Lesson 5: Practice Lab - Turn 5 Terrible Prompts into Great Ones
Estimated Time: 10 minutes
Learning Objectives:
- Apply everything from Lessons 1-4 to real examples
- Develop the habit of improving prompts before hitting send
- Walk away with 5 ready-to-use improved prompts
How this works
You'll see 5 bad prompts. The kind everyone writes when they first start using AI.
For each one, we'll identify what's wrong, then show you the improved version with an explanation of what changed.
Then here's the important part: Try BOTH versions in your AI tool. That's how this clicks. You need to see the difference with your own eyes.
Let's go.
Bad Prompt #1: "Write a blog post about productivity"
What's wrong:
No audience. No length. No angle. No tone.
AI has to guess:
- Who is this for? Remote workers? Students? Executives?
- How long? 500 words? 2,000 words?
- What angle? Habits? Tools? Psychology? Time management?
- What tone? Academic? Casual? Motivational?
So it gives you the most generic possible answer. Something that could apply to anyone, which means it applies to no one well.
Improved version:
"Write an 800-word blog post about 5 productivity habits for remote workers who struggle with focus. Tone: practical and encouraging, like advice from a friend who works from home. Include a personal anecdote in the intro and actionable tips with specific tools or apps where relevant. Target audience: people working from home for the first time who are overwhelmed by distractions."
Why this works:
- Specific audience: Remote workers, new to WFH, struggle with focus
- Clear structure: 5 habits, needs intro with anecdote
- Length constraint: 800 words
- Tone guidance: Practical, encouraging, like a friend
- Content direction: Actionable tips, mention tools
Now AI knows exactly what to write. The output will be 10x more useful.
Try it:
Run both versions. Compare the results. Notice how the improved version gives you something you could actually publish, while the first one gives you a generic template you'd have to completely rewrite.
Bad Prompt #2: "Help me with my resume"
What's wrong:
What kind of help? The whole resume? One section? Formatting? Content? What job are you applying for? What's your experience level?
"Help" is the vaguest word in the English language.
Improved version:
"You are an experienced career coach who specializes in tech resumes. I'm applying for a product manager role at a mid-size SaaS company. Here are my current resume bullet points for my last role:
- Managed projects
- Worked with engineering team
- Improved processes
- Led meetings
Rewrite them to emphasize leadership, data-driven decisions, and cross-functional collaboration. Use strong action verbs and quantify results where possible. Make each bullet point start with a different verb."
Why this works:
- Role set: Career coach specializing in tech
- Context: Product manager role, SaaS company
- Specific task: Rewrite these bullets (examples given)
- Clear criteria: Leadership, data-driven, cross-functional, quantified
- Format guidance: Strong verbs, different verb per bullet
The improved version gives AI actual bullet points to work with and clear criteria for what makes them better.
Try it:
If you have a resume, grab 3-4 bullet points from your current/last role. Run this prompt with your real bullets. You'll get professional-level rewrites in 10 seconds.
Bad Prompt #3: "Is this a good business idea?"
What's wrong:
What idea? What does "good" mean? Good for making money? Good for learning? Good for work-life balance? What's your context?
AI can't evaluate an idea it doesn't know about.
Improved version:
"I'm thinking about starting an online tutoring service for high school math students, charging $40/hour. I have 5 years of teaching experience and live in a mid-size city. Analyze this idea step by step: market demand, competition, pricing viability, how to get my first 10 customers, and potential risks. Be honest - I want a realistic assessment, not cheerleading."
Why this works:
- Specific idea: Online math tutoring, high school, $40/hour
- Relevant context: 5 years teaching experience, location type
- Clear analysis framework: Demand, competition, pricing, customer acquisition, risks
- Chain of thought: "Step by step" forces thorough reasoning
- Negative prompting: "Not cheerleading" prevents fake positivity
Now AI can give you actual analysis instead of generic "it depends" advice.
Try it:
Got a business idea you've been thinking about? Run this prompt structure with your real idea. Even if you don't act on it, you'll get valuable perspective.
Bad Prompt #4: "Make this sound better" [pastes text]
What's wrong:
Better HOW? More professional? More casual? Shorter? Longer? Funnier? More persuasive?
"Better" is subjective. AI needs to know what direction you want.
Improved version:
"Rewrite this email to be more concise and professional. The recipient is my VP - keep it respectful but confident. Remove any filler words. Keep the key request clear in the first sentence. Don't exceed 100 words.
[Original email text]"
Why this works:
- Specific direction: Concise AND professional (not just "better")
- Context: Recipient is a VP (sets tone level)
- Clear criteria: Respectful but confident, no filler, request upfront
- Constraint: 100 words max
- Negative prompting: "Don't exceed" creates a hard limit
AI now knows exactly what "better" means in this context.
Original email example:
"Hey, I hope you're doing well! I wanted to reach out because I've been thinking about the Q2 budget and I was wondering if maybe we could possibly discuss increasing the marketing spend? I think it could really help us hit our targets. Let me know what you think when you get a chance. Thanks so much!"
