The Problem with “Make This Better” and Other Vague Prompts

I literally saw someone type into AI: “Make this email better”.

Can you imagine the response they got? They were shocked that AI didn’t help them.

That’s because AI doesn’t clarify like a human would. It doesn’t pause and say, “Wait, what do you mean by better?” Instead, it fills in the blanks with assumptions based on patterns it’s seen before, not on what you actually meant.

In this case, AI likely guessed that your audience was professional, that “better” meant more detailed, and that formality was the goal. None of that may have been true. But unless you gave it more to work with, it had no choice but to make those leaps.

This is why communicating with AI isn’t about magic tricks or memorizing keywords. It’s about building three core skills: Clarity, Structure, and Purpose. Without those, AI fills in the blanks and often in ways that don’t help.

• Clarity means being specific about what you want.

• Structure is how you logically guide the AI so it doesn't wander.

• Purpose is knowing why you're using the tool in the first place—because if you don’t know the goal, the AI definitely doesn’t either.

And here’s where HR professionals need to pay attention: You don’t need to become a prompt engineer. But you do need to become a clear communicator, especially when your team starts relying on AI to generate reports, edit docs, draft training outlines, or answer policy questions.

That’s why Paul’s always nudging you to slow down and think through your prompt before hitting enter. If the AI’s responses have felt a little off lately, it’s not your fault—it’s your phrasing. And the good news is, you can fix that.

Why Prompting Smarter Matters for HR

1. You’re guiding others, not just yourself
When HR uses AI, it sets the tone for how the rest of the organization engages with it. If your team sees you using vague prompts and getting messy results, they’ll assume that’s all AI can do.

But if they see you leading with clarity like, “Summarize this for a first-time manager” or “Make this more engaging for remote employees”, they’ll learn how to work with AI more effectively, too. You become the model of what good prompting looks like.

2. AI assumptions can misalign with HR context
HR work is deeply human. It’s context-rich, tone-sensitive, and often legally nuanced. If AI fills in gaps on its own, it might unintentionally shift the message, tone, or accuracy of the response.

For example, asking “Write a policy for hybrid work” without details could generate a 10-page document that contradicts your actual values or regional compliance needs. Being specific upfront with directions like audience, format, tone, objectives, keeps the AI on track.

3. It saves time and builds trust in the tool
Ironically, a few extra seconds writing a better prompt saves minutes of fixing bad AI output. Plus, the more consistent and accurate your AI responses are, the more your team will trust it—and you.

You don’t need to know every technical term under the hood. You just need to know how to ask for what you want. And Paul’s here to help with that, one prompt at a time.

Takeaways:

1. AI doesn’t ask for clarity—it fills in the blanks, often incorrectly.

2. Building clarity, structure, and purpose into your prompt avoids confusion and saves time.

3. HR professionals must lead the way in showing others how to communicate effectively with AI.

Better prompts start with better thinking. And you’ve already got that part down. Let’s put it to work.

Before your next prompt, pause and ask: Am I clear? Is this structured? Do I know what I want the AI to do? Start there. You'll be amazed how much better the results get.

Ready to sharpen your clarity and prompt with purpose? Join Paul in The AI Klatch and turn those “meh” results into meaningful ones.

📄 Prompt of the Week

Use this prompt to learn how to reduce assumptions made by AI:

ROLE:
You are a clear-thinking workplace assistant with strong reasoning and communication skills. You rely on user-provided information to generate precise, relevant, and context-aware content without making unnecessary assumptions.

REQUEST:
Help me revise my ###ORIGINAL_PROMPT so that it reduces the number of assumptions made by AI. I want to improve the clarity, structure, and specificity of the prompt to get a more accurate and useful result.

GOAL:
Refine a vague or general prompt so that it communicates the intended audience, purpose, tone, and content expectations clearly. Avoid overly generic or assumed responses from the AI by guiding it with detailed instructions. Produce a version of the prompt that could be reused by others in similar HR roles.

INSTRUCTIONS:
• Analyze the prompt I provide and identify any vague or ambiguous elements.
• Suggest a revised version of the prompt that includes key context, such as audience, tone, format, and desired outcome.
• Explain what assumptions the original prompt likely triggered and how the revision addresses them.
• Ensure the prompt can be used by an HR professional for internal communications, documentation, or planning.

OUTPUT FORMAT:

1. Original Prompt

2. Revised Prompt

3. Assumptions Removed (bullet list)

4. Tips for Future Prompting

###ORIGINAL_PROMPT:

[Insert your original prompt or task request here]

🤩  The Fun Side of AI

Using AI doesn’t have to be all work. Here is a fun way to interact with AI.

Role Playing with AI

ROLE:

Assume the role of [an historical or famous person]

REQUEST:

With you acting as that role, I want to discuss [topic]

INSTRUCTION:

Step 1: Introduce yourself as that ROLE and provide me with a brief background about you.

Step 2: Provide me with a brief overview of the topic I have chosen.

Step 3: When I respond with a question, you will provide an answer that the ROLE would likely respond with.

Step 4: Ask me a follow-up question.

Step 5: Continue this dialogue back and forth until I say, "Thank You"

When I stay "Thank You" we will end the conversation and you will say, "Good Bye"