AI for Life

Lesson 2

Talk to Claude Clearly: Practical Prompting

You can write a clear prompt on purpose (saying what you want, giving context, naming the format, and showing an example) and steer Claude with follow-ups until the answer is right.

The quality of what you get out of Claude follows the quality of what you put in. A clear ask is the single biggest upgrade a beginner can make.

~20 min Everything in this lesson works on a free Claude account, in Chat, on a computer or a phone. No paid plan needed, and no Cowork or Code. See content/capabilities.yaml (chat, mobile-apps).
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Phase 1: Say What You Want

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On a phone
Good news: you can do this whole lesson on a phone. Prompting happens in Chat, which is on the free plan and on the mobile app (see content/capabilities.yaml: chat, mobile-apps). Everything below is the same in the Claude app: the message box is at the bottom, and where a step says "press Enter," you tap the send button instead.

Vague In, Vague Out

Tool: Chat ~3 min
Open Claude. You start in Chat. The message box at the bottom is where you type. That's all this lesson uses, and Chat is free (see content/capabilities.yaml: chat).
Here's the whole idea of this lesson in one line: a vague ask gets a vague answer. "Write me something about dogs" could go a thousand directions. Watch what happens when you ask clearly instead. Copy this and send it (press Enter, or tap the send button on a phone):
Prompt: copy and paste into Chat 
Write a friendly 3-sentence email to my neighbor asking if I can borrow their ladder this weekend. Keep it casual and warm.
Read the reply. You got something usable on the first try, because the prompt said four things: what (an email), to whom (a neighbor), how long (3 sentences), and the tone (casual and warm). That's the pattern for the rest of this lesson.
Note
The four parts of a clear prompt: what you want, context, format, and (when it helps) an example. You just used two of them. The next three activities add the rest.

Give It Context

Tool: Chat ~4 min
Context is the background Claude can't see: who it's for, what you're working with, what matters to you. The more relevant context you give, the better the fit. Run this one:
Prompt: copy and paste into Chat 
Help me plan a simple weeknight dinner. Context: I'm cooking for two people, one of us doesn't eat pork, I have about 30 minutes, and I'm a beginner cook. Suggest 3 options with a one-line reason for each.
Notice how specific the suggestions are, because you told Claude the constraints. Now try it with your own context.
Safety first

Before you paste your own details

Anything you type into Chat is sent to Claude to answer you (it doesn't leave for anyone else, but it does leave your device). So share the context that helps, and leave out things you wouldn't want to send: passwords, full account or card numbers, and other people's private information. You can always describe a situation without the sensitive parts.
Prompt: fill in the brackets, then paste into Chat 
Help me with this: [WHAT YOU NEED]. Context: [WHO IT'S FOR, WHAT YOU'RE WORKING WITH, AND ANYTHING THAT MATTERS]. Give me 3 options with a one-line reason for each.

Replace the bracketed parts with your real situation before you send it.

Note
Context is the part beginners skip most, and it's the part that makes the answer feel like it was written for you, not for anyone.

Ask for the Format

Tool: Chat ~3 min
If you don't say how you want the answer shaped, Claude picks for you, usually paragraphs. Name the format and you get something you can use right away: a list, a table, steps, a certain length. Try it:
Prompt: copy and paste into Chat 
Give me a checklist for getting an apartment ready to move out. Format it as a numbered list with exactly 6 items, each 12 words or fewer.
You got a tidy, skimmable list instead of a wall of text, because you asked for one. Format words that work well: "as a bulleted list," "as a table with columns for X and Y," "in 3 short paragraphs," "in under 100 words," "step by step."
Note
Same question, different format, completely different usefulness. When the shape of the answer matters, say the shape.

Show an Example

Tool: Chat ~4 min
The fastest way to get the style you want is to show one. Give Claude a small example of "good," and it matches it. Run this:
Prompt: copy and paste into Chat 
Rewrite this text message to sound polite and professional: "hey did you send that thing yet lmk". Here's an example of the tone I want: "Hi, just checking in on the document we discussed. Let me know when you have a moment. Thanks!" Match that tone.
The rewrite matched your example, not some generic idea of "professional." When it's hard to describe what you want, show a sample instead. One line is often enough.
Note
That's all four parts: what, context, format, example. You won't need every part every time, but when an answer misses, one of these four is usually what was missing.

Phase 2: Get It Right the Second Time

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Steer With Follow-Ups

Tool: Chat ~3 min
The first answer is a starting point, not the final one. You don't restart. You steer, right in the same conversation. Ask Claude for something to work with:
Prompt: copy and paste into Chat 
Write a short thank-you note to a friend who helped me move this weekend.
Now steer it. Send this as your next message (no need to repeat the whole request):
Prompt: copy and paste into Chat 
Make that about half as long, and warmer, like I'm texting a close friend, not writing a card.
See how it adjusted without losing the thread? Follow-ups that work: "make it shorter," "more formal," "add a line about X," "give me 3 versions," "explain that more simply." Keep steering until it's right.
Note
Claude remembers the conversation, so you can build on the last answer instead of starting over. Most good results come from the second or third message, not the first.

Let Claude Write the Prompt

Tool: Chat ~3 min
Stuck on how to ask? Hand that job to Claude. Describe the result you want in plain words and let it write the sharp prompt for you:
Prompt: fill in the brackets, then paste into Chat 
I want to write a better prompt. Here's what I'm trying to get: [DESCRIBE WHAT YOU WANT, EVEN ROUGHLY]. Ask me up to 3 quick questions if you need them, then write a clear, specific prompt I can copy and reuse.
Answer its questions, and you'll get a prompt that's better than most people write by hand. This one trick covers you any time you're not sure how to start.
If the answer still isn't right
  • It answered the wrong thing. Add context: tell it who it's for and what you're working with.
  • The shape is off (too long, wrong structure). Name the format: a list, a table, a word count, "step by step."
  • The tone or style is generic. Show a one-line example of what "good" looks like and say "match this."
  • It's close but not quite. Don't restart. Send a follow-up: "shorter," "warmer," "add X."
Note
Claude can be confident and still be wrong: it can get a fact or a detail off. For anything that matters (a name, a number, a date, medical or legal specifics), check it before you rely on it.

Build Your Own (Capstone)

Tool: Chat ~4 min
Put it together on something real. Think of one thing you'd actually like help with today. Then fill in this template (it's the four parts in order) and send it:
Prompt: fill in the brackets, then paste into Chat 
[WHAT YOU WANT: the task, e.g. "Write a LinkedIn post about my new job"]

Context: [WHO IT'S FOR AND ANYTHING THAT MATTERS]
Format: [LENGTH, STYLE, OR STRUCTURE YOU WANT]
Example (optional): [PASTE A SHORT EXAMPLE OF THE STYLE, IF YOU HAVE ONE]
Read what came back, then steer it with a follow-up or two until it's exactly right. That loop (clear ask, then refine) is the whole skill.
That's practical prompting. You can now ask on purpose instead of hoping, and fix any answer that misses. Every lesson after this gets easier because of it.
Note
Keep that template somewhere handy. Nine out of ten times, a disappointing answer just means one of the four parts was missing. Add it and try again.