Ever asked ChatGPT or Gemini for help and gotten something so generic you wanted to delete it on sight?
The problem usually lies in a lack of detail in the prompt, not the tool itself.
That’s where the R.A.C.E. framework (from AI Quick Tips #142) comes in:
- Role: Who should ChatGPT pretend to be?
- Action: What do you want it to do?
- Context: What details matter for the task?
- Expectation: What’s the tone, style, or format you need?
Some Bad/Good Examples:
❌ "Tell me if this business idea is good."
✅ Role: You are a small business consultant who has launched dozens of successful service businesses.
Action: Evaluate this idea and identify its biggest strengths, weaknesses, and assumptions.
Context: My target audience is small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, and I have a limited marketing budget.
Expectation: Be honest, practical, and organize your response into clear sections with recommended next steps.
❌ "Write me a LinkedIn post."
✅ Role: You are a B2B content strategist.
Action: Write a LinkedIn post announcing my new goat yoga workshop.
Context: My audience is small business owners who are curious about combining fun and health but don't know where to begin. My goal is to encourage registrations without sounding overly promotional.
Expectation: Keep it under 250 words, fun, and finish with a simple, bleating call to action.
❌ "Can you help me market my business?"
✅ Role: You are a marketing strategist specializing in small businesses.
Action: Create a 30-day marketing plan to increase awareness and generate qualified leads.
Context: I own a donkey lawn mower service-based business that promotes environmentally friendly landscaping with the use of donkeys. My budget is under $500, and I have about five hours each week to dedicate to marketing.
Expectation: Focus on practical, low-cost tactics, organize the plan by week, and explain why each recommendation is worth my time.
This small shift turns “boring wall of text” into something you can actually use.
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