The Sculpting Mindset
The first answer from an AI is a "block of marble." Your job is to chip away at it until the statue appears. This is done through Follow-Up Prompts.
The Rule of Three
Most professional results require 3 iterations:
1. The Draft: Get the basic facts on the page.
2. The Pivot: Adjust the tone, length, or focus.
3. The Polish: Clean up the formatting and check for accuracy.
Polishing Recipes
Tone Adjustment
When the result is too robotic, too aggressive, or too vague.
"This is too formal. Rewrite this to sound like a helpful coworker—keep it professional but make it more approachable and less corporate."
The Compression
When the AI is "rambling" or including too much fluff.
"This is too long. Remove the introduction and the conclusion. Give me the core findings in 3 punchy bullet points."
Depth Expansion
When the answer is too generic and needs "meat" on the bones.
"The second point is too vague. Please expand on that specifically, provide a real-world example, and explain why it matters for our business."
The Final Audit
Ensuring the final version is logically sound and error-free.
"Review this final draft. Are there any contradictions? Did we miss any of the original requirements? If so, list them and then fix them."