You Don’t Need the Perfect AI Prompt to Write an Email

If writing the AI prompt is taking longer than writing the email, we got a problem.

And I see this happen with people who are new to AI all the time.

They know exactly what they need to accomplish. They can explain the situation to another person without a problem. But the minute they open ChatGPT or another AI tool, suddenly they think they need a special formula.

They start wondering:

• What are the correct words?
• Am I asking this the right way?
• Do I need one of those long prompt formulas?
• What if AI doesn’t understand me?
• What if I mess this up?

Now the tool that was supposed to help make the work easier has become another task on the to-do list.

It does not have to be that complicated.

You Already Know More About Prompting AI Than You Think

A client was sitting in my office trying to handle a simple business email and a few other things.

As I was working, I heard her say:

“Okay. Now let me see. How do I need to say this?”

I turned around and said:

“Gurl, stop it. If you don’t go copy and paste that text you sent me into that AI.”

Why? Because she had already explained exactly what she needed to me. It took her barely two sentences.

She knew the situation. She knew the problem. She knew what she wanted to accomplish.

But once AI got involved, she suddenly thought she needed to explain it some special kind of way. That is where many beginners make using AI harder than it needs to be.

How Do You Talk to AI Without a Complicated Prompt?

Start with plain language.

Think about how you would explain the task to a person who was helping you.

For example, instead of sitting there trying to create the “perfect ChatGPT email prompt,” you could say:

That’s a real instruction. You gave AI:

• The situation
• The problem
• What you need it to create

You can always improve the instructions after you see the first response. That is much easier than sitting in front of an empty chat box trying to design the perfect prompt before you begin.

Do Better AI Prompts Give Better Results?

They can.

There is structure you can use when writing AI prompts. More detailed instructions can help you get a more specific response.

You may eventually want to include things such as:

• Who the email is for
• Why you’re sending it
• The tone you want
• Important details that need to be included
• Things AI should leave out
• The type of response you want

Those details can improve the result.

But here’s the important part: You don’t have to master advanced prompting before you start using AI for everyday work.

If you’re a business owner, corporate professional, nonprofit professional, manager, or team member who simply needs help getting through the workday, start with the task in front of you. Then improve from there.

How Can AI Help With Business Emails?

Email is a good place for beginners to practice using AI because the task is easy to identify.

You might need help:

• Drafting a business email
• Rewriting an email to sound more professional
• Making a long email shorter
• Making an email easier to understand
• Creating a response from your notes
• Turning a repeated email into a reusable template
• Adjusting the tone of an email
• Organizing the information you want to communicate

The important part is that you remain responsible for the final email.

AI can help you draft and organize the words. You still need to read the response, check the details, make changes, protect private information, and decide what gets sent.

A Simple Way to Start Using AI for Email

When you get stuck, forget about trying to “sound like a prompt.”

Instead, start with: Here’s what’s happening.

Then: Here’s what I need.

That’s enough to start the conversation. You can look at what AI gives you and continue from there.

You might say:

• Make it friendlier.
• Make it shorter.
• Make this sound more like me.
• Add that I’m available Tuesday afternoon.
• Remove that sentence.
• Give me another version.

You’re communicating. That’s the point.

AI Can Help With the Work. You Still Make the Decision.

AI can draft and organize the words. You still review the facts, names, dates, tone, privacy, and your organization’s rules before anything is sent.

The Prompt Should Not Become Another Job

Yes, you can learn advanced AI prompting. Yes, prompt structure can help you get better and more detailed results.

But please don’t let the hunt for the “perfect prompt” keep you from using the tool at all.

You already know how to explain what you need. The problem is somebody convinced you that talking to AI had to be complicated.

Darling, it doesn’t.

Keep it simple.

This article was expanded from an original Toya da’ Techie LinkedIn post. Read the original post on LinkedIn →