AI Prompts: The Complete Guide

Introduction

Crafting effective prompts is an essential skill for getting the most value from AI tools. This guide presents three complementary frameworks to help you design prompts that consistently yield high-quality, relevant responses for your specific needs.

Foundation: Better Questions Get Better Answers

Before diving into advanced frameworks, let’s understand the fundamental prompt types that form the building blocks of effective AI interactions.

Prompt Type	Description	Example	Reasoning
Specific and Focused	Clearly define the desired outcome or information you seek. Avoid vague or ambiguous language.	Instead of “Tell me about climate change,” ask “Summarize the key causes and potential consequences of climate change.”	Enhances the AI’s understanding of your intent and increases the likelihood of a relevant and informative response.
Action-Oriented	Phrase your question as a task or instruction for the AI to complete.	Instead of “What are the benefits of using LLMs?” ask “Generate a list of 5 benefits non-profits can gain from using LLMs.”	Guides the AI towards a specific output format and facilitates obtaining the desired information directly.
Context-Rich	Provide relevant background information or context to help the AI understand the broader scope of your question.	Instead of “Write a blog post,” ask “Write a blog post about the importance of volunteer engagement, targeting young adults and highlighting the various opportunities available.”	Equips the AI with additional knowledge to tailor the response effectively and address the specific audience and purpose.
Open-Ended (when appropriate)	Encourage exploration and creative thinking, especially for brainstorming or generating ideas.	Instead of “What should we do for our next fundraising campaign?” ask “Suggest innovative ideas for engaging our donor base in our upcoming fundraising campaign.”	Allows the AI to leverage its creativity and generate diverse options, sparking further discussion and exploration.

The A.S.K. Framework: Simple Yet Powerful

For straightforward information retrieval and structured outputs, the A.S.K. Framework provides a clear, three-part structure that helps you get precisely what you need.

Components:

Aim: What specific information or outcome are you seeking?
Structure: How should the information be organized or presented?
Knowledge: What context or background information should the AI consider?

Example:

Aim: Find companies that have recently raised Series B or C funding in the sustainable energy sector within the past 90 days.

Structure: Provide a list of 10-15 companies with: company name, funding amount, date announced, investors, and stated use of funds.

Knowledge: My target industries include solar, wind, and energy storage, and my ideal customer profile typically includes companies with 100-1000 employees.

When to Use:

The A.S.K. Framework works best for:

Research queries
Data compilation requests
Structured information needs
List generation tasks

The PROMPT Framework: For Complex, Nuanced Outputs

When you need more sophisticated content with specific voice and formatting requirements, the PROMPT Framework offers a comprehensive approach.

Components:

Persona: What role or perspective should the AI adopt?
Requirements: What parameters (length, format, rules) should the output follow?
Organization: How should the content be structured or arranged?
Medium: What is the final format or delivery method?
Purpose: What is the goal and who is the intended audience?
Tone: What voice, style, or emotional quality should be conveyed?

Example:

Persona: Assume the role of a friendly but authoritative financial advisor with 15+ years of experience.

Requirements: Create a 500-word explanation with no jargon and include a simple 5-step action plan.

Organization: Begin with the problem statement, then provide education on key concepts, followed by the action plan, and end with encouraging next steps.

Medium: Format as a client-facing email that can be easily skimmed.

Purpose: Help small business owners understand cash flow management to avoid common pitfalls; audience is non-financial professionals who are overwhelmed by day-to-day operations.

Tone: Supportive, practical, and confidence-building without being condescending.

