Stop Asking AI Questions. Start Giving It a Role.
One of the simplest ways to improve the quality of AI responses is to tell the AI who it should be before asking your question.
Instead of asking:
“Write a project plan.”
Try:
“You are an experienced Programme Director with 20 years’ experience delivering large digital transformation projects. Create a one-page executive project plan for implementing AI across a medium-sized organisation.”
Or instead of:
“Summarise this report.”
Try:
“You are a CEO preparing for a board meeting. Summarise this report into the five key strategic issues that require executive attention.”
Why It Works
Large Language Models respond differently depending on the role and context you provide.
By assigning a role, you encourage the AI to:
- Focus on what’s important to that audience
- Use more appropriate language and tone
- Deliver more practical recommendations
- Produce higher-quality outputs with less editing
Executive Challenge
This week, before every AI prompt, begin with:
“You are…”
For example:
- You are a CFO…
- You are an HR Director…
- You are a Marketing Director…
- You are a Management Consultant…
- You are a Risk Manager…
- You are an Executive Coach…
You’ll often notice a significant improvement in the quality, structure and relevance of the response.
🎯 Executive Takeaway
The quality of AI output is determined less by the AI model and more by the instructions you provide.
A simple change in how you frame your prompt can turn AI from a generic chatbot into a specialist adviser.
⏱ Time to implement: 2 minutes
⭐ Productivity gain: High
Difficulty: Beginner