Every prompt from Chapter 13 of Talking to AI — Second Edition. Tap Copy on any prompt and paste it into your AI tool of choice. 2 prompts from this chapter.
Output Cap Technique
Explain the difference between RAM and storage for a non-technical user in exactly three short sentences. Stop after the third sentence.
The Lean Prompt Template
Purpose: Ship a prompt that gets what you need without wasting tokens on unnecessary output
[Role, only if it clearly changes the output.] [Task in one clear sentence.] Source material: [paste only what is strictly needed] Output requirements: Format: [CSV / TSV / plain text / numbered list] Length: [exact cap, e.g. 'under 100 words' or 'exactly 3 sentences'] No preamble. No disclaimers. No closing summary. Stop after [specific signal, e.g. 'the last bullet point'].
Variables you can change
- Role: Keep it out unless it clearly changes the output
- Source material: Only include what the AI actually needs for this specific question
- Format: Cheapest format that serves your use case
- Length cap: Most outputs overshoot by 3 to 5 times when you do not set this
- Stop signal: Guards against the "let me know if you have questions" endings