How To Talk to AI — Clarity and Ask Me Questions

You want clever output.

However, to get what you’re looking for, your prompt needs to be to the point and specific. Boring, really. Plus, you want the LLM to ask you questions and make it interactive when useful. 

An LLM is very sure of itself. To the point of just making stuff up (hallucinating). Therefore, reminding it that it should ask you about stuff it needs is an important skill of talking to it. 

Sticking with our marketing theme, here’s something that you, as the boss, might need to do.

Boss Directive:

“I started writing the launch email for the new product, but I ran out of time and energy. We’re announcing our new productivity tool for freelancers. I need it finished.”

A useful prompt for asking AI to do it looks like this.

Prompt:

You are a senior marketing copywriter with a background in SaaS and tech product launches. You know how to take a rough draft and turn it into a clear, persuasive email that builds curiosity and drives click-throughs — without making it sound like generic sales copy.

You have a feel for voice and tone, especially in fast-growing startups. You understand how to write like a human: warm, specific, and benefit-focused, but not pushy.

Here’s the rough draft I started. Please complete and polish it. Keep the voice consistent — conversational, smart, and a little punchy. Don’t change the opening unless it really needs help. Make sure the product benefits are clear, and the call-to-action stands out. Suggest alternate subject lines if you have better ones.

This prompt follows all of the rules so far: role, goal, structure, verbosity, and now clarity, and ensures it will ask you questions about stuff it needs to know. 

Next up: Ask for Suggestions and Several Versions