience, tone, tools I have].
The problem: [one question, stated once].

Give me back:
- [format — a list of 5, a table, 200 words, a script]
- [what each item must contain]
- If you do not know something, say "unknown" and tell me what you would need to find out.
Do not invent numbers, names or sources.

Where it goes wrong

  • A role with no vocabulary. "You are a helpful assistant" changes nothing. "You are a Bihar-based seller of surplus clothing talking to a wholesale buyer" changes everything.
  • Two problems in one prompt. The model answers the easier one and quietly drops the other.
  • No output shape. You get an essay when you needed three bullets you could paste into a sheet.
  • No permission to be unsure. This is how invented numbers get into a document that goes out with your name on it.
My rule: if I cannot describe the job well enough that a competent stranger could do it without asking me a question, I am not ready to prompt yet.
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