Prompts that get you a better answer

Tips for a better answer

• Use the AI tool your employer has approved for work email, signed in with your work account.
• Check every quoted date and figure against the thread before you act on it.

An example, filled in

Summarise this email thread in no more than six bullet points, under three headings: Decided, Still open, and What I need to do. I’m the project lead, who has to agree the launch date. For any date, deadline, figure or promise, quote the exact words from the thread, so I can check it. If people disagree, say who disagrees about what. Don’t add anything that isn’t in the thread, and keep the tone plain and neutral. The thread: PERSON A: Can we move the launch to 14 May? PERSON B: Only if the final figures are in by 2 May. PERSON A: I’ll ask the project lead. PERSON C: Marketing needs a firm date by Friday, or we lose the advert slot.

Tips for a better answer

• Only record or transcribe a meeting when everyone knows and has agreed, using the tools your employer allows.
• Check every decision and figure in the summary against the transcript before you send it on.

An example, filled in

Summarise the meeting transcript below for people who weren’t there. The meeting was about choosing a supplier for the office phones, and the people were chair, finance lead, IT lead and the office manager. Start with a three-sentence summary, then list the decisions, the actions (who, what and by when) and the open questions. Quote the exact words for any decision, deadline or figure, so it can be checked. If people disagreed, say about what. Leave out small talk, don’t add anything that wasn’t said, and keep the tone neutral. The transcript: CHAIR: So, two quotes. FINANCE: Supplier A is £4,200 a year. Supplier B is £3,900, but it’s a three-year contract. IT: B’s phones are older models. CHAIR: Let’s go with A if they’ll match B’s price. FINANCE: I’ll ask them by Friday.

Tips for a better answer

• Write the summary last, but put it first: busy readers may read nothing else.
• Check every figure in the finished report against its source, even ones the AI only repeated.

An example, filled in

I need to write a four-page report for our charity’s trustees about whether to open our helpline in the evenings. What I want readers to do after reading it: approve a six-month trial of evening opening. The facts and figures I already have: calls after 6pm have doubled this year; two volunteers can do evenings; the phone system can handle it at no extra cost. Give me an outline with: a one-paragraph summary to write last; four to six section headings in a logical order; the two or three points each section should make; and the evidence each point needs, marked “I have this” or “I need to find this”. Keep the language plain and the outline short. Don’t invent figures or sources.

Tips for a better answer

• Spot-check two or three findings against the report itself before you rely on the summary.
• Ask “what would someone who disagrees with this report say?” to find its weak points.

An example, filled in

Summarise the report below for my team, who will decide whether to read the full thing. Give me: a three-sentence summary; the five key findings, each with the section or page it comes from; the evidence behind each finding (survey, data, case studies or opinion); and anything a reader might expect that the report doesn’t cover. Quote figures exactly as the report gives them. Write in plain, neutral English, and if the report doesn’t say something, don’t fill the gap. The report: the full text of the council’s public consultation report on changes to local bus routes

Tips for a better answer

• Check every number in the findings against your results: it’s easy for a figure to drift.
• Comments typed into a survey can contain personal details. Take out names and anything identifying before you paste any in.

An example, filled in

I ran a survey of members of our gym; 212 answered. Here are the results, as totals or percentages for each question: Q1 How often do you visit? Weekly or more: 61%. Monthly: 27%. Less often: 12%. Q2 Rate the classes out of 5: average 3.9. Q3 Would you pay £5 a month more for evening yoga? Yes: 34%. No: 48%. Not sure: 18%. Q4 Biggest problem: changing rooms 41%, parking 30%, prices 29%.. Tell me: the three most important findings, with the numbers behind them; anything surprising; any finding that rests on too few answers to be reliable; and three questions to look into next. Only use the figures I’ve given you, and don’t estimate numbers that aren’t there: if a finding needs data I haven’t given you, say so. Write it in plain English for the gym’s owners.

