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Sanity-check a big growth claim built on small numbers

  • For Executives
  • You practice Catching mistakes and made-up facts
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Intermediate

About this exercise

A slide says 'Enterprise deals up 40% in a week!' and your CEO, Ana Torres, wants to know if it holds up. Write exactly 4 labeled lines in plain text, under 100 words: Claim check, Math, Caveat and Safer wording. Show the percent math, name the small-number problem with the actual counts, and offer a headline that stays true.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Approving the 40%. The AI confirms the arithmetic and stops there. Try: Add: "Say the math is right but the claim is misleading, and why."
  • Ignoring the normal range. The AI doesn't compare to the other weeks (4 to 8 a week, average 6). Try: Add: "Caveat: 2 extra deals; quarter range 4 to 8, average about 6."
  • No replacement. The AI criticizes without offering a true headline. Try: Add: "Safer wording: quarter average 6 a week vs 5 last quarter."
  • 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

  • Names the reader
  • Gives the labels
  • Asks for raw counts
  • Asks for a safe headline
  • Rules out extras

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