Cutting Through the Noise: How to Write Game-Changing AI Prompts
Tripepi Smith’s client engagements range from parachuting in with a time-sensitive crisis communication campaign to strategizing months ahead on brand narratives and stakeholder engagement. Across this spectrum, we’re particularly proud to play one role: force-multiplier for public information officials.
It’s in that capacity that we’ve been monitoring the expansion of AI in government communications. With conference sessions hosted by the International City/County Management Association, League of California Cities and California Association of Public Information Officials praising AI’s ability to write content, synthesize data and generate ideas, the pressure to stay ahead of the curve is real.
We believe that no algorithm can replicate an excellent public communicator’s nuanced storytelling, agency insights and trusted relationships. However, when guided effectively, AI can liberate us from repetitive, time-consuming tasks that sap bandwidth and bury strategy under tactics. Like an elite athlete’s nutrition intake, only quality inputs can yield quality outputs. Thus, bespoke prompt writing is critical.
Tripepi Smith offers — by way of our media-monitoring partner Meltwater’s AI Prompt Writing for PR & Communication Professionals curriculum — a process for crafting clear, constructive prompts to generate outputs optimized for public information officials.
Consider these elements to empower you and your team with refined instructions that yield polished results:
- Assignment – What do you want to do? Define the task and state your objective, e.g., “draft a news article announcing a new community clean-up initiative.”
- Voice – What’s your role or perspective? Assign a persona to guide tone and expertise, e.g., “act as a seasoned PIO specializing in community engagement.”
- Audience – Who do you want to address? Identify your target audience, e.g., agency staff, reporters, residents or business owners.
- Style and Structure – How do you want to refine and present the content? Describe your desired style, e.g., accessible, friendly or not to exceed 300 words.
- Action – What’s your desired outcome? Clarify what you want the audience to do, e.g., enroll in the program, attend the kickoff event or share the content with their neighbors?
This attention to detail can help AI to successfully deliver more targeted, relevant drafts on the first pass. Then we recommend treating the tool like a conversation partner with whom you engage iteratively: refining prompts, asking follow-up questions and layering in the local context that only you can provide.
Want a summary of your city’s wildfire mitigation report? Ask AI to generate one — and then ask what’s missing. Want help with message personalization to craft unique remarks for several councilmembers? Suggest a few personas and observe how tone and language are tailored. The more you coach and provide feedback to AI, like training a new teammate to be increasingly successful, the more your partnership can thrive.
We’ve already used Meltwater’s AI functionality with remarkable results:
- Crisis Monitoring: Pinpointing negative media mentions early, assessing their reach and arming teams with response-ready audience insights.
- Campaign Personalization: Identifying trending issues, tailoring language and boosting public engagement.
- Content Strategy: Spotting posts and articles that resonate to replicate success across platforms without reinventing the wheel.
Armed with Meltwater’s enterprise-class tools, Tripepi Smith’s analytics team integrates AI to put our public agency clients at the forefront of media intelligence and purposeful communication. Drop us a line at Meltwater@TripepiSmith.com for a demonstration of our capabilities.
P.S. Remember to anonymize sensitive data. Your reputation is built on trust — don’t risk it by handing AI the keys to confidential information.