{"id":"fpa-board-jargon-plain-rewrite","audience":"fpa","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","technique":"tone","level":"beginner","title":"Rewrite a finance paragraph in plain words for a non-finance director","free":false,"task":"You're helping the CFO explain results to a board director who isn't a finance person. Write a prompt for a plain-text rewrite of 3 short sentences or fewer, under 60 words, that keeps the figures exactly and does not use the words EBITDA, bps, YoY, sequential or accretive. Start the rewrite with \"In plain terms:\". Don't repeat the rumor from the draft. No bullets or numbering.","materialLabel":"CFO's draft paragraph (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"CFO's DRAFT for the board letter - Q3 2026\n\n\"Q3 EBITDA of $1.4M improved 20% YoY, and was accretive to margin by 150 bps on a sequential basis, as hosting efficiencies and the August price increase more than offset higher headcount cost. Cash ended the quarter at $22.0M. Separately, we have heard that a competitor is exploring a sale; we have no confirmation and will not comment.\"\n\nNotes for the rewrite: the director read the letter last quarter and asked 'what does EBITDA even mean?' The figures that must stay: $1.4M, 20%, $22.0M. 150 bps = 1.5 percentage points. The competitor sentence should not appear in the board letter.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":60},{"type":"maxBullets","max":0}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Sets the opener","patterns":["in plain terms"]},{"label":"Keeps the figures","patterns":["keep.*(1\\.4m|exactly)","\\$22\\.0m"]},{"label":"Bans the jargon","patterns":["(do not|don'?t).*use the words"]},{"label":"Leaves out the rumor","patterns":["leave out.*competitor","competitor"]},{"label":"Caps length","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","3 short sentences"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Keeping the jargon","why":"The AI keeps EBITDA or bps with a short gloss.","fix":"Add: \"Do not use the words EBITDA, bps, YoY, sequential or accretive.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Repeating the rumor","why":"The AI includes the competitor sale sentence.","fix":"Add: \"Leave out the competitor sentence entirely.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Changing figures","why":"The AI rounds $1.4M to 'about $1 million'.","fix":"Add: \"Keep $1.4M, 20% and $22.0M exactly.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Markdown extras","why":"The AI adds bold labels, headings and a closing note.","fix":"Say: \"Plain text, no bold. Output only the lines asked for.\"","checks":["plainText","maxBullets"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting and runs past word limits.","fix":"Ask for fewer words than the real cap and keep each line short.","checks":["maxWords"]}],"hint":"Plain language still needs exact figures. List the figures to keep, the words to avoid and what to leave out.","rubricLabels":["The output starts with \"In plain terms:\" and keeps $1.4M, 20% and $22.0M exactly","The output doesn't use the words EBITDA, bps, YoY, sequential or accretive and explains profit and margin in everyday words (for example 1.5 percentage points)","The output has 3 sentences or fewer and doesn't mention the competitor, a sale or the rumor"]}