Copilot tools are revolutionizing enterprise workflows, but basic prompts often fall short. They can lead to vague responses, missed context, or outputs that require significant manual rework. If you’ve ever thought, “This is helpful, but not quite what I needed,” you’re not alone.
Simple prompts like “summarize this document” or “draft a reply” may yield generic results that overlook crucial details or organizational nuance. This is because most basic prompts lack the structure needed to guide Copilot effectively. They fail in:
“Summarize the meeting.”
Issues:
Output: “The meeting discussed several topics including Q3 planning, team goals, and budget considerations. Various team members shared updates.”
“Summarize key action points from the June 21 marketing strategy meeting. Use bullet points. Keep it concise for executive review. Use the Teams transcript.”
Improvements:
Output:
Result: Faster comprehension, easier follow-up, immediate actionability.
To elevate Copilot from a helpful assistant to a productivity powerhouse, use a structured prompt formula and advanced copilot techniques. Here’s how it works:
Define the action you want Copilot to take. Be direct.
Example: “Summarize key action points from today’s team meeting.”
Provide background information. The more precise, the better.
Example: “This meeting was about Q3 marketing strategy and campaign launches.”
Explain the desired tone, format, or level of detail.
Example: “Use bullet points. Keep it concise for executive review.”
Direct Copilot to the relevant data.
Example: “Use the transcript from the Teams meeting held on June 21.”
When combined, your prompt might look like:
“Summarize key action points from today’s team meeting. This meeting was about Q3 marketing strategy and campaign launches. Use bullet points. Keep it concise for executive review. Use the transcript from the Teams meeting held on June 21.”
One of Copilot’s most powerful capabilities is integrating across Microsoft 365 apps. Try:
“Summarize today’s Teams meeting, draft a follow-up email in Outlook for attendees, and pull supporting data from the Q3 planning file in Excel.”
This type of cross-functional prompt pulls data from different places and gives you an output where you need it.
Use placeholder variables for repeatable prompts:
“Draft a proposal for [CLIENT_NAME] based on [SERVICE_TYPE] using data from [REPORT_NAME].”
These dynamic templates make Copilot a personalized content engine.
Save them in a text document so you can use them at a later date!
Learn how to build powerful prompts and design workflows that save hours every week. Master these techniques in this brand-new course: Copilot Power User Lab.
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