Field Prompts: How to Hand AI Proper Context

If you only throw "tidy up this memo" at the AI, you get a vague and empty result back. The more a memo is from the field, the more it needs a context package. Without context, AI fills the space with plausible generalities. Generalities read well but are of little use on site.

Four lines to attach before sending

1. Purpose: for a meeting share / my own review / a draft for a public post
2. Reader: colleagues / only me / outside readers
3. Prohibitions: no invention, no fabricated numbers, anonymize names
4. Format: bullets / three-line summary / title plus body

Those four lines alone change the direction of the output. The "prohibitions" line matters most. If you do not state prohibitions, AI tries to fill the blanks, and that filling becomes fact.

Good uses

• Reordering scattered bullets chronologically
• Separating into decided / undecided / action columns
• Polishing your rough sentences into a tone that respects them
• Producing several title and tag candidates to choose from

Bad uses are just as clear: turning unconfirmed figures into a finished table, making the other person's words more "sophisticated" until the meaning changes, pasting sensitive information in as it is. As speed rises, keep the verification checklist short and fixed.

A person must read it at the end. AI is a drafting machine; the truth of the site is in the notes and in the people. The habit of doubting the output is worth more on site than the skill of writing prompts well.