The Prompt Recipe
Give AI a clear brief
Give AI a clear brief so its first draft is closer to what your business needs.
Start with the job, not magic words
A prompt is a work brief. Write it the way you would brief a capable new hire on their first week.
Before you type, name one useful result. A quote cover note. A reply to a customer. A checklist for a job your crew repeats every week. When you know the result, the rest of the brief gets easy.
You do not need a long formula for every request. A quick question can stay quick.
A brief earns its place when
The job matters
The first answer keeps missing
You will reuse it
Write a follow-up for a landscaping quote.
Draft a short follow-up for a spring cleanup quote we sent a homeowner four days ago. They have not replied. Invite questions, keep it friendly and give one simple next step. Under 90 words. Do not send it.
The second version just answers what a person would ask first
What service?
Who is it for?
What should happen next?
How long should it be?
Choose the layers you need
Seven fields cover most business tasks. Treat them as a checklist, not seven required paragraphs.
| Field | What it holds | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Task | What to produce | A follow-up email for my review |
| Context | The situation, the reader and the business facts that matter | Quote sent four days ago, no reply yet |
| Role | The working perspective AI should take | A customer-service writer for a local home-service business |
| Instructions | The work to do | Mention the quote, invite questions, give one next step |
| Rules | Limits to respect | No invented prices, dates or discounts |
| Example | A sample of the pattern or tone you want | A line you have actually written |
| Output | The shape, length and format | Subject line plus 90 words or fewer |
Put the task and the output in plain view. Most weak drafts come from a missing reader, a missing limit or a missing length.
The rest of this guide is free with your email.
Already unlocked? Use the link in your welcome email.
How the recipe fits CRIT
CRIT is Geoff Woods' prompt framework: Context, Role, Interview, Task. It is the way of asking we teach in AI Basics.
| Letter | What it does |
|---|---|
| Context | Sets the situation and the facts |
| Role | Points the work toward the right kind of help |
| Interview | AI asks you questions to fill the gaps before it starts |
| Task | Names the result you want |
Context and Role orient the brief. Interview fills the gaps. Task produces the work. The extra fields in this recipe (instructions, rules, examples and output) sit inside that brief. They are a practical detail layer, not extra CRIT letters.
Use the Interview step with care
- Ask AI to question you one at a time, up to three questions.
- Only for facts that would change the result.
- If you do not know an answer, say so. Do not invent one to finish faster.
One real business task
Here is the vague follow-up request from Start here, rebuilt with each field labeled. The order is for readability. No word order is magic.
Illustrative output (an example of the shape, not a tested result)
Subject: Questions about your spring cleanup quote? Hi [name], I wanted to check in on the spring cleanup quote we sent a few days ago. Happy to explain what is included or adjust the scope before you decide. If it helps, reply with a good time for a quick call. Thanks, [your name]
Fix the brief before starting over
When a draft misses, the brief usually has a gap. Find the gap, add one line and run it again.
First, judge the draft on four things. Never score polish above truth.
| Check | Ask yourself |
|---|---|
| Accuracy | Is every fact true and supplied by you? |
| Relevance | Does it fit this customer and this job? |
| Voice | Would you actually say it? |
| Next step | Is it clear what the customer should do? |
Then find the gap
| What you see | What to add |
|---|---|
| Too general | The actual reader, the service and the action you want |
| Wrong shape or length | A length limit or a small sample of the output. Start without samples and add one only if the pattern is not landing. |
| Made-up details | "Use only the facts I supplied. List anything missing instead of guessing." Then check the draft yourself. |
| Big, messy job | Split it. Research in one request, drafting in another, checking in a third. |
For a complex job, ask AI to list the assumptions it made and give a short check summary at the end. You want to see what it relied on, not a long account of its thinking.
Your reusable recipe card
Fill this in once for a job you do every week. Fields marked optional can stay blank.
- Task
- What do I want produced?
- Context
- Situation, reader, facts that matter
- Role (optional)
- What kind of help?
- Instructions
- The work to do
- Rules
- Prices, privacy, claims to avoid
- Example (optional)
- A sample of our pattern or tone
- Output
- Shape, length, format
- Interview
- Ask me up to three questions, one at a time, if a missing fact would change the result.
- Human review
- Who checks it before it leaves the business?
Print the PDF to fill in your card.
Save only approved, non-sensitive context and refresh it when prices change. Next step: pair it with Roles That Work or a Prompt Starter.
CRIT (Context, Role, Interview, Task) is Geoff Woods' prompt framework. We teach it in AI Basics and build on it here.
Practical guidance reviewed November 2026. Start simple and test on your own tasks. No guaranteed results.
Keep customer data private. Use placeholders or anonymized facts in an approved AI tool. Check facts, figures, promises and tone before anything leaves the business.
Want help with this for you or your team? Book a free 20-minute call.