It’s been 18 days since I started this journey, and I have to say—time really flies when you’re learning something that feels both powerful and limitless.
The more I explore, the more impressed I am by the sheer volume and quality of available content—whether you’re a beginner, a developer, or a team lead. Resources come in all forms: books, blog posts, courses, and tons of brilliant YouTube creators. And the best part? They approach the topic with depth at every level.
I’ve been reading Ethan Mollick’s Co-Intelligence, a book that doesn’t just tell you how AI works—it shows you how to work with it. It’s filled with practical ideas, critical reflections, and calls to action for knowledge workers.
For videos, I started with Jeff Su, who makes GenAI productivity simple and approachable. Then moved to IBM Technology for a systems-level understanding of LLMs, before getting deeper into tool usage with Dave Ebbelaar and Thu Vu, who cover prompts, agents, and model internals with clarity and substance.
What I’ve learned: Prompting isn’t magic—it’s design
The biggest eye-opener? Prompt engineering is not just about wording—it’s about design thinking. It’s about structure, iteration, and intent. And that’s where the MASTER technique has really clicked for me.
Let’s break it down.
The MASTER Technique
MASTER is a prompting framework that helps you make the most of your interaction with AI:
| Letter | Meaning | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| M | Markdown | Structure your request clearly |
| A | Act (Assign a Role) | Gives the AI context and tone |
| S | Specific | Reduces ambiguity, increases relevance |
| T | Threads | Keeps prompts focused and organized |
| E | Examples | Shows the AI what good looks like |
| R | Regenerate & Refine | Reminds us AI is iterative, not final |
Why MASTER works
AI isn’t a deterministic engine—it’s a probability machine. Without structure, it makes assumptions that often don’t match your goals. With MASTER, you shift the prompting from “asking a question” to “designing a conversation.”
Let’s say I want AI to help me create a user story:
## Role:
You are a senior product manager with expertise in agile development and user story writing.
## Task:
Write a user story for adding a notification system to our project management tool.
## Context:
- User: Development team members
- Goal: Stay updated on task assignments and status changes
- Format: Standard "As a... I want... So that..." structure
- Include acceptance criteria
## Example:
"As a development team member, I want to receive real-time notifications when tasks are assigned to me or when their status changes, so that I can respond quickly and stay aligned with project priorities.
Acceptance Criteria:
- Notifications appear within 5 seconds of the triggering event
- Users can customize notification preferences (email, in-app, Slack)
- Notifications include task title, project name, and direct link to the task"
The difference from a plain “Write me a user story for notifications”? Night and day.
R is for Regenerate—and Reflect
Even with MASTER, your first output won’t be your best. That’s where the R comes in. Regenerating isn’t just retrying—it’s reflecting.
Ask yourself:
- Did the tone match my audience?
- Were the examples too generic?
- Did I give enough context?
- Should I add constraints or expectations?
It’s a design loop: prompt → review → refine.
Connecting the dots
When I link this technique to the things I’m reading and watching, I notice a pattern: every expert treats AI not as an oracle, but as a collaborator.
That’s the vibe of Co-Intelligence. It’s not about letting AI drive—it’s about making it part of your team.
Jeff Su teaches you to automate without abdicating. IBM Tech explains the “why” behind the output. Dave Ebbelaar and Thu Vu show you how to combine reasoning, chaining, and tools like agents to go further—but always with intent.
Takeaway for managers, devs, and teams
If you’re just starting in GenAI, don’t worry about getting every prompt right. Focus on clarity, structure, and iteration.
Try MASTER for your next:
- Jira story description
- Performance review draft
- Strategic document
- Data analysis prompt
- Email response
And don’t forget: prompting is a skill. It gets better the more you do it—and it gets deeper when you start treating AI not like a tool, but like a co-worker.
More soon.