Prompting fundamentals
The core patterns for clear, effective prompts you'll reuse across every Claude product — Claude.ai, Cowork, Claude Code, Tag, and Platform.
Five principles that do most of the work
Most prompting advice is really five ideas repeated in different words. Here they are, once, clearly.
Be specific about the outcome
"Write about our product" produces a generic paragraph. "Write a 150-word product description for a mid-market IT buyer, emphasizing setup time" produces something you can actually use. Specificity isn't length — it's naming the outcome you'd recognize as correct.
Give context, not just instructions
Claude doesn't know your audience, your constraints, or what "good" looks like for you unless you say so. A sentence of context (who this is for, what's already been tried, what to avoid) usually does more than five extra instructions.
Show the shape you want
If you need a specific format — a table, a five-bullet summary, a particular tone — show an example rather than describing it abstractly. Claude matches patterns well; it reads intent from examples faster than from adjectives.
Separate instructions from data
When you're asking Claude to act on a document, a transcript, or code, keep your instructions and the material clearly separated — instructions first, then a clear break, then the content. This prevents Claude from confusing your request with the material it's working on.
Iterate instead of perfecting the first draft
Treat the first prompt as a starting point, not a final exam. "Make the second paragraph shorter" or "try that again, but less formal" is a normal, fast way to work — not a sign the first prompt failed.
A pattern you can reuse every time
When you're not sure how to start, work through these four steps in order.
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01
State the goal in one sentence
What should exist when Claude is done? Write it as a plain statement before adding any constraints.
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02
Add the constraints that actually matter
Length, tone, audience, format, what to avoid. Skip constraints that don't change the outcome — extra rules add noise, not precision.
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03
Give one example, if the format matters
A single well-chosen example of the output you want usually beats a paragraph of description.
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04
Read the first draft as a starting point
Ask for one specific change at a time — shorter, more formal, cut the third point — rather than restating the whole prompt.
The same request, two ways
Both prompts ask for the same thing. Only one gives Claude enough to work with.
Write a status update for my team about the project.
Write a 4-sentence Slack status update for the design team. Cover: what shipped this week (the onboarding redesign), what's blocked (waiting on legal copy review), and next week's focus. Casual tone, no bullet points.
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