Put all ten checks to work on one task

Each lesson so far added one thing a model needs. Here they come together on one ordinary job: you want to buy a scheduling tool for your support team, and you need an email to your manager asking for the budget.

Most people would type “Write an email asking for budget for a new tool.” The model would have to invent the tool, the cost and the case for buying it. Here is the same request built up one check at a time:

1. Name the job: draft an email to your manager asking for approval to buy the tool.
2. Say who it is for and what happens next: your manager will forward it to finance, who approve any spend over $3,000.
3. Give the facts: 8 agents each spend about 6 hours a week building shift schedules by hand; the tool costs $4,800 a year; in last month’s free trial, scheduling took under an hour a week.
4. Set the size: under 200 words.
5. Name the shape: a subject line, then short paragraphs, with the request and the cost in the first one.
6. Rule out trouble: leave out the vendor’s name, since finance wants to see the need first, and any saving the trial did not show.
7. Describe a good result: finance can approve it without asking a follow-up question.
8. Show an example: the opening of your last budget request, which was approved.
9. Say what to do with gaps: if a figure is missing, write [CHECK] instead of guessing.
10. Lay it out: material first, then each part on its own labeled line.

Write an email asking for budget for a new tool.

Material: Our support team has 8 agents. Each spends about 6 hours a week building shift schedules by hand in a spreadsheet. A scheduling tool costs $4,800 a year for 10 seats. In a free trial last month, the team lead built every schedule in under an hour a week.

Task: Draft an email to my manager asking for approval to buy the tool. My manager will forward it to finance, who approve any spend over $3,000.

Format: a subject line, then short paragraphs, with the request and the cost in the first one. Under 200 words.

Leave out: the vendor's name, since finance wants to see the need before the product, and any saving the trial did not show.

A good email lets finance approve the spend without asking a follow-up question.

Match the tone of the opening of my last request, which was approved: "I'm asking for $2,400 a year for a shared design tool. Here is what it saves us."

If a figure you need is missing, write [CHECK] instead of guessing.

Every line answers one of the ten checks, and the whole prompt takes a couple of minutes to type.

You will not always need all ten

A quick question, such as which spreadsheet function rounds down, needs a task and nothing else. You read the answer and ask again if it misses. The more an answer matters, and the more often you will reuse the prompt, the more of the ten it deserves. The ten checks guide suggests 7 or more for prompts that run many times or that other people rely on.

Make it a habit

When a prompt works, save it, and next time change only the facts. The prompt templates are written this way, with blanks for the parts that change, and My Prompts keeps every version of your own.

When an answer misses, fix the prompt as well as the chat. If you had to explain in a follow-up that your manager hates long emails, that line belongs in the prompt next time. The turn a chat into a prompt pattern shows how to fold a conversation back into one prompt.

Before a prompt goes into regular use, try it on a few real cases; the guide to testing prompts shows how. When you want help writing one, the Prompt Builder asks the ten questions in plain words, and the Grader checks any prompt you paste.

Write the prompt you would want to receive if you were new to the job. That one habit covers most of the ten checks.

Material: the attached export of our March customer survey, 412 responses, each with a satisfaction score from 1 to 5 and an optional comment. Average satisfaction fell from 4.3 in February to 3.9 in March. On March 4 we moved phone support to a new system.

Task: Summarize the survey results for our leadership team, who will use the summary on Monday to decide whether to roll back the new phone system or fix it.

Format: a one-line answer first, then up to five bullets on what drove the drop, each with the number of comments behind it and one short customer quote. Under 250 words.

Leave out: customer names and email addresses, since the summary will be shared widely, and any theme that appears in fewer than 5 comments.

A good summary lets someone who has not seen the data say in one minute what caused the drop and how sure we can be.

Example of one bullet: "Long hold times since the switch (63 comments): 'I waited 25 minutes and then got cut off.'"

If unsure: if the comments don't point to a clear cause, say so instead of guessing, and list what we would need to find out.

Material: we're a 15-person landscaping company. The job is part-time, 20 hours a week, and pays $28 to $32 an hour. It's mostly remote, with one day a month in our office. The bookkeeper handles invoicing, payroll prep and monthly reconciliations, and must have used cloud accounting software before.

Task: Write a job ad for the role, to post on local job boards. The readers are experienced bookkeepers, who will decide in a few seconds whether to read on.

Format: a one-line summary with the pay and hours, then short sections headed The job, About you and How to apply. Under 250 words.

Leave out: benefits we haven't listed, and any degree requirement, since experience matters more to us than qualifications.

A good ad lets a qualified bookkeeper tell in one read whether the hours, pay and work suit them.

Example of the tone we want, from our last ad: "We're a small crew that keeps gardens green across the county. You'll be the one who keeps our numbers just as tidy."

If unsure: if you need a detail that isn't here, such as how to apply, write [CHECK] instead of making one up.

Material: about 1,800 customers canceled their meal kits in the last six months, and most said price was the reason. From May 1 we're adding a two-person plan at $49 a week, $16 less than our cheapest plan was.

Task: Write an email inviting these former customers back. They will read it on a phone, and most will decide from the subject line and first sentence whether to keep reading.

Format: a subject line, then three short paragraphs, with the new price in the first sentence. Under 120 words.

Leave out: any discount code or free trial, since we aren't offering one, and any guilt about leaving.

A good email makes someone who left over price think the new plan might fit their budget.

Match the tone of this line from our best-performing email: "Dinner, done in 20 minutes. All you bring is an appetite."

If unsure: if you need a fact that isn't here, such as delivery days, write [CHECK] rather than inventing it.

Remember. A strong prompt is a short brief that answers ten questions, so the model guesses nothing that matters.