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How to Prompt Your Companions
Prompt With Outcomes in Mind
Prompt With Outcomes in Mind
The most important prompting skill is knowing what you want before you ask.
Start With What You Want to Achieve
Before you type, ask yourself:
- What am I trying to accomplish?
- What would a successful result look like?
- What format do I need the answer in?
The clearer you are about your goal, the better your Companion can help you reach it.
Describe the End Result, Not Just the Question
Instead of asking open-ended questions, describe what you want to end up with:
Less effective:
"Tell me about this article"
More effective:
"Give me three key takeaways from this article that I can share with my team"
Less effective:
"Help me with this page"
More effective:
"Extract the pricing information from this page and organize it in a comparison table"
Provide Context When It Matters
Your Companion can see the page, but it does not know:
- Why you are looking at this page
- What you already know
- What you are going to do with the information
Add context when it helps:
- "I am comparing this to two other products I looked at earlier"
- "I am writing a report for my manager"
- "I am new to this topic and need a beginner-level explanation"
- "I have 5 minutes to understand the key points"
Let Companions Know Your Priority
Different situations call for different approaches. Tell your Companion what matters most:
When accuracy matters:
"I need to get the facts exactly right—double-check any numbers or dates"
When speed matters:
"Give me a quick answer—I just need the gist"
When depth matters:
"I want a thorough analysis—take your time and consider multiple angles"
Your Companion will adjust its approach accordingly.
Next, we will look at how structure improves results.