TPEE Toptronic® Prompt Engineering Editor

59. Your First Prompt - A Step-by-Step Example

Walk through creating your first complete prompt from start to finish.

By Jacques Botte, founder of Toptronic®. Last updated 12 September 2026.

The lesson

Example: You want help improving a work email. Here is how to use TPEE properly.

Step 1 - Persona: Select 'Professional Writer' from the Persona dropdown. This tells the AI to adopt an expert communication tone.

Step 2 - Task: Type 'Improve this email to be clearer and more professional' in the Instructions section.

Step 3 - Context: Add 'I am writing to a client who has not responded in two weeks' to explain the situation.

Step 4 - Data: Paste your current email draft into the Data section so the AI has the exact text to improve.

Step 5 - Format: Select 'Professional Email' from Format presets so the output is structured correctly.

Step 6 - Preview and Export: Click Preview to see the result, then Copy to Clipboard to paste into your email client.

For Jacques: Think of each section like setting up a test bench - you need the right equipment (persona), the procedure (instructions), the sample under test (data), and the expected output format.

Check yourself

Question 1: What is the first step when creating a prompt in TPEE?
  1. Copy to clipboard immediately
  2. Select an appropriate Persona from the dropdown — correct
  3. Close the application
  4. Delete all sections

Answer: Select an appropriate Persona from the dropdown

The Persona tells the AI what expert role to adopt. Selecting the right persona is the foundation of getting relevant, high-quality output.

Question 2: Why is the Data section important when improving existing text?
  1. It is not important
  2. It provides the actual content for the AI to work with — correct
  3. It makes the window look full
  4. It slows down the AI

Answer: It provides the actual content for the AI to work with

The Data section contains the actual text, code, or information the AI needs to process. Without it, the AI can only give generic advice.

Question 3: What should you do after previewing your prompt?
  1. Delete it
  2. Copy to Clipboard and paste into your target application — correct
  3. Close TPEE without saving
  4. Never use it

Answer: Copy to Clipboard and paste into your target application

After previewing to verify the prompt looks correct, use Copy to Clipboard to transfer it to ChatGPT, Claude, email, or wherever you need it.

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