Getting the Best Results from RPS Coach
Good AI output comes from thoughtful user input. Don’t expect Coach to provide a complete or correct response on the first try. Think of it as producing your first draft, not your finished version. Plan to revise, reframe, and clarify your requests through back-and-forth exchanges.
It’s like a conversation with an enthusiastic assistant who is eager to help, but unaware of assumptions in your prompts. So you need to direct the conversation. Provide enough detail so your assistant understands what you want.
You probably have used internet search engines. You can get better results from Coach by writing prompts as if you’re having a conversation, not issuing a search command.
Pay attention and, if Coach goes off track, guide it back. Ask why it didn’t deliver what you wanted – and what you can do to get the result you need.
General Structure for AI Prompts
Here are some tips and examples to help Coach start on the right track.
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Tell it who you are.
“I’m a mediator preparing for a landlord-tenant case involving self-represented parties.”
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Tell it who your audience is.
“I’m an instructor writing a simulation for my students.”
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Tell it what you are doing and what help you want.
For example, are you brainstorming, drafting, evaluating, summarizing, or problem-solving? “I uploaded a draft of an email. Please help me improve it by making it as clear, concise, and tactful as possible.”
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Include enough information about the situation, goals, audience, or constraints.
But not so much that it overwhelms or distracts. “I’m going to mediate a case involving … .”
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Tell it the form of output you want.
A list, a paragraph, a script, a checklist, a chart, a draft, a summary, or something else. Specify the parameters such as the length and type of output desired. “Please draft 20 Powerpoint slides about … .”
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Specify tone and formatting.
Do you want a formal tone? Plain language? Bullet points? Cite sources? “Please give me a list of articles discussing preparation for mediation sessions. Include citations and links to the articles so that I can check whether your citations are accurate. Use Bluebook format.”
General Format
Here’s a general format you can adapt:
“I’m a [role]. I need help with [task]. The context is [short description]. I’d like [type of output] in [preferred tone or format]. Here’s more detail: … .”
Follow up. Ask Coach how to improve the output. Challenge its assumptions. Rephrase your requests. Check for errors.
For More Detailed Suggestions
This article shows how users can choose appropriate tools, formulate effective prompts, and generate useful results. It offers role-specific prompt suggestions for mediators, attorneys, disputants, ADR program managers, law school faculty, students, and scholars.
This is a more advanced article, which encourages practitioners to begin by selecting AI tools appropriate to their tasks such as general-purpose platforms or specialized tools listed in the article. It explains how to write effective prompts, use follow-up questions to refine outputs, and apply professional judgment when reviewing results. It includes a list of suggested follow-up prompts.