Plan a 20-minute informational chat around what the alum offered

About this exercise

A college alum agreed to a 20-minute video chat about working in nonprofit fundraising. You want an agenda of exactly 4 numbered items with minutes that add up to 20, under 60 words, plain text. Build it around the topics she said she's happy to cover, and don't include asking her for a job or referral, since she said she can't help with that. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• No time math. The AI writes a 30-minute agenda or leaves times off, and she has a hard stop. Try: Add: "Minutes on each item, adding up to exactly 20."
• Ignoring what she offered. The AI writes generic networking questions instead of the topics she agreed to. Try: Add: "Build it around the three topics she offered in her email."
• Including the ask she declined. The AI adds a 'how to get a referral' item, because that's typical networking advice. Try: Add: "No asks for a job, referral, resume review or salary."
• Letting the AI pick the layout. The AI writes a long prep guide with headings. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 4 numbered items, one line each. 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 10 words."

What a strong prompt includes

• Says how many items
• Sets the time limit
• Uses her topics
• Respects her limit
• Sets a word limit

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