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Edition 04 · Free PDF · Nurture

Writing AI Instructions That Actually Work

Why ChatGPT gives you rubbish — and the six-part prompt structure that fixes it.

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10 pages 10 min read A4 print-ready Free PDF

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Most people write AI instructions the way they'd brief a colleague who's never met them. Vague, context-free, and missing the constraints that matter. This 10-page guide gives you a six-part prompt structure (role, context, task, format, constraints, examples) that turns inconsistent AI output into reliable, repeatable results.

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What's inside

6 sections, 10 pages.

  1. Why your prompts produce rubbish'Write me an email' produces a generic email. The guide explains exactly what's missing — and why the fix is six words, not six paragraphs.
  2. The six-part structureRole, context, task, format, constraints, examples. Miss any one and the output drifts. The guide shows you the structure on a single page.
  3. Role: who the AI is pretending to beTell the AI who it is. 'You are a customer service manager at a Bristol plumbing company' beats 'write a reply' every time. The guide explains why.
  4. Context: what the AI needs to knowThe AI doesn't know your business. Give it the context a new employee would need on day one — and watch the output quality jump.
  5. Constraints: what the AI must not doWhat the AI must NOT do is often more important than what it must do. The guide shows you how to write constraints that actually stick.
  6. Examples: showing, not tellingOne good example beats three paragraphs of description. The guide includes before-and-after pairs from real UK business tasks.
Common questions

Questions this guide answers.

Why does ChatGPT give me bad answers?
Usually because the instruction is missing context or constraints. 'Write me an email' produces a generic email. 'Write a reply to a customer who is 14 days late on payment, in a firm but polite tone, referencing invoice #1234, and do not threaten legal action' produces a usable draft. The guide explains the six-part structure that turns vague requests into reliable output.
How do I write better AI prompts?
Use the six-part structure: role (who the AI is), context (what it needs to know), task (what to do), format (how to present it), constraints (what not to do), and examples (one or two samples of good output). The guide walks through each part with before-and-after examples from real UK business tasks.
What makes AI output consistent?
Three things: explicit constraints (tell the AI what not to do, not just what to do), examples of the output you want (one good example beats three paragraphs of description), and a fixed format (tell the AI exactly how to structure its response). The guide provides a template you can copy and fill in for any recurring task.
How do I write AI instructions for my team?
Write them like a standard operating procedure, not like a chat message. Include the role, the context the AI needs, the exact task, the output format, the constraints, and at least one example. Store them in a shared document so everyone uses the same instruction for the same task. The guide includes a template and three worked examples from UK SME workflows.

Other guides in the series

01Where AI Actually Helps 02The 30-Day AI Pilot 03Your Data, Your Rules 04Writing AI Instructions That Actually Work (this guide) 05The AI Vendor Interrogation Kit 06Your First AI Employee 07Set Up Your Own AI Agent 08Is This Worth Doing? 09Build the Thing 10Get Found 11Get the Conversation 12Close the Deal

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