Day 8: Structure Makes You Dangerous
How to control AI output by giving it a framework to work within
Hey Alchemists,
In our last post I showed you why clarity beats creativity in prompting. I also gave you homework: rewrite that flawed prompt about "creative genius business ideas."
Let me show you my solution first, then we'll dive into why Structure Makes You Dangerous.
Fixing That Flawed Prompt
The Original Disaster:
Act like a creative genius and help me come up with some amazing ideas for growing my business that are totally unique and innovative and would really wow my customers.My Rewrite:
You are a business consultant analyzing growth opportunities. I run a [specific business type] with [revenue stage] serving [target customers]. Current challenge: [specific growth bottleneck]. Generate 3 growth strategies: one focused on increasing customer lifetime value, one on acquiring new customers, and one on operational efficiency. For each strategy, include: the core approach, one real example from a similar business, potential obstacles, and first step to test it. Skip anything requiring major capital investment.See the difference? Instead of asking for "amazing ideas," I'm asking for specific strategies with clear criteria.
The 4-Part Structure That Actually Works
Here's the framework I promised yesterday. I use this to turn any vague prompt into something that gets results:
1. Role & Expertise Stop saying "creative genius." Be specific about what kind of expertise you need.
"You are a B2B sales trainer with 15 years experience..."
"You are a content strategist who specializes in LinkedIn for consultants..."
"You are a project manager who's launched 20+ products at tech startups..."
2. Specific Context Replace vague goals with actual situations.
Instead of "grow my business" → "increase monthly recurring revenue from $15K to $25K"
Instead of "wow my customers" → "reduce customer churn in the first 90 days"
Instead of "amazing ideas" → "3 strategies I can test with current resources"
3. Clear Constraints Tell AI what NOT to do, not just what to do.
"Skip anything requiring more than $5K investment"
"Don't suggest social media strategies we're B2B enterprise"
"Avoid tactics that would require hiring people"
4. Output Format Define exactly how you want the response structured.
"Present as: Strategy name, 2-sentence description, real example, first action step"
"Format as numbered list with bold headers"
"Keep each section under 50 words"
That's why my rewrite of the flawed prompt actually works. It hits all four parts.
Here's What Happens When You Skip Structure
Two weeks ago, I watched someone struggle with this exact problem.
They needed help writing a proposal for a new client. Spent 20 minutes crafting what they thought was a detailed prompt:
You are an expert proposal writer. Help me create a proposal that will win this client and show them we're the right choice for their project. Make it compelling and professional.Three attempts. Three different generic proposals. None of them useful.
Why? No structure.
Then they tried this:
You are a marketing consultant writing a proposal to a 50-person SaaS company. They need help with lead generation—currently getting 200 leads/month but only converting 2%.
Proposal format:
1) Current state analysis (3 bullet points)
2) Our approach (4 phases with timelines)
3) Expected outcomes (specific metrics)
4) Investment (3 pricing tiers)
Tone: confident but not pushy. Length: 2 pages max.First try. Client loved it. Signed the contract.
The difference? They gave AI a container to work within.
Why Most People Hate Structure
I know the feeling structure feels limiting.
Like who wants to be put into a box.
But here's what I've learned: AI doesn't need creative freedom. It needs creative direction.
When you don't provide structure, AI has to guess what good output looks like. And its guesses are based on averages across millions of documents.
You don't want average. You want something that works for your specific situation.
Structure isn't limiting AI. It's focusing it.
The GAFF Method (My Daily Driver)
So now lets talk about my daily driver when I need quick but good results, I use this four-part structure:
G - Goal: What specifically do you want this to accomplish?
A - Audience: Who is this for? What do they care about?
F - Format: What structure should the output follow?
F - Feel: What tone, style, or constraints matter?
Here is a real example from last week:
Goal: Get 20+ comments on a LinkedIn post about AI tools without sounding like every other AI guru.
Audience: Marketing professionals who are curious about AI but haven't started using it yet. They're tired of hype.
Format: Personal story (50 words), 3 specific tools with real use cases, question that sparks debate.
Feel: Conversational, not preachy. No "game-changing" language. Share failures, not just wins."Result? 47 comments, 12 new connections, 3 client inquiries.
Now I am not saying this is the secret sauce for social media marketing this was just an example of what was the result of using this prompting crafting technique.
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Structure Templates That Actually Work
Here are my go-to structures for different situations:
For Analysis: "Current situation (data/facts), key patterns (2-3 trends), implications (what this means), recommendations (3 specific actions), timeline (when to implement)."
For Storytelling: "Setup (context in 20 words), conflict (what went wrong), resolution (how it was solved), lesson (what this means for the reader). Under 300 words total."
For Lists: "5 items. Each item: Bold headline (5-7 words), explanation (30-40 words), specific example (15-20 words). Start with least obvious, end with most actionable."
The Structure Test
Want to know if your prompt has good structure? Ask yourself:
Could someone else use this prompt and get similar results?
Does it specify format, length, and tone?
Would you know if the output was successful?
Could AI ask you clarifying questions? (If yes, answer them in the prompt.)
If any answer is no, add more structure.
Your Turn
Take any prompt you've used recently that gave you corny results. Run it through the 4-part framework:
Role & Expertise - What specific expertise do you need?
Specific Context - What's the real situation?
Clear Constraints - What should AI avoid?
Output Format - How should it be structured?
Don't just think about it. Actually rewrite it.
Remember Structure isn't about restricting AI. It's about directing it.
And when you can direct AI instead of just asking it for help? That's when you get dangerous.
What’s up for the next installament,
Context Isn't Optional - why AI breaks when it lacks stakes, and how to add tension, constraints, and consequences that make your structured prompts actually strategic.
Drop a comment: What's one situation where you keep getting generic output from AI? Let's figure out what structure would fix it.
