What is a Prompt?

A prompt is just a way of telling an AI what you want it to do. It’s like giving instructions or asking a question to get the kind of response you’re looking for. The better your prompt, the better the answer you’ll get!

Think of it like talking to a helpful assistant: if you’re clear and specific, you’ll get a response that’s closer to what you need. Whether it’s writing an email, explaining a concept, or creating a story, the prompt sets the stage for the AI to do its thing.
 

Writing Better Prompts with the TRACI Method

Want more accurate and useful responses from AI tools? Try using the TRACI Method — a simple but powerful framework designed to help you craft more effective prompts. TRACI stands for:

• Task: Clearly define what you want the AI to accomplish.
• Role: Specify the role the AI should assume while generating the response.
• Audience: Identify the intended audience for the output.
• Context: Provide relevant background information or context.
• Instructions: Give specific guidelines or formatting requirements.

🧠 Why use TRACI?

Using this method helps generate responses that are more relevant, on-brand, and tailored to your needs—especially in marketing, communications, or customer engagement scenarios.

New to AI prompt writing?

Take our free 15-minute course:
AI Prompt Writing for Communication & Marketing Professionals

 

Example Prompt

Scenario: You want to generate a persuasive media pitch to convince a journalist to cover your company’s new AI-powered software tool.

TRACI Breakdown:

• Task: Write a persuasive media pitch.

• Role: Assume the role of a PR specialist.

• Audience: A busy, oversaturated journalist in the AI/tech space.

• Context: The new AI tool streamlines PR workflows and reduces time spent on routine tasks by 30%.

• Instructions: Use professional language, highlight key benefits, and include a strong call to action.

Final Prompt (TRACI-optimized):

Act as a PR specialist writing a persuasive media pitch to a tech journalist who receives countless generic outreach emails. Your goal is to break through the noise and convince them to cover a new AI software tool that helps PR professionals save 30% of their time by automating routine workflow tasks. Use professional, compelling language, emphasize the key benefits and differentiation of the tool, and end with a clear, actionable next step (e.g., scheduling a briefing or requesting more information).

Tips & Tricks

1. Be Specific 
   Clearly define each TRACI element—Task, Role, Audience, Context, and Instructions. Vague inputs lead to vague outputs.

2. Prioritize Clarity 
   Keep your instructions concise, direct, and free of jargon. The clearer your prompt, the more focused and useful the response.

3. Anticipate What the AI Needs 
   Think ahead: What background, tone, or formatting details will help the AI generate something truly valuable? Add that to your context or instructions.

4. Iterate & Improve 
   Don’t be afraid to tweak your prompt! If the first result isn’t quite right, adjust one or two elements and try again. Prompting is a creative process.

Pro Tip: Save successful prompts as templates you can reuse and adapt.

Prompt Library

We know writing clear and effective prompts can be tough, especially if you’re not used to working with AI tools.

To help get you a head start on top of the guidance given in the previous section, we’ve compiled a library of prompts categorized by their function and what they’ll produce for you. 

These prompts are written with easily identifiable placeholders so that you can easily tailor to your own brand, market, or competitor needs!

Places to find our prompt library:

1. Access directly in the application 
2. Access within mCommunity 

Our prompt library has the same content and functionality regardless of where you access it from