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Build two customer personas from raw survey answers
Practice: Keeping the AI to your sources. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You're turning survey answers for Sprout Box, a family meal-kit service, into personas for the creative team. You need exactly 2 personas, each written as 4 plain lines: Name - who they are, Goal:, Frustration: and Quote: (copied word for word from a customer answer). Under 120 words total, plain text. Use only the survey, invent no ages, incomes or stats, and leave out the staff pilot answer.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Asking for "personas". The AI writes long persona sheets with demographics, hobbies and bold headings. Try: Set the shape: "Exactly 2 personas, 4 lines each: Name, Goal, Frustration, Quote."
- Letting it fill in the blanks. AI makes up ages, incomes and jobs to make personas feel real. Try: Add: "Use only the survey. No ages, incomes or jobs that aren't in it."
- Not protecting the quotes. The AI tidies up quotes or grabs the glowing staff answer. Try: Add: "Quotes word for word from customers R1-R7. Skip R8, it's staff."
- Trusting the AI to count words. Persona sheets run long, and AI miscounts its own words. Try: Cap each line: "Each line under 12 words."
- Getting markdown. Personas come back with bold names and headings. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold or headings."
What a strong prompt includes
- Says how many personas
- Sets the line shape
- Keeps quotes exact
- Excludes the staff answer
- Stops invented details
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