Tips for a better answer

• Ask what usually goes wrong in projects like yours, and add those to your risks.
• Put the plan where everyone can see it, and update it every week.

An example, filled in

Plan this project: moving our small office to a new building without losing a working day. Deadline: 31 August. People and budget: four staff and a removals firm; a budget of £6,000. Already done: the new lease is signed. Give me: the stages in order; the tasks in each stage, each with an owner (by role) and a rough time; the milestones; the three biggest risks, each with a way to reduce it; and what must happen this week. Show the timeline as a table, week by week. Be straightforward, and point out anything in my plan that looks unrealistic.

Tips for a better answer

• Send it to yourself first and read it on your phone, where most people will.
• Only email people who’ve agreed to hear from you, and always include a way to unsubscribe.

An example, filled in

Write an email newsletter for our community choir to members, supporters and people who came to our last concert. This month’s news, in rough notes: summer concert on 21 June at St Mary’s; we need two more tenors; new rehearsal room from September; thank you to the bake sale team, who raised £640. The one thing I most want readers to do: book tickets for the summer concert. Give me: three subject lines under 50 characters; a short opening that feels personal; a section for each item, with a heading; and one clear button label for the call to action. Under 300 words, in a friendly tone, with UK spelling. Don’t invent details, dates or offers.

Tips for a better answer

• Practise first: ask the AI to play the customer, upset but reasonable, and reply as you would on the call.
• Write down what you agreed straight after the call, and confirm it in writing.

An example, filled in

I need to call back a customer who is very upset. What happened, without personal details: their boiler service was booked for Monday, but our engineer didn’t turn up, and they’d waited in all day. What I can offer: the next free slot this Thursday, with the call-out fee waived. What I can’t do: send someone today; pay compensation for their lost day. Give me: a calm opening line; three questions to understand what they need; how to explain what we can and can’t do without sounding defensive; phrases for when they’re angry or repeat themselves; and how to end the call with a clear next step. Keep the language natural and kind, not scripted, in UK English.

Tips for a better answer

• Keep the original open beside the explanation, and check the key points against it.

An example, filled in

Help me understand the text below. I’m a first-year nursing student who finds research papers hard going. For each paragraph or section: sum it up in one plain sentence, explain any technical terms, and say how it connects to the main argument. Then give me the main argument in three sentences, and two questions to think about. Be patient and clear. If a passage is ambiguous, say so instead of choosing one reading. The text: Methods: A randomised controlled trial was carried out across 12 wards. Patients (n=480) were allocated to the intervention or the control group. The primary outcome was length of stay; secondary outcomes included readmission within 30 days.

Tips for a better answer

• Never paste passwords, API keys or customer data. Swap them for placeholders such as API_KEY.
• Only run code once you understand what it does, and try it on a copy of your data first.

An example, filled in

Explain this Python code to me. I’m someone who can read a little Python. It’s from a script a former colleague left on our shared drive. Tell me: what it does overall, in two sentences; what each part does, step by step; anything risky or likely to break, such as missing error handling or a password written into the code; and the first improvement you’d make. Keep it plain and patient, and don’t rewrite the whole thing. If you’d need to see more of the code to be sure, say so. The code: import csv with open('orders.csv') as f: rows = list(csv.DictReader(f)) total = sum(float(r.get('amount', 0)) for r in rows if r.get('status') == 'paid') print(total)

Tips for a better answer

• Paste the whole error, including the lines above it: the useful clue is often there.

An example, filled in

I’m getting this error: ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pandas'. It happens when I run my script from the terminal with python report.py. My setup: Python 3.12 on a Mac. What I’ve already tried: I installed pandas with pip install pandas, and it said it worked. Explain what the error means in plain English, the three most likely causes in order of probability, and how to check each one. Give me the smallest fix first, as exact steps. If you need more information to be sure, tell me exactly what to look at or paste next, rather than guessing.