🎯 Overview
The single biggest cause of bad AI answers is a vague ask. "Help me with this email" gives the agent nothing to aim at. So it guesses, and you get fluff. The fix is a habit, not a talent. Before you press Enter, state three things. The outcome you want. The format you want it in. The limits it must respect. We call this an outcome-first prompt. This lesson builds the habit with real office examples.
📌 The rule of this lesson: state the outcome, the format, and the limits before you press Enter.
🧭 Context
You need your installed agent tool open. Nothing else. No files yet; that is Lesson 2. Today the agent only drafts text for you, and you copy what you like.
🔧 How it works: outcome, format, limits
Outcome. Say what exists when the work is done. Not the topic. The finished thing. "A follow-up email for an unpaid quote" is an outcome. "Something about our quote" is a topic.
Format. Say what shape the result takes. A short email. A one-page letter. A list with one line per item. A table becomes a list of bold-led lines if your tool struggles with tables.
Limits. Say what the result must and must not do. Length. Tone. Facts it must include. Things it must not invent. Limits are where you put your business rules.
Now the pairs. Read the bad one, then the good one, and spot the three parts.
Pair 1 - chasing a quote. Bad: "Write a follow up about the quote." Good: "Write a follow-up email for quote Q-1042, sent 14 days ago and not answered. Keep it under 120 words, friendly but firm. Ask for a yes, a no, or a date. Do not offer a discount."
Pair 2 - a quote email itself. Bad: "Write a quote email for the Smith job." Good: "Draft a quote cover email for the Smith driveway job. Format: three short paragraphs. Include the price of $8,400 including GST, a 30-day validity, and a two-week lead time. Do not promise a start date."
Pair 3 - a register. Bad: "Make me a plant register." Good: "Draft a plant and equipment register I can keep in a spreadsheet. Format: a list of column headings with one line saying what goes in each. Limit it to what a two-crew civil business needs. Do not invent any equipment; leave the rows empty."
Same person, same tool, different result. The only change is the ask.
<!-- image: A vague prompt and an outcome-first prompt side by side, with the good one broken into three labelled parts: OUTCOME, FORMAT, LIMITS, and an arrow from each part to the matching line in the finished email -->
🧠 Why this works
The agent completes the picture you start. A vague ask leaves most of the picture blank, so the agent fills the blanks with averages. Average tone, average length, invented details. Your three parts remove the blanks that matter. The outcome removes topic guessing. The format removes shape guessing. The limits remove the dangerous guesses: prices, promises, and dates.
This is the same reason a good work order beats "just sort it out". Less guessing, less rework.
🧩 How it fits
Outcome-first is step one of the loop this course builds. Lesson 2 adds the material the agent works from. Lesson 3 adds the checking. Lesson 4 saves the result. Every paid course in this classroom writes prompts this way, so the habit carries forward as-is.
🛠️ Build it / try it
- Pick one real piece of writing from your week: a chase-up, a quote email, or a register.
- Write the ask in three labelled lines: Outcome, Format, Limits. Then run it as one prompt.
- If the result misses, do not start over. Add the missing limit and run it again.
📋 A starter you can copy and fill in:
Outcome: [the finished thing, e.g. a follow-up email for quote Q-____, sent __ days ago].
Format: [shape and length, e.g. under 120 words, three short paragraphs].
Limits: [rules, e.g. friendly but firm, ask for yes / no / a date, do not offer a discount,
do not invent any facts I did not give you].
✅ What good looks like
Your prompt names a finished thing, a shape, and at least two limits. The result needs small edits, not a rewrite. Nothing in it is invented.
💡 Key takeaways
- State the outcome, the format, and the limits. Every time, before Enter.
- Outcomes are finished things, not topics.
- Limits carry your business rules: prices, promises, tone, and "do not invent".
- A better ask beats a better tool.
Next: Lesson 02, Give It the Context.