WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.780 --> 00:00:03.240
Picture a Hamilton accountancy office.

2
00:00:03.260 --> 00:00:04.160
It's made up,

3
00:00:04.180 --> 00:00:05.720
but the job is real.

4
00:00:05.740 --> 00:00:09.100
A client needs a reminder to send in a document.

5
00:00:09.230 --> 00:00:10.730
The quickest prompt is,

6
00:00:10.750 --> 00:00:12.010
write an email.

7
00:00:12.030 --> 00:00:14.170
But that leaves Copilot guessing.

8
00:00:14.190 --> 00:00:15.050
No date.

9
00:00:15.070 --> 00:00:16.090
No source.

10
00:00:16.110 --> 00:00:17.770
No clear next step.

11
00:00:17.790 --> 00:00:19.690
So it fills the gaps for you…

12
00:00:19.710 --> 00:00:23.150
politely, and not always correctly.

13
00:00:24.130 --> 00:00:26.670
Microsoft's own guidance breaks a good prompt

14
00:00:26.690 --> 00:00:28.270
into four parts.

15
00:00:28.290 --> 00:00:29.150
Goal.

16
00:00:29.170 --> 00:00:30.270
Context.

17
00:00:30.290 --> 00:00:30.990
Source.

18
00:00:31.010 --> 00:00:33.170
And expectations.

19
00:00:34.300 --> 00:00:36.860
The goal: a reminder email.

20
00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:40.020
The context: a busy client who already uses

21
00:00:40.040 --> 00:00:41.500
the secure portal.

22
00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:43.980
The source: the notes you paste in.

23
00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:45.460
And the expectations:

24
00:00:45.480 --> 00:00:46.593
a subject line,

25
00:00:46.613 --> 00:00:47.780
a calm tone,

26
00:00:47.800 --> 00:00:50.080
and under a hundred words.

27
00:00:52.060 --> 00:00:54.120
Here are our invented notes.

28
00:00:54.140 --> 00:00:56.040
Last month's bank statement.

29
00:00:56.060 --> 00:00:57.960
Due by the end of next week.

30
00:00:57.980 --> 00:01:01.260
Uploaded through the existing secure portal.

31
00:01:01.390 --> 00:01:03.837
A tip: write the notes first,

32
00:01:03.857 --> 00:01:04.997
then the instruction,

33
00:01:05.017 --> 00:01:06.437
and keep them apart.

34
00:01:06.457 --> 00:01:08.597
That way you can always see which parts are

35
00:01:08.617 --> 00:01:10.837
facts, and which parts describe what you want

36
00:01:10.857 --> 00:01:11.977
back.

37
00:01:12.107 --> 00:01:14.167
Now add two guard rails.

38
00:01:14.187 --> 00:01:16.287
Use square-bracket placeholders for anything

39
00:01:16.307 --> 00:01:17.327
that's missing.

40
00:01:17.347 --> 00:01:18.807
And don't invent a link,

41
00:01:18.827 --> 00:01:21.627
a fee, or a legal deadline.

42
00:01:22.607 --> 00:01:24.987
Read the first draft against your notes.

43
00:01:25.007 --> 00:01:27.227
Then ask for one change.

44
00:01:27.247 --> 00:01:28.387
Make it warmer,

45
00:01:28.407 --> 00:01:31.407
but keep the facts exactly the same.

46
00:01:31.537 --> 00:01:33.037
Here's what to look for.

47
00:01:33.057 --> 00:01:35.357
Our illustrative draft reads nicely,

48
00:01:35.377 --> 00:01:37.197
but it added a line:

49
00:01:37.217 --> 00:01:39.717
late documents may incur a fee.

50
00:01:39.737 --> 00:01:41.157
That wasn't in the notes.

51
00:01:41.177 --> 00:01:43.057
So out it goes.

52
00:01:43.187 --> 00:01:44.927
Compare the two versions.

53
00:01:44.947 --> 00:01:46.687
Does the date still match?

54
00:01:46.707 --> 00:01:49.007
Is the portal wording unchanged?

55
00:01:49.027 --> 00:01:51.347
Has a new promise crept in?

56
00:01:52.277 --> 00:01:54.897
Underline every claim you could check.

57
00:01:54.917 --> 00:01:56.777
If a claim has no source,

58
00:01:56.797 --> 00:01:59.537
cut it, or mark it as a question for the person

59
00:01:59.557 --> 00:02:01.157
responsible.

60
00:02:02.137 --> 00:02:04.517
The same habit works everywhere.

61
00:02:04.537 --> 00:02:06.917
A Christchurch builder's quote cover note?

62
00:02:06.937 --> 00:02:09.317
The price and the terms stay in the approved

63
00:02:09.337 --> 00:02:10.617
quote.

64
00:02:10.747 --> 00:02:12.887
Meeting notes for a Wellington team?

65
00:02:12.907 --> 00:02:14.967
Keep what was proposed separate from what

66
00:02:14.987 --> 00:02:16.167
was decided.

67
00:02:16.187 --> 00:02:18.407
Don't fill the gaps just to make a table look

68
00:02:18.427 --> 00:02:19.707
tidy.

69
00:02:19.837 --> 00:02:22.564
And remember, a change in style can change

70
00:02:22.584 --> 00:02:23.644
the meaning.

71
00:02:23.664 --> 00:02:26.004
So check against the source again after every

72
00:02:26.024 --> 00:02:27.464
revision.

73
00:02:28.444 --> 00:02:30.344
Try the examples in the lessons,

74
00:02:30.364 --> 00:02:31.784
in an approved Chat account,

75
00:02:31.804 --> 00:02:33.024
or on paper.

76
00:02:33.044 --> 00:02:35.304
Then save one prompt you'd reuse,

77
00:02:35.324 --> 00:02:36.864
with spaces for the task,

78
00:02:36.884 --> 00:02:38.584
the audience, the source,

79
00:02:38.604 --> 00:02:40.204
and the limits.

80
00:02:40.334 --> 00:02:42.741
A good prompt makes the job clear.

81
00:02:42.761 --> 00:02:44.861
A person still checks the result before it

82
00:02:44.881 --> 00:02:46.361
goes out.