Rules & Best Practices
This is your one-page rulebook for talking to AI at work. Bookmark it and glance back whenever a response isn't quite landing. Small changes to how you ask make a big difference to what you get back. For ready-made prompts, pair it with the Cheat Sheet.
The Four Pillars
Most great prompts do four things. Keep these in mind and you'll rarely go wrong.
| Pillar | What it means | One-line example |
|---|---|---|
| Clarity | Say exactly what you want, plainly | "Summarise this report in five bullet points." |
| Context | Give the background the AI can't see | "This is for our CFO, who skims for numbers." |
| Constraints | Set the boundaries: length, tone, format | "Keep it under 150 words, formal tone." |
| Iteration | Refine the answer instead of restarting | "Good — now make the second bullet sharper." |
Clarity Rules
Lead with the task, not the backstory
State what you want done in the first sentence. The AI reads top to bottom, so put "Draft a status update" before the paragraphs of background.
One ask per prompt
Asking for a summary and a risk list and an email at once gets you three half-finished things. Do them in sequence and each comes out stronger.
Name the deliverable
Words like "summary", "table", "email", "agenda", and "checklist" tell the AI the output shape. Vague verbs like "help me with" leave it guessing.
Replace fuzzy words with measurable ones
"Make it shorter" is a guess; "cut it to 200 words" is an instruction.
| Vague | Specific |
|---|---|
| "Make it professional" | "Use a formal tone for a client email" |
| "Summarise this" | "Summarise in 5 one-sentence bullets" |
| "Soon" | "By end of Q3" |
| "A few examples" | "Three examples from retail clients" |
Context Rules
Tell it who the reader is
A variance analysis for the finance committee reads very differently from one for the sales floor. Naming the audience shapes vocabulary, detail, and tone.
Paste the source material in
The AI only knows what you give it in the conversation. Want a summary of a report? Paste the report. Don't assume it can find your files or recall last week's chat.
State your goal, not just your request
"Draft a meeting invite" gets a generic invite. "Draft a meeting invite — I need three stakeholders to approve a budget change, so it must feel urgent but not alarming" gets one you can send.
Give an example of what good looks like
If you have a past status report or proposal you liked, paste a snippet and say "match this style." Showing beats describing.
Here is a status update I wrote last month that my manager liked:
[paste example]
Now write this week's update in the same style, using these notes:
[paste notes]
Constraint Rules
Always set a length
Without a limit, AI tends to over-write. Name a word count, a number of bullets, or "one paragraph."
Specify the format up front
| You want | Say |
|---|---|
| A scannable list | "As bullet points" |
| A side-by-side | "As a table with columns X, Y, Z" |
| Something to send | "As an email with subject line and sign-off" |
| A talking outline | "As a numbered agenda with time estimates" |
Pin down the tone
Tone words do real work: formal, friendly, concise, diplomatic, confident, neutral. Pick one or two. "Diplomatic but direct" is a perfectly good instruction.
Tell it what to leave out
Constraints can be exclusions too: "no jargon," "don't mention pricing," "skip the intro and go straight to the recommendations."
Rewrite this stakeholder email to be more concise.
Constraints:
- Under 120 words
- Warm but professional tone
- Keep the deadline and the ask; cut the background
- No exclamation marks
Iteration Rules
Refine, don't restart
When an answer is 80% right, fix the 20% in your next message. A fresh prompt throws away the good parts.
Give specific, located feedback
"The third bullet is too vague — add the actual budget figure" works far better than "make it better."
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| "I don't like it" | "The tone is too casual for this client" |
| "Make it better" | "Tighten the opening and add a clear next step" |
| "Wrong" | "The deadline should be Friday, not Monday" |
| "Try again" | "Keep the structure but make it more concise" |
Ask for options when unsure
"Give me three subject lines, formal to friendly" lets you choose rather than settle.
Build with follow-ups
A good session is a back-and-forth: draft, then "expand point two," then "turn this into an email." Each turn carries the prior context forward.
Safety & Quality Rules
These protect you and your organisation. Treat them as non-negotiable; the Governance Quick Reference has the full picture.
| Rule | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Never paste confidential or personal data into unapproved tools | Once submitted, you may lose control of it |
| Verify every fact, figure, and quote before sharing | AI can state wrong things with total confidence |
| Read the whole output; don't skim and send | You're accountable for what goes out in your name |
| Strip names and numbers from sensitive examples | You often get the same help without real data |
| Keep a human decision at the end | AI drafts; you decide |
Common Pitfalls
| Pitfall | The fix |
|---|---|
| Answer is too generic | Add context: audience, goal, an example |
| It's too long | Set a word limit and ask for bullets |
| It missed the point | Restate the task in one clear sentence up top |
| The tone is off | Name the tone and give the reader's role |
| It made something up | Ask "what is this based on?" and verify |
| Stuck in a bad thread | Start fresh and re-paste the essentials |
For step-by-step recovery, see the Troubleshooting Guide.
A Quick Self-Check Before You Hit Send
Run through this in ten seconds before sending any prompt:
- Task — Is my request in the first sentence?
- Audience — Have I said who this is for?
- Format — Did I name the shape (bullets, table, email)?
- Length & tone — Did I set a limit and a tone?
- Source — Did I paste in everything the AI needs?
- Safety — Is it safe to share this here?
Hit four or more and you'll get a usable answer first time. Miss a few and that's fine — iteration is a feature, not a failure. To choose the right tool for a task, see the Tool Comparison Matrix.