Workshop 1: AI Foundation
Discover how AI language models work and learn effective prompting with the 4 building blocks.
Workshop Toolkit
Copy a prompt and paste it into your AI tool.
1
Task to prompt
Turn my task into a clear prompt with: - A specific instruction - Relevant context - The desired result Ask 2 questions first if you need more information. My task: [describe in 1 sentence what you want to do]
2
Improve a prompt with the 4 building blocks
You are a prompt coach who helps me improve my prompts. Analyze my prompt and give me feedback based on the 4 building blocks: - TASK: Is it clear what needs to be done? - CONTEXT: Is there sufficient background information? - ROLE: Is a perspective or expertise defined? - FORMAT: Is the desired output format clear? For each building block, provide: 1. Score (present/partial/missing) 2. What's good 3. Concrete suggestion to improve it End with an improved version of my prompt. Here is my prompt: [PASTE YOUR PROMPT HERE]
Tips for after the workshop
- Try completing one concrete task with AI tomorrow. One is enough to get started.
- Never blindly trust AI output. Always check facts and sources yourself.
- Your first prompt is rarely the best. Refine based on what you get back.
- Separate your instruction from your content with brackets:
Improve this text: [paste text]. That way AI knows what the instruction is and where the input begins.
Frequently asked questions
Why does AI sometimes confidently give a wrong answer?
AI is not a database that looks up facts, but predicts the most likely next word. That's why it sometimes 'hallucinates': an answer that sounds convincing but is made up. Expect a few percent errors. So always check it yourself.
→ More about hallucinations and how to limit them
→ More about hallucinations and how to limit them
How do I write a prompt that actually works?
Use the 4 building blocks from the session: Task (what AI should do), Context (background), Role (from which expertise) and Format (what the end result looks like). Write your prompt in a text document first, paste it into the chat and improve based on the output. The first version doesn't have to be perfect.
→ More about effective prompting
→ More about effective prompting
How do I give AI enough context for a useful answer?
Treat AI like a new colleague: smart, but it doesn't know your organisation, role or goal. Everything you'd tell an intern, you also need to give the model. The more relevant context, the more useful and consistent the answer.
→ More about giving context
→ More about giving context
Can I have Copilot use my own documents?
Yes. Add a document as an attachment. Copilot can then summarise it, search it or answer questions about it. Work in a new chat per topic (new task = new chat), so old information doesn't pollute your answer.
→ How to prepare documents
→ How to prepare documents