How to Write Better AI Prompts

A useful prompt usually includes role, task, audience, constraints, and output format. Missing any of those often produces vague results.

Example: “You are an editor. Rewrite this email for a busy small-business owner. Keep it under 120 words. Use a calm, professional tone. End with one clear question.”

Add examples when the format matters. If you want a table, say so. If you want bullet points and no preamble, say so.

Iterate. The second prompt is usually better because you can point at what was wrong: too long, too salesy, missing a detail.

Save prompts that work. A personal library beats starting from zero every time.