Practical AI resource
Write better AI prompts for real business work.
Better prompting is less about clever wording and more about giving AI a clear outcome, the right context, useful boundaries and a proper review process.
Outcome
Context
Instructions
Examples
Review
Five practical principles
Brief clearly. Review carefully.
Use these principles together or choose the one that will make your current task clearer and safer.
Outcome
Start with the decision or action
Give the AI a purpose, not just a topic. State what the result must help someone decide, approve or do next.
Use it todayComplete this sentence first: “This result will be used to…”
Prepare a decision-ready recommendation for the leadership team. Lead with the preferred option and the two strongest reasons. Do not merely summarise the material.
Context
Provide the trusted source material
Name the documents, data and examples the answer may rely on. Tell the AI how to handle missing or conflicting information.
Use it todaySeparate approved evidence from background material and old examples.
Use only the attached approved brief and current costing sheet for factual claims. Treat last year’s proposal as a layout example only. Label information that still needs confirmation.
Instructions
Specify the format and boundaries
Define the structure, length and limits of the output so the result is usable and stays within its authority.
Use it todayName the required sections and anything that must not be assumed.
Use a one-page structure with: recommendation, reasons, risks and next steps. Do not add unapproved pricing, scope, delivery dates or performance claims.
Examples
Show what good looks like
An approved example can demonstrate structure, tone and quality more clearly than a long description.
Use it todayExplain what to copy from the example—and which old facts must not carry forward.
Use the approved example to understand the structure and level of detail. Do not reuse its customer name, dates, prices, conclusions or wording.
Review
Check against explicit criteria
A specific review checklist is more useful than asking AI to “double-check” its work.
Use it todayName the facts, calculations, claims, privacy points and approval status that must be verified.
Before finalising, verify every name, date, number and claim against the approved sources. List any uncertainty or missing evidence for a person to review.
Put it into practice
Try it on one real task.
- Choose one decision, document or repeated task.
- Brief the AI using the five stages above.
- Review the result, identify what was missing and improve the prompt.
Complete interactive guide
Get all 21 prompting tips.
Open the complete guide with connected business scenarios and copy-ready examples. Once it opens, choose “Download for later” to save your own copy.