Three Patterns That Fix Most Prompt Frustrations

You already know how to write a good prompt — now make it land.

• Step-by-step — for complex thinking
• Few-shot — for a specific style
• Output formatting — for shared, scanned results

The Three Patterns at a Glance

Pattern	What you say	When to use it
Step-by-step	"Walk me through this step by step"	Complex multi-stage tasks
Few-shot	"Here are 2 examples — now do the same for…"	You have a specific style in mind
Output formatting	"Return your answer as a table with columns X, Y, Z"	Output will be shared, scanned, or reused

Tip: You can combine patterns.

How It Sounds in Real Work

Manufacturing · Step-by-step
"Walk me through, step by step, the likely root causes of a flash defect on cavity 3 of a polypropylene mold."

Data / ERP · Output formatting
"Return a table with columns Metric, Last Quarter, This Quarter, Percent Change for our top 5 SKUs."

BioTech CEO · Few-shot
"Here are 2 examples of a board briefing — now write one for Phase 2 enrollment."

Agile PM · Step-by-step
"Walk me through, step by step, how to plan next sprint given this backlog and capacity."

Your Turn

Scenario (Agile PM): Turn raw retrospective notes into a summary — what went well, what didn't, and 3 concrete next-sprint actions.

Which pattern (or combo) would you reach for?

• Step-by-step
• Few-shot
• Output formatting
• Combination

No wrong answer yet — just notice your reasoning.

Recap: Pick the Pattern That Fits

• Step-by-step — for complex thinking
• Few-shot — for a specific style
• Output formatting — for shared, scanned, or reused output

Next class (S2.C2): When the first answer isn't quite right.