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Boil a CEO pre-read down to five plain bullets

  • For Executives
  • You practice Asking for a format you can use
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Beginner

About this exercise

Your CEO, Tomas, reads pre-reads as a text message in the car. Turn this warehouse proposal into at most 5 bullets, under 90 words, plain text with no bold or headings. The first bullet must be the decision he is being asked to make.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Just saying "summarize this". The AI picks its own shape, usually headings plus many bullets. Try: Say: "at most 5 bullets, plain text, no headings or bold."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and drifts past a word limit. Try: Cap each part: "each bullet one sentence under 14 words."
  • Burying the decision. The AI follows the document order, so the ask ends up last. Try: Say: "Bullet 1 is the decision and its deadline."
  • Missing the appendix update. The AI often uses the first cost figure it sees and skips the correction at the end. Try: Add: "Use the latest figures, including any appendix updates."
  • Allowing chatter. Without a filter the AI adds "Here's a summary" and "Let me know if..." Try: Add: "Output only the bullets. No intro or sign-off."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Says who reads it and where
  • Limits the bullets
  • Sets a word limit
  • Puts the decision first
  • Asks for plain text

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