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✓ Practical tip: ask for clarifying questions where the gaps matter
When you do not know everything the system needs, do not ask it to guess and then
blame it for its assumptions. Ask it first for a limited number of questions whose answers
would change the shape of the output or the decision.
• Set a ceiling, for example five questions only.

• Ask it to summarize what it understood before producing anything.
• Correct the assumptions, then begin the task.

● Remember: Section summary
• Key idea: A prompt is a set of inputs that describes the work and what success means. It
is not a short question.

• Practical decision: Begin with the purpose and the acceptance criterion, then add only
the context that is necessary.
• Mistake to avoid: Leaving decisive information for the system to guess, or flooding it
with detail that does not change the output.

2.2 Ask, Instruct, Collaborate: Three Levels of Interaction

◆ Key idea: do not use one level for every task.
An interaction may be a question that seeks an explanation, an instruction that produces

a defined output, or a staged collaboration that explores the problem, builds alternatives,
and reviews them. This is a teaching division prepared by the author to help choose how
much dialogue a task deserves. It is not a required technical taxonomy.

The first level is Ask. It suits a request for a definition, a distinction, or an example within a

defined scope. For instance: “Explain the difference between revenue and profit to a non-
specialist reader in four lines, then give an example from a small shop.” The task needs no
multi-stage plan, but specifying the reader’s level and the scope of the answer prevents

unwanted expansion.

The second level is Instruct. Here you do not want general information but an output that
performs a function: meeting minutes, a message, a comparison table, a decision memo, or

a list of questions. The delivery format, the constraints, and the success criteria become part
of the request. For instance: “Turn the following notes into minutes that include the
decisions, the owner, the deadline, and what still needs clarification. Do not add decisions

that are not stated.”

The third level is Collaborate. It suits open problems where we do not know the best
formulation of the task at the outset. Instead of requesting a final plan in one round, you can
begin with a diagnosis, then questions, then options, then a comparison, then a draft, then

a review.

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