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Prompting for Real Life

Learn a four-part way to ask AI for what you want, fix answers that miss, and leave with three tested prompt templates for your own weekly tasks.

One 2-hour session Up to 10 people Live · online or in person
Level
Beginner
Length
2 hours, one session
Price
$99
Format
Live, up to 10 people, online or in person
Before class
About 10 min of prep
Tracks
Personal, Families, Work, Business, Nonprofit
Ask for this class Not sure? Take the assessment

Scheduled once 10 people ask for it. The date and format are confirmed before anyone pays.

Course overview

Most disappointing AI answers are asking problems, not tool problems. In two hours we take weak requests apart, rebuild them with a simple four-part method, and practice the follow-ups that turn an okay answer into one you'd actually send. You finish by turning three things you do every week into fill-in-the-blank templates you've tested on the spot, including the request that has been disappointing you most.

Before you start: Class 01, or comfortable signing in to ChatGPT or Claude and holding a back-and-forth conversation.

How the two hours run

  1. 8min

    Welcome and your worst result

  2. 12min

    Why requests fall flat: the same email, asked two ways

  3. 15min

    The four parts: context, task, format, constraints

  4. 22min

    Rebuild two weak requests

  5. 8min

    Break

  6. 17min

    Follow-ups that fix things

  7. 28min

    Build and test your three templates

  8. 10min

    Share one template and close

Good to know

  • This class is prompt-heavy. Free plans cap how many messages you can send in a stretch, so have a second tool signed in.
  • We don't re-teach what AI is or how the tools compare. If that's new, take AI Made Simple (Class 01) first.
  • Bring the kinds of tasks you do, not the confidential details in them. You'll learn to use placeholders like [CUSTOMER NAME] so the template works without them.

Who this is for

  • Someone whose AI answers keep coming back generic, like a greeting card written for nobody
  • A person who rewrites the same request four times before getting something usable
  • A small-business owner or volunteer coordinator who writes the same kinds of emails, flyers, and updates every week
  • A team lead who wants everyone asking AI the same sensible way
  • Graduates of AI Made Simple who are ready for the next step

What you’ll learn

  • Spot why a request is getting a vague answer and name which of the four parts is missing
  • Write requests with four parts: context, task, format, and constraints
  • Give just enough background without writing an essay, and use placeholders for anything private
  • Improve an answer with follow-ups instead of starting over, including asking what it assumed
  • Turn a request that worked into a reusable template with blanks to fill in
  • Check names, dates, numbers, and invented details before you use any answer

What you’ll do in class

  • Rebuild two weak requests (a weekly meal plan and a volunteer notice) using the four parts, run both versions, and compare what changed.
  • Take an answer that missed through three follow-ups, including 'what did you assume that I didn't tell you?', and note what each one fixed.
  • Build three fill-in-the-blank templates for your own weekly tasks, test one with a partner, and store them in your prompt library.

Try it now · free

A 10-minute taste you can do right now

Paste the weak request first and look at what comes back. Then paste the rebuilt one into a new chat and compare. The difference is the whole class in miniature.

FIRST, try this on its own:
Write an email about the meeting.

THEN, in a new chat, try this:
Context: I own Harbor Street Bakery, a small bakery with six part-time staff. Our monthly staff meeting was set for Tuesday at 3 p.m. I need to move it to Thursday, October 22, at 2:30 p.m. because our oven repair got scheduled for Tuesday. The meeting will cover the holiday order schedule and who's working the weekend before Thanksgiving.
Task: Write the email to staff announcing the change.
Format: A subject line, then a short email under 120 words. Put the new day and time in the first sentence.
Constraints: Friendly but not gushing. Ask anyone who can't make it to reply by Monday. Don't apologize more than once.

Before you trust the answer, check:

  • Is the new day, date, and time exactly right, and in the first sentence?
  • Did it stay under 120 words and include the reply-by-Monday request?
  • Did it invent anything you didn't say, like a location, an agenda item, or a reason for the repair?

Before class · about 10 minutes

  • Make sure you can sign in to a free ChatGPT or Claude account on the laptop you'll bring. Two tools is better (Gemini or Microsoft Copilot also count) so you can switch if you hit a free message limit.
  • Create an empty document or note titled 'My Prompt Library' in whatever you already use: Word, Google Docs, Apple Notes, OneNote.
  • Copy into it the worst or most generic AI answer you've gotten lately, along with what you asked. No confidential details.
  • Write down three things you write, plan, or figure out every week or two (customer replies, a volunteer schedule, meal plans, a club update).

What you leave with

  • Three tested, fill-in-the-blank templates for your own weekly tasks, in one place
  • The four-part request card with the follow-ups that fix most misses
  • A before-and-after of your own worst result, rebuilt as a template

Expected outcomes

  • You can look at a weak request and name what's missing
  • Your first attempts get noticeably closer to what you wanted
  • You have three reusable templates for your own weekly tasks, stored where you'll find them
  • You can teach the four-part method to a friend or coworker in two minutes

Questions about this class

Is two hours enough?

Enough to learn the method, use it on real requests, and leave with three templates you've tested; that's the whole class. Roles, example-matching, getting tables and checklists in the right shape, and growing the library to ten or more templates are the follow-on lab.

Do I need to take AI Made Simple first?

Not if you're already comfortable signing in to ChatGPT or Claude, holding a back-and-forth conversation, and checking answers before you trust them. If any of that is new, start with Class 01.

Do I need a paid account?

No. Everything works on the free versions of ChatGPT and Claude. If you hit a free message limit during class, you switch to your second tool and keep going.

How is this different from Your AI Personal Assistant?

This class teaches you how to ask well, one request at a time. Your AI Personal Assistant (Class 03) builds on it by giving the AI a one-page document about you, so you stop repeating yourself.

Tools used

ChatGPT Claude Gemini or Microsoft Copilot (optional backup) A notes app or document of your choice

Skills you build

Prompt designContext settingIterative refinementTemplate building

Top of the ladder

This is the LifeQuest capstone. From here, learners move into ongoing build sessions and community projects.

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