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Explain a playoff tiebreaker to teammates with real numbers
Practice: Showing an example of what you want. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
Your JV teammates are confused about why you're not in the playoffs yet with the same record as Westbrook. Explain it in the team group chat in under 70 words, plain text: use your team's actual numbers as the example, say which tiebreaker decides it, and end with exactly what has to happen Saturday. Write a prompt that gets that message.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 70 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part: "4 sentences, each under 16 words."
- Explaining the rule in general. The AI lists all three tiebreakers instead of saying which one applies to you. Try: Say it: "Head-to-head was 1-1, so goal difference decides it."
- No real numbers. The AI says "they have a better goal difference" without the +6 and +4. Try: Add: "Use the numbers: Westbrook +6, us +4."
- Ending without a plan. The AI ends with "Let's go team!" instead of what Saturday requires. Try: Add: "End with exactly what we need Saturday."
- Forgetting where it gets pasted. AI adds bold and headings by default, which show up as ** and # clutter in a group chat. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold, no headings."
What a strong prompt includes
- Sets a word limit
- Names the tiebreaker
- Uses the numbers
- Ends with Saturday
- Asks for plain text
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