Anatomy of a Prompt
Great Output Starts with a Great Prompt
If you’ve ever typed something into ChatGPT and thought, “Well, that was underwhelming,” you’re not alone.
The truth? The quality of what you get out depends entirely on what you put in.
And that starts with the prompt.
Over the past 18 months, I’ve tested hundreds of ways to structure AI prompts, and here’s what I’ve learnt:
A good prompt is like a good brief. It gives direction, context, and purpose.
A bad one? It’s like throwing spaghetti at the screen and hoping for magic.
So, let’s break down what makes a great prompt.
The Anatomy of a Great Prompt
I use a simple framework I call C.O.R.E. when teaching others how to prompt:
Context: What is the task, and who is it for?
Outcome: What do you want the result to look or feel like?
Requirements: Are there specific constraints or guidelines?
Example: Can you give a model or example to imitate?
💡TIP: Don’t have a example? Then Ask AI to explain how it constructed the response. This helps you reverse-engineer the logic, so you’re not just using AI, you’re learning how to think with it.
Here’s how it might look in action:
Mediocre Prompt:
“Write a marketing email about a workshop to teach people how to use AI.”
CORE-Driven Prompt:
“Act as a warm but professional marketing copywriter. I need an email to promote a 3-day AI workshop for professionals over 50 who feel overwhelmed by tech. The tone should be calm, confident, and non-salesy. Include a clear CTA to register. Keep it under 250 words.”
Same tool. Vastly different output.
Why This Matters (Especially Now)
Prompting isn’t just a technical skill.
It’s a thinking skill.
A communication skill.
And increasingly, a leadership skill.
Because as more of us integrate AI into our daily work, the edge won’t come from using AI; it’ll come from knowing how to use it well.
Want to test your prompting skills?
Next week, I’m starting a weekly series in our Facebook group called “Pimp My Prompt” where I’ll review, dissect and suggest improvements using my CORE framework. So come and join us and bring your trickiest use case or something you’re stuck on, and we’ll tackle it together.
👉 Join Here
Until next week, Diane
P.S. If you’ve been following my posts, you’ll know I’d planned to kick off the How I Built It series featuring the Morgan LeFurr project this week. But thanks to a WordPress issue (corrupted data tables – fun… not!), I had to delete site and start from scratch. So, the series will officially begin next week! 🐾