Learning module · Novice
Let AI write your prompts, then give it limits
Have AI draft the prompt from material you already have, then set the outcome and limits so it knows when to stop.
Watch
Why it matters
What this protects
You don't have to write great prompts yourself anymore. Point the AI at material you already have, such as the email that announced a meeting, and ask it to write the prompt. It will find the audience, the structure and the format on its own.
What it won't do is stop. For this class it built a strong deck with 64 slides for a 90-minute talk, and a second version, in the style of an earlier deck, ran to 61. The newest models are very capable and don't know when to stop unless you tell them the outcome and the limits.
Game plan
Do it in 5 steps
- Find the material that already describes the work: the invitation email, a brief, last year's version.
- Ask the AI to read it and write the prompt you would give the tool that does the work.
- Add the outcome and the limits yourself: who it is for, how long, how many slides or pages, what to leave out.
- Ask it to list what it cut and why, so you can put back anything that matters.
- Keep the prompts that work in a shared folder so the next person starts from them.
Prompts
Copy and use
Replace the [bracketed] parts. Each prompt keeps you in control: nothing is sent, deleted or shared without your approval.
Any chat assistant connected to your email or files.
Read the email I sent about [topic] on [date]. Write the prompt you would give a presentation tool to build this talk. The talk is [90] minutes for [audience]. Cap it at [20] slides, one idea per slide. At the end, list what you left out and why.
Check your work
You're done when
- Your prompt names the audience, the length and a hard limit.
- The AI tells you what it cut.
Taught live in the AI Practicum on Thursday, October 15, 2026. The videos above are clips from that class.
Keep going