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Compare two weeks fairly when one had fewer open days
- For Managers and team leads
- You practice Catching mistakes and made-up facts
- Time about 5 minutes
- Level Intermediate
About this exercise
Sales dropped between two weeks but one week had fewer open days. Write exactly 3 labeled lines in plain text, under 80 words: Raw, Per open day and Takeaway. Raw shows the plain week-over-week percent change with the division, Per open day shows each week's average per open day and the percent change, and Takeaway is one sentence for the owner.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Stopping at the raw drop. The AI explains -21.4% as a real decline. Try: Add: "Per open day: $10,000 vs $11,000, +10.0%."
- Missing the closure cause. The AI says 'a slow week' without the two closed days. Try: Add: "Takeaway: closed two days for the inventory count."
- No arithmetic. The AI quotes percents with no divisions. Try: Add: "Write each division out."
- Leaving the format to chance. The AI picks its own length and layout unless told the exact shape. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold or headings."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it. Try: Cap each part instead, for example "each line under 15 words."
What a strong prompt includes
- Gives the three labels
- Asks for the raw math
- Asks for per-day math
- Asks for the cause
- Rules out extras
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