Prompt Anatomy
75 minutes
Module 02
Prompt Anatomy
Five components. Sixty seconds. Every interaction transformed.
Charter Oak Strategic Partners
“Hey, can you help me put something together about our new product for the leadership meeting next week?”
This email arrives in your inbox every day.
You
Help me put something together about our new product for the leadership meeting next week.
Claude
Here's an outline for your leadership presentation: 1. Product Overview — Describe the key features... 2. Market Opportunity — Discuss the target market... 3. Timeline — Present the launch schedule...
Generic outline. No specifics. No voice. Not useful.
Five components
fix this.
Role
Who Claude should be. “Senior financial analyst” produces different language than “marketing intern.”
Context
The facts Claude needs. Company size, industry, situation. It works with what you give it.
Task
“Analyze” is vague. “Identify the three largest cost drivers and rank by percentage” is specific.
Constraints
Boundaries. “Under 500 words.” “No solutions over $50K.” “Assume no technical background.”
Format
The output shape. Bullets, narrative, table, email, slide outline. If you don’t specify, Claude guesses wrong.
The framework.
You are a senior product marketing manager who presents to C-suite executives weekly.
B2B inventory SaaS launching Q2. Three beta customers. $2M ARR target.
Write a 3-slide executive summary with headlines and supporting data points.
150 words per slide. No jargon. Assume no technical background.
Slide outline: headline, 3 bullets, speaker notes (50 words each).
You
Role: Product marketing manager for C-suite. Context: B2B inventory SaaS launching Q2, 3 beta customers, $2M ARR target. Task: 3-slide executive summary. Constraints: 150 words/slide, no jargon. Format: Slide outline with headlines and speaker notes.
Claude
Slide 1: “From 3 Beta Customers to Market” — Beta partners reduced inventory costs 34% in 60 days. Q2 launch positions us ahead of [Competitor]'s renewal cycle. Speaker notes: Open with the Meridian case study...
Specific. Actionable. Ready for the meeting.
Sixty seconds longer.
Six rounds of revision gone.
Transform the Email
Four groups. Four vague emails. One framework.
Rewrite using all five components. Test in Claude.
The group with the most usable output wins.
The pattern
Everyone remembers the Task.
Almost nobody provides
Constraints or Role.
Your Real-Work Prompt
Pick a task you do every week. Something that takes at least 30 minutes.
Write all five components. Test it in Claude.
This becomes the first entry in your Prompt Library.
Debrief
Which of the five components made the biggest difference in your output?
Debrief
Which component do you most often forget?
Context and Constraints. Every time.
Your new default.
Every prompt. Every time.
Next: the conversation as a steering wheel.
Four refinement types. One lever per turn. Five minutes to publishable output.