Picture this.
Your boss calls you over and asks you to write a letter to another company requesting a date for a visit. Simple enough. You go back to your desk, you write a professional letter, you address it to the CEO of the other company, you ask for a convenient date to visit. You are actually quite pleased with yourself.
You present it to your boss.
She is not happy.You are confused. You thought it was good. But she starts listing everything that is missing. The purpose of the visit. Suggested dates that work for her schedule. Background on why this meeting matters. Key things she wants the other company to know before they even agree to meet.
You are looking at her like she has lost her mind. She did not give you any of that information. How were you supposed to know?
You go home and tell your friend the whole story. Your friend listens patiently and then asks you one question.Did you ask her for the details?
Now before you get upset at your imaginary friend, stop. Because this is exactly how AI works. And this is exactly why so many people get disappointing results from it.
AI is not your boss. It will not get frustrated and walk away. It will not judge you for asking too many questions. But it can only work with what you give it. The more details you provide, the better the result. Every single time.
This is why prompting matters. A prompt is simply the instruction you give to AI. And a good prompt has five parts.Context. Tell AI your situation. Who are you, what are you working on, what is the background it needs to know.Role. Tell AI who to be. A lawyer. A teacher. A marketing expert. A Lagos small business owner. AI adjusts how it thinks and responds based on the role you give it.
Tone. Tell AI how to sound. Professional. Friendly. Simple. Formal. Warm. This matters more than most people realise.Purpose. Tell AI exactly what you want it to produce. Not just “write a letter.” Write a letter that does this specific thing for this specific reason.Format. Tell AI how to deliver it. Short or long. Bullet points or paragraphs. A table. A script. A step by step guide.
Now let us go back to that office letter. Here are two ways to ask AI for the same thing.
The basic prompt:
“Write a letter requesting a meeting.”
This is what AI gives you:
“Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to request a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss matters of mutual interest. Please let me know a suitable date and time. Regards.
“Technically a letter. Completely useless.
The same request in 5 parts:
“I work as an executive assistant. My CEO needs to write a letter to the CEO of a logistics company in Lagos requesting a meeting. The purpose of the visit is to explore a potential partnership on last mile delivery. My CEO is available on the 14th or 21st of this month. The tone should be warm but professional. Please write a one page letter that introduces my CEO, explains the purpose of the visit, suggests both dates, and ends with a clear call to action.”
Same task. Completely different result. A letter your CEO can actually send.But here is the one thing I need you to remember. Whatever AI gives you, read it before you use it. Check every fact. Make sure it sounds like you or your organisation. AI gives you the headstart. You always bring it home. You are always the human in the loop.The only difference between those two prompts is details. That is it. That is the whole lesson.Details matter. They always did. AI just made that lesson impossible to ignore.Next week we go deeper on the first part.
Context. And why getting it right changes everything.