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Write an internal outage update in plain words with a next date
- For Managers and team leads
- You practice Saying who it's for
- Time about 5 minutes
- Level Intermediate
About this exercise
Write the internal update to the whole company after Tuesday's outage. Plain text, under 110 words, subject first. Use the labels What happened, Who was affected, What we did, What's next, each on its own line with one sentence. Use only confirmed facts. Do not give a root cause that is not confirmed, and do not name individuals. End with the date of the next update.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Stating a suspected cause. The AI says a failed update caused it. Try: Say: "Don't state a cause that isn't confirmed."
- Using the early estimate. The AI says 20 minutes. Try: Say: "The outage was 45 minutes."
- Naming a person. The AI mentions Alex. Try: Say: "Name no individual."
- Missing labels. The AI writes a narrative. Try: Say: "Four labeled lines."
- Markdown. The AI bolds labels. Try: Say: "Plain text."
- 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 line: "each under 25 words."
- 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 12 words."
What a strong prompt includes
- Labels
- Confirmed only
- No names
- Next update
- Plain
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