There's a lot of talk about "prompt engineering," as if there are magic words. There aren't. There's clear writing, aimed at the right level.
Two different things
| Prompt | Instructions | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Today's request | The standing job description and rules |
| Lifespan | This task | Until you change them |
| Example | "Draft a reply to Jim's email about the delay." | "Always draft. Never send without my yes. Sign as the owner." |
| ISO parallel | A work order | Procedures and work instructions |
A manager doesn't re-explain company policy every time they hand someone a task. They hand over the task. The policy is already known. Bots work best the same way.
Writing a good prompt
A good prompt is a good request. It says:
- What you want. "A one-page summary."
- Who it's for. "For the plant manager, who hasn't seen this project."
- What to use. "From the attached test report."
- What done looks like. "Three bullets of findings, one recommendation."
That's it. You don't need to say "you are a world-class expert." You need to say what you need.
Writing good instructions
Instructions are harder, because they have to hold up across hundreds of tasks. Good ones are:
- Short at the top. Who the bot is, its one job, and what it never does.
- Specific where it counts. "Prices come from the price list file, never from memory."
- Clear about limits. An anti-job list: "I don't send email. I don't change the schedule." See Say what it isn't.
- Split into skills. Detail for each task goes in its own skill file, loaded when needed. See Work instructions are skills.
Common mistakes
- Rules in the prompt. You type "and don't forget to cc Sarah" every day. That belongs in instructions.
- Instructions that fight. "Be brief" in one place, "be thorough" in another. The bot will pick one, and you won't know which.
- Vague words. "Professional." "Soon." "Important." Say what you mean.
- One giant document. In our review of 90 marketplace templates, nearly all kept core memory short and moved detail into skills (good-practice.md).
A real example
Our AN Creation project manager bot doesn't get told each morning how to save a record. A skill handles that, step by step. The owner's prompt can be as short as "log today's tooling call." The instructions do the rest.
What this means for you
- If you type it twice, it belongs in instructions.
- If it changes every time, it belongs in the prompt.
- Read your instructions as if you were a new hire. Would you know what to do?
The magic isn't in the words. It's in knowing which words go where.