After the improved prompt:
"I'd like to discuss increasing our Q2 marketing budget to hit our revenue targets. The data from Q1 shows a strong ROI on paid channels. Would you have 15 minutes this week to review the proposal? Happy to send the breakdown in advance."
See the difference? Tighter. More confident. Clear ask upfront. Under 50 words.
Try it:
Find an email you sent recently that felt awkward or too long. Run it through this prompt structure. Watch it transform.
Bad Prompt #5: "Give me a workout plan"
What's wrong:
For who? What equipment? What goal? How much time? What fitness level? What limitations?
A workout plan for a 20-year-old athlete is very different from a plan for a 50-year-old beginner.
Improved version:
"Create a 4-week workout plan for a beginner who wants to build strength. I have access to dumbbells (5-30 lbs) and a pull-up bar at home. I can work out 3 days per week for 30-40 minutes. No exercises that require lying on the ground (bad back). Include a warmup, the exercises with sets/reps, and a cooldown. Progress the difficulty each week."
Why this works:
- Goal stated: Build strength
- Experience level: Beginner
- Equipment specified: Dumbbells, pull-up bar (home setup)
- Time constraints: 3 days/week, 30-40 min per session
- Limitation noted: No ground exercises (bad back)
- Structure requested: Warmup, exercises with sets/reps, cooldown
- Progression noted: Difficulty increases weekly
AI can now create a plan that actually fits your life instead of a generic template you'd never follow.
Try it:
If you've been wanting to start working out (or get back into it), run this with your real constraints. You'll get a custom plan in 30 seconds that would cost you $100+ from a personal trainer.
The Prompt Improvement Checklist
Before hitting send on any important prompt, run through these questions:
- ☐ Did I say WHO this is for or WHO I am?
- ☐ Did I say exactly WHAT I want?
- ☐ Did I give relevant CONTEXT?
- ☐ Did I specify the FORMAT (length, tone, structure)?
- ☐ Did I include EXAMPLES (if the style matters)?
- ☐ Did I say what to AVOID (if applicable)?
If you checked at least 3 boxes, you're ahead of 95% of AI users.
If you checked 5 or 6, your output is going to be excellent.
What's next for you
You now have the skills to get great results from any AI tool.
You know:
- Why specificity matters (Lesson 1)
- The 5-part formula: R-T-C-F-E (Lesson 2)
- 10 copy-paste templates (Lesson 3)
- 5 advanced techniques (Lesson 4)
- How to improve any prompt (Lesson 5)
That's more than most people who've been using AI for a year.
Here's what happens next:
- This week: Take one of the 5 prompts from this lesson and run both versions. See the difference with your own eyes. That's when it clicks.
- This month: Use the 10 templates from Lesson 3 for real tasks. Save the ones that work best for you. Modify them. Build your personal prompt library.
- Going forward: Prompting becomes second nature. You'll start thinking in the R-T-C-F-E framework automatically. You'll catch yourself about to send a vague prompt and add specifics before hitting send.
The skill compounds. The more you practice, the better you get. And unlike most skills, you see results immediately.
Remember
- Every bad prompt can be fixed by adding specificity, context, and format constraints
- Use the 6-point checklist before sending important prompts
- Prompting is a skill that improves fast with practice
- Try improving one prompt per day this week - you'll be amazed at the difference
You've got this.
Final Challenge
Open your AI tool's conversation history. Or think of the last 3 things you asked AI.
Pick the one that gave you the weakest response.
Rewrite it using the checklist from this lesson:
- Add who it's for
- Make the task specific
- Include context
- Specify format
- Tell it what to avoid
Run the improved version.
Compare the results.
That's the difference between someone who "tried AI and it was okay" and someone who says "AI changed how I work."
You're now in the second group.
Quiz
Q1: What's the fastest way to improve any prompt?
A) Use a more expensive AI tool
B) Add specifics: who it's for, what format, what constraints
C) Make it longer
D) Use technical AI terminology
Answer: B
The #1 improvement for any prompt is specificity. Tell AI who the audience is, what you want, what format, and any constraints. Length doesn't matter. Clarity does. You can have a short, specific prompt that gets amazing results. Or a long, vague prompt that gets garbage.
Q2: Before sending an important prompt, you should check that it includes:
A) At least 500 words
B) Technical terms so AI takes you seriously
C) A clear task, relevant context, and format preferences
D) A link to a website
Answer: C
The three non-negotiables for any important prompt are:
- A clear task (what you want)
- Relevant context (who it's for, why it matters)
- Format preferences (length, tone, structure)
These three elements alone will dramatically improve your results. Everything else is optional depending on the situation.
Course Complete
You made it. You now know how to write prompts that actually work.
Go use these skills. Try the templates. Practice the techniques. Build your prompt library.
And remember: The difference between average AI users and power users isn't the tool they use. It's how they ask.
You now know how to ask.