AI as a Creative Thought Partner, Part 3: Prompting Like a Pro - The Lego Analogy

 If you’ve ever felt frustrated by an AI response, you’re not alone. Often, the problem isn’t the tool, it’s the prompt. Learning how to craft effective prompts is key to unlocking AI’s potential as a thought partner.

And the best way to understand prompting? Think of Legos.

The Lego Analogy

AI is trained on vast amounts of data, imagine each piece of information as a Lego brick. When you give AI a prompt, you’re asking it to assemble those bricks into something meaningful.

Here’s the catch: all the Lego bags are dumped out on the floor. The AI has the instruction manuals, but it’s grabbing bricks from all over—sometimes from the right set, sometimes from a different one.

If your prompt is vague, you get a messy build. If your prompt is specific, structured, and clear, AI can assemble something closer to what you had in mind.

Three Keys to Prompting

  1. Context – Tell AI who you are and what you’re trying to accomplish.

    • Example: “I’m a high school history teacher creating a lesson on the Cold War.”

  2. Specificity – Give details about what you want.

    • Example: “Make it a 45-minute lesson with discussion questions and primary sources.”

  3. Structure – Tell it how you want the response formatted.

    • Example: “Provide the lesson as a bulleted outline with an opening activity, main content, and closing reflection.”

Put together, context + specificity + structure = better results.

Real-Life Examples

  • Dinner planning: A vague prompt like “Give me a dinner idea” produces a random recipe. But “Give me a quick Italian chicken pasta dish under 30 minutes with no spinach” narrows it down to something you can actually cook.

  • Travel planning: Asking for “best hikes in Hawaii” gives irrelevant results. But “five best hikes within 20 minutes of Waikīkī Beach, under five miles, with a waterfall” gives exactly what you need.

Ask AI for Help with Prompts

One of the best strategies? Ask AI to help you write better prompts. Simply say:

  • “How can I improve this prompt?”

  • “What information would make your answer more accurate?”

AI can coach you on how to ask better questions, turning you into a more effective partner.

Why This Matters

The better the prompt, the better the partnership. Poor prompts lead to surface-level answers. Strong prompts open doors to deeper insights, creative ideas, and refined thinking.

📌 Next up in Part 4: From Audience to Roleplay—how tone and role-based prompting can expand creativity with AI.

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