DobieCore Learn

Lesson 1.4

Great Conversations Start with Great Context

Purpose

By the end of this lesson, you will know exactly what to tell AI before you ask it for anything. You will stop sending vague requests and start giving AI the six pieces of information it needs to give you answers that actually matter.

Use This When

  • You are about to ask AI for something important and want to get it right the first time
  • You keep getting answers that miss the point or sound generic
  • You want a simple checklist to run through before starting any AI conversation
  • You are tired of rewriting your request three times because the first answer was useless

Before You Start

Nothing. This lesson gives you a framework you will use in every AI conversation from now on.

The Six Things AI Needs from You

Think of starting an AI conversation like giving directions to someone who has never been to your town. The more context you provide, the closer they get to the right destination.

Here are the six things to tell AI every time:

  1. Who Are You? Tell AI about your business, your role, or your situation. Example: I own a

local cleaning company serving Western Kentucky.

  1. Who Is Your Audience? Who are you talking to? Examples: First-time customers, existing

customers, parents, small business owners, retirees.

  1. What Do You Want? Do not ask AI to “write something.” Tell it the outcome. Examples:

Generate ideas, explain something, write a Facebook post, review a document, improve clarity.

  1. What Information Do You Already Have? Give AI something to work with. Examples:

Photos, website, drafts, reviews, product descriptions, brand colors, logos, previous posts.

  1. What Should the Answer Look Like? Set the format, tone, and length. Examples: 200

words, bullet list, friendly, professional, reading level, include a call to action.

  1. What Should AI Avoid? This is huge. Tell AI what not to do. Examples: Do not exaggerate,

do not make up statistics, do not invent features, do not use corporate buzzwords, do not use emojis, do not use hashtags.

It may sound silly, but if AI knows what not to do, it becomes easier for it to focus on what you want.

Conversation Prompt

Copy and paste this into your AI chat when you are starting a new task:

“Before we start, let me give you the context you need.

  1. Who I am: [Your answer]
  2. Who my audience is: [Your answer]
  3. What I want: [Your answer]
  4. What I already have: [Your answer]
  5. What the answer should look like: [Your answer]
  6. What to avoid: [Your answer]

Now, please [state your actual request].”

Dobie Tip

You do not need to memorize the six questions. You need to remember that AI is guessing until you stop it from guessing. Every piece of context you add removes one possible wrong answer.

Follow-Up Questions

  • “Which of the six things I just told you was most helpful, and which one was missing or unclear?”
  • “If I had only given you half of that context, how would your answer have been different?”

  • “What follow-up question should you ask me before you start, based on what I just told you?”

  • “Give me a shorter version of my request using only the two most important pieces of context.”

Expected Result

By the end of this lesson, you should have:

  • ✔ The six context questions memorized or on a checklist ✔ One real business task rewritten

  • ✔ using all six questions
  • ✔ A reusable template you can paste into any AI chat before starting a task
  • ✔ The habit of giving context before making a request

Common Mistakes

Avoid these context traps:

Skipping the “who I am” step because it feels obvious. (You have introduced yourself zero times to this AI. It does not know you.)

Forgetting to say what the answer should look like. (Without this, you get a five-page essay when you wanted three bullet points.)

Leaving out what to avoid. (Without guardrails, AI defaults to the internet’s average. That is almost never what you want.)

Treating context as optional. (Context is not a bonus. It is the price of admission for a good answer.)

Instead, remember:

  • ✔ AI cannot read your mind, your website, or your mood.

  • ✔ Every missing piece of context is an opportunity for AI to guess wrong.

  • ✔ Spending two minutes on context saves twenty minutes fixing bad answers.

  • ✔ The six questions work for every AI and every task.

Why This Matters

Most people treat AI like a drive-thru window. They shout an order and hope the bag contains what they wanted. The six questions turn AI into a collaboration. When you give AI your identity, audience, goal, materials, format, and limits, you stop ordering from a menu and start working with a partner.

Save This

Save this template somewhere you can grab it quickly. Paste it into every new AI conversation before you make your request:

  1. Who I am:
  2. Who my audience is:
  3. What I want:
  4. What I already have:
  5. What the answer should look like:
  6. What to avoid:

Coming Up Next

Lesson 1.5: Tell AI What NOT To Do. Now that you know how to give AI great context, let us focus on the most underused tool in AI communication: the negative instruction.