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HillwardJournal
Ask well1One task a week2What stays out3
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New to AI? Begin with three steps.

No coding. No big course. A little learning each week adds up. Take these in order, and give each one a week.

1

Learn to ask well

Most “bad” AI answers come from a vague request. The fix is a better ask. A simple way to remember what to include is CRAFT:

  • C
    Context · the situation, in a sentence or two
  • R
    Role · who the AI should act as
  • A
    Ask · the exact task
  • F
    Format · length and layout
  • T
    Tone · how it should sound

Compare these two requests.

VagueWrite a report on our staff training.
With CRAFTI manage HR for a 40-person company and we just finished a two-day staff training. Act as an experienced HR officer. Write a one-page summary for our director of what was taught and what we should do next. Use five short bullet points and a two-sentence conclusion. Keep the tone professional and plain.

This week: take one request you would normally type in a few words, and rewrite it using the five parts.

2

Pick one task a week

Do not try to learn everything. Choose one task you repeat often, such as replying to a long email, tidying meeting notes or summarising a report, and let AI help with that one task all week.

  1. Ask for a draft. Use CRAFT and paste in the facts.
  2. Read it like an editor. Check names, numbers and dates. AI can sound sure and be wrong.
  3. Make it yours. Change what does not sound like you, then send it under your name.
  4. Save the ask. Keep the prompt that worked, so next week takes half the time.

AI is a thinking partner, not a shortcut. You stay responsible for the final work.

3

Know what stays out

Before you paste anything into an AI tool, stop and check. These should not go into a public AI tool:

  • Sensitive personal data: health, religion, race or ethnic origin, political views, union membership, biometric data.
  • Staff and customer records: names linked to pay, appraisals, disciplinary cases, ID, bank or phone details.
  • Confidential business information: anything under an NDA, unpublished financials, passwords and access codes.
  • Information about children.

When in doubt, anonymise first: replace names with roles, remove ID numbers, phone numbers and exact figures, and type a short description instead of uploading the original file.

A quick test before you press Enter: Does it name or point to a real person? Would I be uncomfortable if it appeared on a colleague’s screen? Is it covered by an NDA? If yes to any, anonymise it or leave it out. This is general guidance based on the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, not legal advice.

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