Day 3: Brief it like a colleague

The one idea

By day 3 you will have met a disappointing answer. Here is the secret that separates week-one users from everyone stuck complaining: the answer is usually only as good as the brief. An AI request works like a request to a smart temp who started this morning — they know nothing about your company, your customer, or what "make it better" means to you.

Compare:

"Make this email better." — better how? For whom? The temp guesses. So does the AI.

versus

"This email is to a supplier who missed a delivery date for the second time. Rewrite it to be firm but professional, under 100 words, keeping the new deadline of the 15th."

The three-line habit

Context: who this is for and what is going on. Task: the specific thing you want done. Format: length, tone, shape. You do not need the labels — you need the ingredients. Any answer that disappoints, check which of the three you left out; it is usually context. This one habit is most of what "good at prompting" means, and the free Foundations course goes deeper the moment this week ends.

Try it now

Take yesterday's summary tool, or any request that gave you a mediocre answer this week. Rerun it with all three ingredients stated. Compare the two answers side by side — the difference is what the brief buys.

Your win today

You stopped judging the tool by what it does with vague requests. Context, task, format — the three-line brief is yours now.