Productivity · Beginner

Upgrade a prompt you already use

You write write a follow-up email to a client who hasn't replied.

Here is a prompt I currently use, and it gives me mediocre results:

"""
[paste your existing prompt]
"""

Here is what I actually wanted: [describe the ideal output]
Here is what I keep getting instead: [describe what is wrong with it]

Do this:
1. Diagnose which of the eight parts - ROLE, CONTEXT, OBJECTIVE,
   TASK, CONSTRAINTS, DATA, OUTPUT FORMAT, QUALITY BAR - are missing
   or too vague in my prompt. Quote the weak part.
2. For each missing part, tell me what question I need to answer to
   fill it. Do not fill it in for me with invented details.
3. Rewrite my prompt in the eight-part structure, using [PLACEHOLDERS]
   wherever you would otherwise be guessing about my situation.
4. Tell me which single addition will most improve the output, and why.

Run this on your three most-used prompts. The diagnosis is usually 'Context and Quality Bar are missing entirely'.

Before you rely on the answer

Does the rewritten prompt use placeholders rather than invented details? If the model filled in a client name or a value, delete it — that is fabricated context and it will read as false to the recipient.
Is the Objective an outcome rather than an artefact? 'Follow up' is not an objective; 'get a call this week' is.
Is the Quality Bar specific enough to fail a draft? A bar that everything passes is not a bar.
Is the Constraints section carrying the no-invention rule? For business use this line should be in every prompt you write.