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Brief an assistant to book podcast guests around your rules

  • For Freelancers and creators
  • You practice Giving the right context
  • Time about 5 minutes

About this exercise

You host a podcast and want an AI assistant to book recording sessions. Write its brief: you record only on Wednesdays, starting at 10:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m., each session 90 minutes; any guest who can't make a Wednesday slot, or who works for a competitor of your sponsor (Brightbean Coffee), goes to you with ASK_HUMAN; and it never sends contracts. Output exactly 5 numbered plain-text lines: one per guest in order, then DONE.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Not showing the log format. Left alone, the AI writes a friendly report with headings instead of a checkable action log. Try: Show it literally: "Format every line like 1. ACTION: tool(args), then ASK_HUMAN: and DONE: lines. Plain text."
  • Not giving your recording rules. The AI books Tom on Thursday and picks its own start times. Try: Add: "Wednesdays only, starting 10:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m., 90 minutes."
  • Leaving out the sponsor conflict. The AI can't know a coffee founder clashes with your coffee sponsor. Try: Add: "Anyone who can't do Wednesday or works for a Brightbean competitor goes to ASK_HUMAN."
  • Letting it send contracts. Given send_contract, the AI sends paperwork to every guest. Try: Add: "Never send contracts. End with DONE."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Gives the recording day
  • Gives the start times
  • Mentions the sponsor
  • Forbids contracts
  • Shows the action-log format

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