Module 2: Crafting Effective Prompts

Now that you understand how AI models work, it is time to build your core prompting framework. This module introduces the 4 Pillars of a Perfect Prompt — a practical structure you can apply to any task, in any tool.

Lesson 2.1 — The 4 Pillars of a Perfect Prompt

Every high-quality prompt contains four elements. You do not always need all four, but the more you include, the better your output will be.

Pillar 1: Role

Tell the AI who to be. This sets the tone, vocabulary, and perspective of the response.

Example: “You are a senior financial analyst with 15 years of experience writing executive briefings.”

Pillar 2: Task

State exactly what you want the AI to do. Use action verbs: write, summarise, analyse, compare, reformat, translate, list.

Example: “Summarise the following quarterly sales report into a 5-bullet executive briefing.”

Pillar 3: Context

Provide the background information the AI needs to do the task well. This includes the audience, the purpose, and any relevant data or documents.

Example: “The audience is the board of directors. The report covers Q3 2025 performance for the Caribbean region. Key metrics: revenue, churn rate, and new customer acquisition.”

Pillar 4: Constraints

Define the boundaries of the output: format, length, tone, what to include, and what to avoid.

Example: “Format: 5 bullet points, maximum 20 words each. Tone: formal and data-driven. Do not include raw numbers — use percentages and comparisons instead.”

Putting It All Together

“You are a senior financial analyst. Summarise the following Q3 2025 Caribbean sales report into a 5-bullet executive briefing for the board of directors. Use percentages and comparisons, not raw numbers. Each bullet should be under 20 words. Tone: formal and data-driven. [Paste report here]”

Lesson 2.2 — Setting Constraints and Tone

Constraints are the most underused element of prompt engineering. Most people write the role and task but forget to define what they do not want. This leads to outputs that are technically correct but practically useless.

Common Constraints to Include

• Length: “Under 150 words”, “exactly 3 paragraphs”, “a single sentence”
• Format: “Bullet points”, “numbered list”, “table with 3 columns”, “plain paragraph”
• Tone: “Professional”, “casual and friendly”, “empathetic”, “direct and concise”
• Audience: “For a non-technical manager”, “for a 10-year-old”, “for a legal team”
• Exclusions: “Do not use jargon”, “avoid bullet points”, “do not mention competitors”

Tone Examples

Formal: Suitable for board reports, legal documents, compliance communications.

Professional but warm: Suitable for client emails, proposals, customer service responses.

Casual: Suitable for internal Slack messages, team updates, social media posts.

Practice Exercise

Take any email you have written in the last week. Rewrite it as a prompt using the 4 Pillars framework. Run it through ChatGPT or Gemini and compare the output to your original. Note what the AI did better and what it missed.