Better prompts begin with a clearer brief
A reusable five-part approach to turn a vague request into a useful first draft.
Start with the outcome
Before opening an assistant, decide what you need to leave with: a comparison, a client email, a learning plan or a checklist. “Help with marketing” leaves too much open. “Draft a 150-word introduction for a local bakery’s website” gives the task a destination.
Give five useful ingredients
Describe the role, the context, the task, the constraints and the output format. Include the audience and the information the assistant must preserve. State what to do when information is missing: ask a question or mark the gap rather than inventing an answer.
Try this reusable brief
Act as a clear business writer. I am preparing [OUTPUT] for [AUDIENCE]. Use only the facts below: [FACTS]. Produce [LENGTH AND FORMAT] in a [TONE] tone. Preserve dates, amounts and names exactly. Flag missing information. End with [NEXT ACTION].
Refine one thing at a time
Read the first answer and identify the largest gap. Ask for a shorter opening, a worked example or a more specific next action. A targeted follow-up is easier to evaluate than repeatedly asking for a “better” version.
Your ten-minute exercise
Choose a low-risk task you completed recently. Run it once with a one-line instruction and again with the five-part brief. Compare accuracy, relevance and editing time. Save the version that works as a reusable starting point.