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Summarize an engagement survey without exposing small teams

Practice: Setting limits and rules. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

Your CEO wants the headline results of the annual engagement survey for Monday's leadership meeting. You want at most 3 bullets under 60 words, plain text, each with a percentage and its change from last year. Follow the survey's confidentiality rule: never report results for a team with fewer than 5 responses. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Not stating the privacy rule. The AI reports every team, including the 3-person team whose answers can be traced back. Try: Add: "Follow the confidentiality rule: no team with fewer than 5 responses."
  • Dropping the comparisons. The AI gives this year's numbers alone, so the CEO can't tell what changed. Try: Add: "Every bullet: the percentage and the change from last year."
  • Missing the biggest drop. The AI starts with the first question in the report instead of the biggest change. Try: Add: "Lead with the biggest drop."
  • Not limiting the bullets. The AI covers every question and team with headings. Try: Be exact: "At most 3 bullets, plain text."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 60 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "each line under 14 words."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Limits the bullets
  • Applies the privacy rule
  • Asks for comparisons
  • Says who it's for
  • Sets a word limit

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