Plan a team offsite day that stays under budget

About this exercise

You're planning your department's offsite day and need an itinerary for your director's approval. You want exactly 5 numbered lines in time order, each with a time, the activity and its cost with the math shown, under 90 words, plain text. Use the final headcount, not the first one, keep the total at or under $1,500, and pick only from the options in your notes. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• Using the old headcount. The 14 at the top is easy to grab, and the AI uses it for every cost. Try: Add: "Use the final headcount of 16 from Gina's update."
• Not showing the math. The AI lists prices without the per-person math, so your director can't check it. Try: Add: "Show the math on each line, like '$8 x 16 = $128'."
• Picking without the budget. The AI picks the nicest options and goes over the cap. Try: Add: "Keep the total at or under $1,500. Use only options from my notes."
• Letting the AI pick the layout. The AI writes a table with bold headings and a long rationale. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 5 numbered lines, plain text."
• Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 90 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "each line under 12 words."

What a strong prompt includes

• Says how many lines
• Uses the final headcount
• Asks to show the math
• Sets the budget
• Stays with the options

Practice this now ↑

Related exercises

• Announce a new weekend rotation in three clear rules (Productivity AI · Managers and team leads)
• Announce the employee assistance program in three steps (Writing AI · HR and recruiting)
• Answer a patient portal message about delayed lab results (Writing AI · Nurses and healthcare workers)
• Answer a refill request without promising approval (Writing AI · Nurses and healthcare workers)
• Answer an application's employment-gap question in a few lines (Writing AI · Job seekers)