The Art of Prompting - Basic Communication with AI

AI Over 40 Series – Week 3

Many of us have treated AI like a fickle search engine—demanding perfect queries, agonizing over keywords, and double-checking every answer for “hallucinations.” That approach quickly becomes exhausting and unscalable. In this week’s installment of our “AI for the Over 40” series, we’ll flip the script: instead of engineering flawless prompts, let’s think of AI as a master improv actor—flexible, creative, and eager to collaborate.

From search engine to improv actor

• The Old Mindset: Craft the perfect prompt, load every detail up front, and hope for the best.
• The New Mindset: Cast your AI in a role, set the scene, and then build organically—much like directing an improv performance.

Rather than memorizing elaborate prompt templates, simply start the “scene”:

1. Assign a role. “You’re an experienced CFO. How would you…”
2. Provide context as you go. “Here’s our current budget challenge…”
3. Guide the conversation. “Yes, and… what risks might we overlook?”

This conversational style mirrors human teamwork: you explain, clarify, redirect, and refine.

The “Yes, And” principle

Improv’s core rule is “Yes, and…” AI mimics this by continually building on your input—sometimes too eagerly. To counterbalance:

• Ask for devil’s-advocate analysis. “What could go wrong here?”
• Request worst-case scenarios. “Outline potential pitfalls.”
• Demand specificity. “Tailor this advice to the manufacturing sector.”

These prompts inject critical thinking and prevent unchecked optimism.

Casting Different AI “Actors”

Every AI model brings its own training “school”:

• Claude: Deep, method-actor style—thoughtful and thorough.
• ChatGPT: Versatile performer—quickly adapts to new roles.
• Gemini: Research-focused—checks facts and sources.
• Copilot: Corporate specialist—geared toward business workflows.

Use the same prompt across platforms to see how each “actor” interprets your scene.

Week 3 Challenge: Play with Roles

1. Identify a real business problem.
2. Choose a single AI platform. Start the dialogue like you would with a new consultant.
3. Experiment with roles.
   • “As a customer, what would concern you?”
   • “As a competitor, how would you react?”
4. Practice “Yes, And” redirects.
5. Document your iterations. Note your initial prompt, the refined version after a few rounds, and how each role changed the outcome.

Lowering the Bar, Raising the Payoff

By swapping strict “prompt engineering” for natural conversation, you’ll find AI becomes an agile collaborator—no PhD required. Drop the paralysis, embrace the improv, and let AI play the roles your business needs.

Your Turn: How has casting AI as an improv actor changed your prompting style? Which roles have unlocked new insights for your team? Share your experiences!

Next Week: We’ll explore AI’s limitations, such as why your improv partner can play a doctor but shouldn’t perform surgery.

Share your experiences on the full post on LinkedIn.

Read more AI and Copilot blogs.

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