Prompts and Instructions

Effective prompts and instructions are crucial for getting the best performance from your AI agents. This guide covers best practices for crafting clear, actionable instructions that help your agents understand exactly what you need.

Understanding Prompts

What is a Prompt?

A prompt is a set of instructions that tells your AI agent:

  • What task to perform
  • How to approach the task
  • What format to use for responses
  • Any constraints or requirements

Types of Prompts

System Prompts

Define the agent's role and general behavior:

You are a helpful project management assistant. Always be professional, 
concise, and focus on actionable insights. When analyzing data, 
provide clear summaries with key takeaways.

Task Prompts

Specific instructions for individual tasks:

Analyze the attached project timeline and identify potential bottlenecks. 
Provide a bullet-point list of risks and suggested mitigation strategies.

Context Prompts

Provide background information:

Our team is launching a new product in Q2. We're a startup with 15 employees, 
focusing on B2B SaaS solutions for small businesses.

Writing Effective Instructions

Be Specific and Clear

❌ Poor: "Help with my project" ✅ Good: "Create a weekly status report for Project Alpha including completed tasks, upcoming milestones, and identified risks"

Define the Output Format

❌ Poor: "Summarize this data" ✅ Good: "Create a 3-paragraph executive summary with: 1) Key findings, 2) Recommendations, 3) Next steps"

Provide Context

❌ Poor: "Write an email" ✅ Good: "Write a professional follow-up email to a potential client who attended our demo last week. Mention specific features they showed interest in and include next steps."

Set Constraints

  • Word/character limits
  • Tone and style requirements
  • Required information to include/exclude
  • Deadline considerations

Prompt Engineering Techniques

Chain of Thought

Help agents think step-by-step:

To solve this problem, first identify the key stakeholders, 
then analyze their needs, and finally propose solutions 
that address each stakeholder's concerns.

Few-Shot Examples

Provide examples of desired output:

Create a meeting summary following this format:

Example:
**Meeting**: Weekly Team Sync
**Date**: March 15, 2024
**Attendees**: John, Sarah, Mike
**Key Decisions**: 
- Approved new feature specification
- Postponed deployment to next sprint
**Action Items**:
- John: Update documentation by Friday
- Sarah: Schedule client review meeting

Role-Based Instructions

Assign specific roles to your agent:

Act as a senior business analyst with 10 years of experience. 
Review this proposal and provide feedback as you would to a junior team member.

Common Prompt Patterns

Analysis and Reporting

Analyze [data/document] and provide:
1. Executive summary (2-3 sentences)
2. Key findings (3-5 bullet points)
3. Recommendations (prioritized list)
4. Next steps (specific actions with owners)

Content Creation

Create [content type] that:
- Targets [audience]
- Maintains [tone/style]
- Includes [required elements]
- Follows [format/structure]
- Stays within [word count] words

Problem Solving

Given the problem: [problem description]
1. Identify root causes
2. Generate 3-5 potential solutions
3. Evaluate pros/cons of each
4. Recommend the best approach with reasoning

Iterating and Improving Prompts

Testing Your Prompts

  1. Start with a simple version
  2. Test with sample inputs
  3. Identify gaps or ambiguities
  4. Refine and add specificity
  5. Test again with edge cases

Common Issues and Solutions

Vague Responses

Problem: Agent gives generic answers Solution: Add more specific requirements and examples

Wrong Format

Problem: Output doesn't match expectations Solution: Provide clear formatting instructions and examples

Missing Context

Problem: Agent lacks necessary background Solution: Include relevant context in system or task prompts

Inconsistent Quality

Problem: Variable output quality Solution: Add quality criteria and review checkpoints

Advanced Techniques

Conditional Logic

If the data shows positive trends, focus on growth opportunities.
If the data shows negative trends, prioritize risk mitigation strategies.

Multi-Step Instructions

Step 1: Extract key metrics from the data
Step 2: Compare against previous periods
Step 3: Identify significant changes (>10% variance)
Step 4: Provide explanations for major changes
Step 5: Suggest actionable next steps

Quality Checkpoints

Before finalizing your response:
- Verify all numbers are accurate
- Ensure recommendations are actionable
- Check that the tone is professional
- Confirm all required sections are included

Best Practices Summary

Do:

  • Be specific about what you want
  • Provide clear examples
  • Set expectations for format and style
  • Include relevant context
  • Test and iterate your prompts

Don't:

  • Use vague or ambiguous language
  • Assume the agent knows your context
  • Forget to specify output format
  • Make requests too complex for a single prompt
  • Skip testing with real scenarios

Next Steps

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