Session 2 · Phase 1, Foundations
The Art of Asking: Prompting Basics
A good request is four lines long. And two of those lines, you write once.
Saturday, September 26, 2026 · French 10:00 · English 11:00, Dallas time · 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM Kinshasa · Zoom
Missed Session 1 too? No problem. This page tells you what to do first, and the profile takes ten minutes.
Missed it live? Watch the replay in your language below, do the homework, and join us next Saturday. Anyone who joins by October 31 can still earn the certificate.
Register for the seriesWhat you take away
By the end of this session, you can…
- 1
Write a request in four lines who I am, the situation, what I want, in what shape, and get a useful answer the first time.
- 2
Stop re-explaining yourself by keeping your profile as lines 1 and 2, so that a good request only costs you lines 3 and 4.
- 3
Know what never goes in a profile and who can actually see what you type into an AI assistant.
The live demo
The same invitation, with and without a profile
One short sentence, typed exactly the way most of us type today: "Write an invitation for my father's birthday." No name, no date, no place. Two assistants received it on Saturday.
Without a profile
A participant typed it into his own assistant, live. It could not do anything useful and asked him back: what is your dad's name? And the date, time and location?
With a profile
Angel typed the same sentence into an assistant that already had his profile. The invitation came back with the family name and his father's name, ready to send. Nobody had typed them.
Why it works
The assistant is not smarter in the second case. It simply knows who is asking. Your profile is lines 1 and 2 of every request, written once. Each time you type less, you also spend less, and you stop repeating yourself.
And you?
Try the one-sentence request in a new chat, then again after pasting your profile. The difference is the whole lesson. The four lines, ready to copy, are on the prep page.
The four lines, with copy buttonsBefore you practise
Three things, ten minutes, once
If you are watching the replay instead of the live class, do these first.
Have your profile ready
No profile yet? The interview prompt, entry 2.1, writes it with you in ten minutes. It was last week's homework.
Open a new chat
Any assistant: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot or Grok. Save your profile once in its settings (steps below), or paste it at the start of the chat.
Register on Zoom once
One registration covers all sixteen Saturdays. Zoom emails you your own link. Keep that email.
Save it once
Put your profile in your assistant's settings
Paste it once in the settings, and the assistant knows who you are in every new chat. Pick your assistant:
- 1
Click your name or initials, bottom left. On the phone app, tap the menu, then your name.
- 2
Open Settings, then General.
- 3
Find the box "What personal preferences should Claude consider in responses?". Paste your profile. Save.
Free accounts can do this too. It follows your account, so it works on your phone and your computer.
Test it
Open a new chat and type only this. If the answer uses your name and your family, it worked.
Write an invitation for my father's birthday.
Can't find the menu?
Menus change often. Ask the assistant itself: "Where in your settings do I save information about me?" Or simply paste your profile at the start of each new chat (prompt 2.3). That works everywhere.
The Session 2 pages
Everything for Session 2, on your phone
No PDF to download. Each page opens in your browser, reads well on a phone, and prints if you prefer paper.
This week's homework · September 27 to October 3
Use your profile three times, then correct it
Three different requests this week, each one starting with your profile. You will quickly see what it is missing. Then you add it. Start every request with this:
Here is who I am: [paste your profile]. Keep this in mind for our whole conversation. What I want: [the request]. In this shape: [length, tone, language, use].
- 1
Three requests, three different kinds: a letter, a message, a question about your work. Your real life, not an exercise.
- 2
Each time, note what the assistant had to ask you, or what it got wrong about you.
- 3
At the end of the week, add what was missing to your profile. Your profile is never finished; it gets better with use.
The same rule as last week
Put in your profile what you would tell a colleague you trust. Never a social security or passport number, a driver's license, bank details, passwords, or anyone else's medical record.
An AI assistant is a brilliant intern. It is not a safe.
After class
The replays
For the first time, two classes on the same Saturday: one in French, one in English, each with its own highlights and its own full video. Watch the highlights first.
The English class, 11:00
Highlights, in English
11 minEleven minutes: saving your profile, the four lines, writing it once, and the questions that took the class further.
The full class, in English
57 minThe whole English session, questions included: music and ownership, our own languages, connectors, and a look ahead.
The French class, 10:00
Highlights, in French
13 minThirteen minutes: the four lines, search engine or AI, the profile demo, and the privacy questions from the room.
The full class, in French
64 minThe whole French session, questions included. Only dead air was cut.
All four videos are unlisted on YouTube: anyone with the link can watch, but they do not appear in search. Please keep the links within the cohort. Wherever the shared screen showed personal information, it is blurred. This time the questions and answers are kept.
What was taught
Session 2 in five ideas
- 1
A good request is four lines long
Who I am (the role). The situation (the context). What I want (the task). In what shape (the format). Miss one line and the assistant struggles: without the format line, for example, you get far too much information at once.
- 2
Lines 1 and 2, you write once
Your role and most of your context do not change. That is your profile. The task changes every single time. The format is partly permanent ("always short, ten lines maximum") and partly chosen per request.
- 3
A search engine finds, an AI predicts
A search engine hands you a list of pages to read. A generative AI writes an answer by predicting the most likely next word, like your phone's keyboard, only much further. It knows only what it was taught, like a child. That is why your context changes everything.
- 4
What goes in a profile, and who sees it
Put in what you would tell a colleague you trust. Never a passport, driver's license or social security number, bank details, passwords or medical records. Your profile is not public, but the company behind the assistant does hold what you type. Decide with that in mind.
- 5
The profile is the first step
After the profile come other layers: standing rules (words and punctuation never to use), your own voice learned from things you have written, projects that keep their context, and skills. With connectors and MCP, one profile can even serve several assistants.
"Things like role, you do not always have to rewrite in your prompt if you create a profile, because it stays in your permanent information. The task is what changes every single time."
The sentence to remember
A good request is four lines long, and two of those lines you write once in your life.
Keep your profile, paste it, and from then on you only type what you want and in what shape.
Next Saturday
Session 3 · AI for Everyday Life
Saturday, October 3, 2026 · French 10:00 · English 11:00, Dallas time · 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM Kinshasa · Zoom
Official letters, emails and forms, plus translation between French, English and Lingala, and where it breaks down. Bring your corrected profile.
CBNEXT × CDMA AI Teaching Series · Community Dream Makers ACT · dmact.org · Free · Certificate after 10 sessions