What Makes a Prompt... a Great Prompt?

When?

I use this activity to introduce participants to the fundamental criteria of a good prompt. It serves as a transition to more tactical, hands-on work.

Suggested Flow

• Previous Activity: Like It or Not—participants explore the difference between fragile hacks and robust practices.
• Next Activity: The Building Blocks—a practical session where participants learn how to construct effective prompts step by step.

Key Learning

Most prompts are far from ideal. A great prompt meets three key criteria: it is focused, guiding, and dense, ensuring effective and reliable AI interactions.

Materials

• Criteria cards: Focused, Guiding, Dense
• Assessment cards for voting in plenary
• Example prompts (printed or displayed)

Step-by-Step

Step 1: Setup the Criteria Cards

I lay out the Focused, Guiding, and Dense criteria cards on the table so participants can reference them during the activity.

Step 2: Display a Prompt

I present an example prompt on a slide, or better yet, one I find live on the internet (such as here).

Step 3: Explain and Assess Focus

I explain what it means for a prompt to be focused (clear and specific in intent) and ask:

"Does this prompt meet the focus criterion?" Participants vote using assessment cards, and we discuss their responses briefly.

Step 4: Repeat for Guiding and Dense

I repeat the process for the Guiding and Dense criteria:

• Define the criterion.
• Ask participants to vote.
• Facilitate a discussion.

Optional: Brainstorm Improvements

For prompts that don’t meet the criteria, I guide participants in brainstorming ways to refine or improve them:

"How can we make this prompt more focused, guiding, or dense?"

Variants

• 💖 My Favorite Setup: I like to go online and find real-world examples. Most of the time, they’re quite poor. After displaying the prompt, I guide the group through the evaluation process step by step.
• Table Group Analysis: Each table receives a set of prompts to evaluate and discuss. They can vote collectively and share their decisions with the group.
• Virtual Workshop: I create a virtual canvas with the criteria and example prompts. Participants can vote digitally and discuss in breakout groups.
• Large Group Workshops: I’ve created a Stormz template that leverages the multiple criteria feature. This allows you to gather assessments from all tables in seconds, display live results to check for consensus, and facilitate a large group discussion.