Improving AI Prompting by Identifying Unknowns

@trq212· July 3, 2026 View original

▶ The 60-second brief

Summary

The author shares a method for enhancing AI prompting, particularly with the Fable tool, by systematically discovering and addressing personal 'unknowns' to formulate more effective queries.

The author outlines a strategy for optimizing interactions with AI tools, exemplified by their experience with Fable. The core idea involves a deliberate process of identifying one's own knowledge gaps or 'unknowns' before crafting prompts. By understanding what information is missing or unclear, users can formulate more precise and effective queries, leading to better AI outputs. This approach, which includes examining HTML artifacts for insights, was a foundational concept for a recent talk on AI engineering.

Why it matters

Effective prompt engineering is crucial for maximizing the utility of AI tools, and this method offers a structured way for professionals to improve their interaction quality and achieve desired outcomes.

How to implement this in your domain

  1. 1Adopt a pre-prompting phase to brainstorm potential unknowns related to the task.
  2. 2Utilize tools or techniques, like analyzing output artifacts, to reveal implicit assumptions or missing information.
  3. 3Refine prompts iteratively based on identified unknowns and AI responses.
  4. 4Document successful prompt patterns and the unknowns they address for future reference.

Who benefits

Software DevelopmentContent CreationMarketingResearch

Key takeaways

  • Identifying 'unknowns' is key to better AI prompting.
  • This method improves prompt precision and AI output quality.
  • Analyzing output artifacts can help uncover unknowns.
  • Structured pre-prompting enhances AI tool utilization.

Original post by @trq212

"I’ve found the most important part of working with Fable is discovering my own unknowns so I can prompt it better, heres how I do that. You can see examples of HTML artifacts for finding unknowns here: this is one of the posts that my AIE talk was based on s/o to @geoffreylitt fo…"

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