Phase 4 · Gemini · Level 1 · Foundations
Getting good results from Gemini
By the end, you'll be able to…
- Apply the role-task-context-format habit to a Gemini prompt
- Rewrite a vague Gemini prompt into a specific one that lands first time
- Iterate on a Gemini reply and give it the facts it can't see
Why it matters
The general prompting habits you've learned all work in Gemini. This lesson shows what they look like in Gemini specifically, in the app and, at awareness level, inside your Google apps, and the one habit that matters most: treating the first reply as a draft to steer, not a verdict.
Start with the habits you already have
Everything from the earlier prompting lesson applies to Gemini. The four-part frame is the backbone: role (who it's being, or writing for), task (the exact thing to do), context (the situation and material to work from), and format (what the output should look like). Add two habits (be specific with numbers, names and limits, and show a small example when tone or shape matters) and you have almost everything a good Gemini prompt needs.
If you only remember one thing, remember this: the first reply is a draft to improve, not the finished article. The people who get the most from Gemini aren't better typists; they steer.
We'll carry one Fernway scenario through the lesson. You're Tom Elliott, Fernway's Sales Lead. The Harlow account is up for renewal mid-August and you want to keep them with a small discount, but you need to write to your boss, Priya, to get sign-off first.
Rewrite a vague prompt
Watch what happens when the request is thin.
Write an email about the Harlow renewal.
Why this works: With no reader, no facts and no format, Gemini can only produce generic filler. It has nothing specific to aim at.
You'll get a bland, all-purpose email full of gaps where the real facts should be. Now the same intention with role, task, context and format supplied:
You're helping me, a sales lead, write to my Head of Operations, Priya. I want sign-off to offer the Harlow account a 5% discount to secure their renewal, which is due mid-August. Harlow is a large, long-standing account and I think a small discount is cheaper than losing them. Write a short, professional email that states the ask clearly, gives the one-line reasoning, and asks her to confirm by Friday. Keep it under 130 words. Don't invent numbers I haven't given you.
Why this works: A named reader (your boss), the actual ask (sign-off on a discount), the facts, the tone and a length turn 'write an email' into a target Gemini can hit first time.
Now you get a genuine draft: the right reader, the real ask, a clear deadline, the right length. The difference isn't a cleverer tool. It's that the second prompt described the answer. Notice the last line, don't invent numbers I haven't given you, a small guardrail that stops Gemini filling gaps with figures that were never true.
Iterate: don't start over
Your first answer is a draft. When it's close but not right, the fastest fix is a short follow-up in the same chat, where Gemini can still see everything above.
Good start. Two changes: make the tone slightly warmer, and add one sentence noting that Harlow's renewal is worth far more than the discount. Keep it under 130 words.
Why this works: Plain, specific feedback on the draft you already have keeps the good parts and adjusts only what you flag, faster and better than re-writing the whole prompt.
Good iteration sounds like plain feedback: "shorter", "warmer", "you missed the Friday deadline, add it", "turn the reasoning into a single sentence". Each nudge steers the existing draft, and because the earlier context is still on the desk, you keep what was already working. Two or three passes is completely normal.
Give Gemini what it can't see
Gemini can only use facts that are in your prompt, in a file you've attached, or, if you're using the side panel, in the email or document open in front of it. It cannot read your mind, your calendar entry from last Tuesday, or a figure that lives only in your head.
This is where most in-app disappointment comes from. If you ask "Help me write" to confirm a meeting but never tell it the new time, it may leave the time out or, worse, guess one. The fix is simple: hand it the specifics. If a reply needs a date, a name, a number or a decision that isn't in front of it, put it in your prompt.
Write a warm, brief reply agreeing to move the onboarding sales-shadowing sessions to Monday 25 August, thanking Maya for the sensible compromise. Keep it under 80 words and don't add any dates or details I haven't given you.
Why this works: The decision (agree), the fact it can't know (the new date) and the tone are all supplied, so Gemini writes a real reply instead of a fill-in-the-blanks shell with a guessed date.
Prompting in the app versus the side panel
The habits are identical; only what you supply changes.
- In the Gemini app (gemini.google.com), you give Gemini the material: you paste the notes, attach the file, or describe the situation. Your prompt covers both what it is and what to do with it.
- In the side panel (Gmail or Docs, if your account includes it, the awareness-level feature you'll explore in Level 2), the material is already open, so your prompt is mostly about what to do: "summarise this thread", "draft a reply agreeing to their request". You still hand it any fact that isn't on screen.
A good side-panel prompt looks just like a good app prompt. Weak: "Write an email about the meeting." Strong: "Write a short, friendly reply to this thread agreeing to Maya's compromise, confirming the sales-shadowing moves to 25 August, under 80 words." The strong one names the reader, the facts, the tone and the length.
Try it now
Common mistakes
- Vague prompts, in the app or the side panel. "Help me write about the renewal" still gives a bland draft. Name the reader, the facts, the tone.
- Retyping instead of steering. Same input, same kind of output. Give feedback on the draft you have rather than resending a similar prompt.
- Assuming it knows things it can't see. If a fact isn't in the prompt, the file or the open email, Gemini may guess. Hand it the specifics.
- Over-trusting a polished draft. A specific prompt gets you a fluent, confident answer, but fluent isn't correct, especially for numbers and names. A great prompt improves the writing, not the truthfulness. Read anything load-bearing before you send it on.
Keeping current
The role-task-context-format frame is durable. It will still work in years. What changes is what Gemini can take as input and the exact in-app labels. For Google's own guidance, see its prompting guide for Gemini for Workspace and the Gemini Apps Help. Accurate as of 13 July 2026.