Prompt Engineering as Diplomacy
Talking to an LLM is not programming. It’s not conversation either. It’s closer to diplomacy — you’re negotiating with an entity that has its own tendencies, and your job is to align its output with your intent.
The Art of Asking
Vague prompts get vague answers. Specific prompts get specific answers. This isn’t magic — it’s the same principle that makes good user stories better than bad ones.
// Vague: "Write me some code" // Specific: "Write a TypeScript function that validates // an email address and returns a discriminated union // of success or failure with error messages"
Context Is Everything
An LLM without context is a brilliant intern on their first day. They have all the skills but none of the institutional knowledge. Your job is to provide the briefing document.
The Human in the Loop
AI doesn’t replace judgment. It amplifies it. The prompter who understands their domain will always outperform the one who just types "make it good."
The enchantress doesn’t command the current. She understands it well enough to suggest a direction.
— JP, from the void.