What if the fastest way to improve your AI prompts was to ask the AI to do it for you?
By Linda Pophal, MA, SPHR · Strategic Communications, LLC
Prompt engineering is the practice of crafting precise, well-structured instructions for generative AI tools—specifying context, desired format, tone, audience, and output type—to produce more accurate, relevant, and useful responses. As AI tools become standard in professional workflows across every industry, the ability to write effective prompts is rapidly emerging as one of the most consequential skills in the modern workplace. And like most skills, it improves with deliberate practice not just use.
I’ve been an early adopter of AI tools. I’ve used tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity extensively in my own work and for clients, and I’ve been intentional about trying to improve my prompt writing skills along the way.
One of the most common mistakes I see many businesses fall prey to, and especially small businesses, is focusing too much on getting in new customers/clients and not enough on nurturing the customers they already have. I think most businesspeople are widely familiar with data that indicates that existing customers represent more value in terms of repeat business, at less investment of time and money, than seeking new clients/customers. Yet far too many small businesses, perhaps because they’re worried about keeping the customer pipeline full, neglect the customers they already have.
Vinyl records. Audiotapes. Typewriters. Carbon paper. That white stuff that Mike Nesmith’s mom invented that we used to use to correct typing errors. Rotary phones. The Post Office (well, not yet…). Look back over the past 10, 20 or 50 years, and you’ll find countless examples of products and services that simply no longer exist — or that have morphed into something else. Products and services that, for whatever reasons, have become obsolete.
It’s fair to say that few, if any, companies—or their communication staff—were prepared to respond quickly and appropriately to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. As millions of employees suddenly found themselves working remotely from their homes and millions of customers found themselves suddenly shut off from the companies and brands they typically engaged with, communication professionals began grappling with important questions, including the following: 
It’s hard to overstate the value of relationships in business. And, while it’s true for companies of any size, this can be especially crucial for success among small and