Writing Effective Prompts

The way you communicate with Impact Learning directly affects the quality of your output. This guide covers the fundamentals of writing prompts that get results.

The STAR Framework

Use the STAR framework for comprehensive prompts:

Situation

Describe the context and background:

We're creating onboarding training for a software company. 
New employees come from various backgrounds and may not 
have tech experience.

Task

Clearly state what you want:

Create an interactive module teaching employees how to 
use our internal ticketing system.

Audience

Define who will use the content:

Target audience: New hires in customer support, ages 22-35, 
comfortable with computers but unfamiliar with our specific tools.

Requirements

List specific needs and constraints:

Requirements:
- 5-7 minute completion time
- Include step-by-step walkthrough
- Add practice exercises after each section
- Use screenshots of the actual interface
- End with a 5-question knowledge check

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Specificity Levels

Too Vague

Make safety training

Problem: No context about topic, audience, format, or length.

Better

Create safety training for our warehouse team

Improvement: Adds topic and audience, but lacks detail.

Best

Create forklift safety training for warehouse employees with:
- Pre-operation checklist walkthrough
- 3 scenarios showing common hazards
- Emergency procedure guide
- 10-question assessment (80% to pass)
- Estimated duration: 20 minutes
- Tone: Serious but not alarming

Why it works: Clear scope, specific requirements, defined success criteria.

Prompt Components

Opening Statement

Start with what you want to create:

"Create a..."
"Build an interactive..."
"Design a scenario where..."
"Generate a quiz about..."

Content Specifications

Detail what should be included:

Include:
- Introduction explaining why this matters
- 3 main sections with examples
- Interactive elements in each section
- Summary with key takeaways

Format Guidelines

Specify how content should be structured:

Format:
- Use bullet points for procedures
- Include images for each major step
- Add audio narration for accessibility
- Mobile-friendly layout

Style Direction

Guide the tone and visual approach:

Style:
- Professional but approachable
- Use company colors (blue #0066CC, gray #333333)
- Modern, clean design
- Avoid jargon, explain technical terms

Do's and Don'ts

Do

Be explicit about what you want and don't want
Use examples when describing a desired style or format
Break down complex requests into smaller parts
Specify quantities (number of questions, scenarios, sections)
Define success (what does "done" look like?)

Don't

Assume the AI knows your context — provide background
Use ambiguous terms without definition ("make it good")
Ask for everything at once in complex projects
Skip the audience — who uses this matters
Forget constraints — time, length, technical limits

Formatting Your Prompts

Use Structure

Structured prompts are easier to process:

GOAL: Customer service scenario training

AUDIENCE: 
- New support representatives
- No prior customer service experience
- Ages 20-30

CONTENT:
1. Greeting and opening scenarios
2. Handling complaints
3. Escalation procedures
4. Closing conversations positively

FORMAT:
- Interactive branching scenarios
- Audio for customer dialogue
- Visual feedback on choices
- Score tracking

CONSTRAINTS:
- 15 minutes total
- 4 scenarios maximum
- Mobile-compatible

Use Markdown

Impact understands markdown formatting:

Create training with these sections:

## Module 1: Introduction
- Welcome message
- Learning objectives
- How to navigate

## Module 2: Core Concepts
- Definition of key terms
- **Important**: Highlight compliance requirements
- Examples with visuals

## Module 3: Assessment
- 10 multiple choice questions
- Immediate feedback
- Certificate upon 80% pass rate

Examples by Content Type

For Scenarios

Create a branching scenario about [topic]:

Setting: [describe the situation]
Learner role: [who they play]
Goal: [what they need to achieve]

Include:
- Initial situation setup
- [X] decision points
- Realistic dialogue options
- Consequences for each choice
- Debrief explaining best practices

For Assessments

Create an assessment about [topic]:

Question types: [multiple choice, true/false, etc.]
Number of questions: [X]
Difficulty: [beginner/intermediate/advanced]
Passing score: [X%]

Include:
- Clear, unambiguous questions
- Plausible distractors
- Feedback for each answer
- Final score and review option

For Interactive Content

Create interactive content teaching [skill/topic]:

Interaction type: [drag-drop, click-reveal, etc.]
Learning objective: [what they'll be able to do]
Scaffolding: [how difficulty progresses]

Include:
- Instructions for the learner
- Immediate feedback on actions
- Option to retry
- Connection to real-world application

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: The Kitchen Sink

Bad:

Create a complete onboarding program with videos, quizzes, 
scenarios, certificates, gamification, social features, 
analytics, multiple languages, accessibility features, 
custom branding, and integration with our LMS.

Better: Start with one module, then expand.

Mistake 2: No Success Criteria

Bad:

Make the training engaging

Better:

Make the training engaging by:
- Adding a scenario every 3 minutes
- Including interactive elements learners must complete
- Using conversational, friendly language
- Adding progress indicators

Mistake 3: Conflicting Requirements

Bad:

Create a comprehensive, detailed training that's also 
quick and simple to complete in 5 minutes.

Better: Choose one focus or split into multiple modules.

Writing Effective Prompts

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