Workshop 1: AI Foundation
Discover how AI language models work and learn effective prompting with the 3 building blocks.
Workshop Toolkit
Copy a prompt and paste it into Copilot.
1
Task to prompt
Turn my task into a clear prompt with the 3 building blocks: - Task: what needs to be done? Start with a verb and end with "so that". - Context: what do you need to know? Who is it for and what is going on? - Output: what do I want back? Which form and how precise? Ask 2 questions first if you need more information. My task: [describe in 1 sentence what you want to do]
2
Improve a prompt
Improve my prompt below. First ask me at most 3 questions about what is still missing, one question at a time. Then write an improved version with the headings Task, Context and Output. My prompt [paste your prompt here]
3
Set up Copilot
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 3 building blocks from the session: Task (what AI should do), Context (what AI needs to know) and Output (what you want back). 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. Ask yourself what a new colleague would ask: who is it for, what is going on? Give it that. 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