When to Use:

The PROMPT Framework excels for:

Content creation projects
Communication pieces
Educational materials
Role-specific outputs
Multi-faceted requests

Pro Prompt Strategies

Beyond the frameworks, these advanced strategies can further enhance your AI interactions:

Strategy	Description	Example
Ask for a Better Question	Have the AI help you refine your original question.	“Help me ask a better question about donor-advised funds.”
Adopt Different Perspectives	Request responses from specific viewpoints or personas.	“Imagine you’re Ted Lasso analyzing this budget. Provide creative, Lasso-inspired advice for optimizing it next year.”
Request Clarification	Set up the AI to ask clarifying questions before answering.	“Whenever I ask a question, ask me additional questions to clarify what I’m asking before you provide an answer.”
Explore Alternatives	Ask for multiple approaches to solve your problem.	“List the best alternative services to accomplish this task and compare the pros and cons of each approach.”
Subdivide Complex Questions	Break down complex topics into manageable parts.	“Generate additional questions that would help more accurately answer this question, then combine the answers for a comprehensive response.”
Explain Reasoning	Ask the AI to show its work and thinking process.	“Explain your reasoning for why you’ve recommended this approach.”
Self-Evaluation	Have the AI assess the quality of its own response.	“Rate your answer on a scale of 1 to 10 and explain how it could be improved.”
Prevent Hallucinations	Explicitly request factual certainty.	“Answer only if you know the answer or can make a good educated guess with explained reasoning; otherwise, say you don’t know.”

Choosing the Right Framework

Each framework serves a different purpose and excels in different scenarios:

Basic Prompt Types work well for everyday questions and simple requests
A.S.K. Framework is ideal for structured information gathering and research
PROMPT Framework shines when creating complex content with specific requirements

For best results, select the approach that aligns with your specific needs or combine elements from multiple frameworks for customized prompts.

Putting It All Together: Examples in Action

Example 1: Basic + A.S.K. (Research Request)

I need information on emerging fundraising trends for small nonprofits.

Aim: Identify 5 innovative fundraising strategies that have emerged in the past year for nonprofits with budgets under $1M.

Structure: For each strategy, provide:
- Name and brief description
- Example organization successfully using it
- Typical implementation cost
- Average ROI or fundraising potential

Knowledge: Our organization focuses on environmental conservation with a donor base primarily aged 35-60. We currently rely heavily on annual giving campaigns and grants.

Example 2: PROMPT Framework (Content Creation)

Persona: Act as an experienced volunteer coordinator who specializes in youth engagement.

Requirements: Create a volunteer recruitment email of approximately 350 words with a clear call-to-action and 3 compelling benefits.

Organization: Start with an attention-grabbing statistic, follow with the problem we're solving, explain the opportunity, outline the benefits, and end with specific next steps.

Medium: Email format with a subject line and scannable sections.

Purpose: Recruit high school students (ages 15-18) for our weekend beach cleanup program; we need to convey both the environmental impact and the personal/resume benefits.

Tone: Energetic and inspiring while remaining clear and direct; should appeal to both teens and their parents who might read the email.

Example 3: Combined Approach (Strategic Planning)

Adopt the perspective of a strategic planning consultant with nonprofit expertise.

Aim: Create a framework for evaluating potential new programs for our food security nonprofit.

Structure: Develop a decision matrix with weighted criteria including: implementation cost, alignment with mission, staff capacity required, potential community impact, and sustainability.

Organization: Begin with a brief explanation of how to use the framework, then present the matrix, followed by application instructions and a worked example.

Knowledge: We are a community food bank serving approximately 5,000 households monthly with a staff of 12 and 200 regular volunteers. Our annual budget is $1.2M.

Tone: Practical and actionable, focused on empowering our program team to make evidence-based decisions.

Conclusion

Mastering the art of prompt design takes practice, but the frameworks and strategies in this guide provide a solid foundation. Remember that effective prompts are specific, structured, and context-rich.

Start with simpler approaches and gradually incorporate more complex frameworks as you become comfortable. Don’t hesitate to iterate on your prompts—sometimes the best results come from refining your question based on initial responses.

By thoughtfully crafting your prompts using these frameworks, you’ll consistently receive more valuable, relevant, and actionable insights from AI tools.