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Text volunteers a reminder with the new entrance

Practice: Keeping the AI to your sources. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

You're texting tomorrow's coat drive volunteers a reminder. Keep it under 40 words, plain text, no emojis and no greeting line: the start time and the new entrance first, then what to bring, then who to text if they're running late. Use the latest location update. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 40 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "3 sentences, each under 12 words."
  • Opening with a greeting. The AI starts with "Hi volunteers! Thanks so much..." and the time and door come later. Try: Add: "No greeting. First sentence: 8:30 AM, side door on Elm Ave."
  • Listing everything. The AI includes the pizza, the shirt and gloves, and the texts gets long. Try: Add: "Bring: water bottle and comfortable shoes (gloves provided)."
  • Adding emojis and a sign-off. AI texts to volunteers often end with emojis and "See you there! - The Team". Try: Add: "End with: Running late? Text Monique at 555-0148. No emojis, no sign-off."
  • Ignoring where it will be pasted. AI loves bold and headings, which show up as stray ** and # symbols in a text message. Try: Name the place and the format: "For a text message. Plain text, no bold or headings."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Uses the new entrance
  • Puts time and door first
  • Bans greeting and emojis
  • Says who to text
  • Sets a word limit

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