There's a moment most leaders know all too well. You ask someone on your team to do something. They go off and do it. And what comes back is... not what you had in mind. So you're frustrated. They're frustrated. And somewhere in the middle of that tension is a communication breakdown that neither of you fully owns.

I've been there more times than I'd like to admit. As a community banker and as an agency owner.

But here's something I've been noticing over the past couple of years as I've gotten deeper into AI and more advanced prompting techniques. The skills that make you better at communicating with AI are the exact same skills that make you a better communicator with people.

It's one of the most unexpected gifts that working seriously with artificial intelligence has given me.

The Problem With How Most of Us Communicate

Here's the thing about human communication: we assume. We assume the person we're talking to understands our context. We assume they know what outcome we're looking for. We assume they can fill in the gaps because they know us, they've been around long enough, and they should just get it by now.

And sometimes they do. But a lot of the time, they don't. And when they don't, we blame them instead of examining how we asked. Nobody is a mind-reader. 

AI can't read your mind. It doesn't know your context unless you give it. It won't make assumptions about what you meant - it'll just work with exactly what you gave it. And if what you gave it was vague, you're going to get a vague result back.

That's actually a gift, even if it doesn't feel like one at first.

What Prompting Taught Me About Clarity

As I started studying more advanced prompting techniques and really paying attention to what produced great outputs versus average ones, a pattern emerged.

• The better I got at describing context - the situation, the background, the nuances - the better the results. 
• The clearer I was about the role I wanted AI to play - coach, analyst, thought partner, devil's advocate - the more useful it became. 
• The more specifically I defined the outcome I was looking for - not just "write me something" but "write me this, for this audience, in this tone, with this goal" - the closer the output landed to what I actually needed.

And then one day it hit me: I should be communicating with my team this way.

With the same level of intentionality. That same clarity about context, role, and outcome. Because if AI - which is extraordinarily capable - still needs that level of clarity to do its best work, why would I expect the humans on my team to operate on less?

The Honest Truth: It Takes Intentionality

I want to be clear about something. This isn't a habit I've mastered. It's not something that happens automatically every time I open my mouth or fire off a Telegram message to the team or a text message to a client. There are still plenty of moments where I catch myself being vague, assuming too much, or skipping the context because I'm moving too fast.

But when I'm intentional about it - when I pause and think about how I'd frame this as a prompt - the difference in how my team responds is noticeable. Conversations are cleaner. There's less back and forth. People come back with work that actually hits the mark. And honestly, I think they feel more respected in the process, because clear communication signals that you've thought about what you're asking before you ask it.

That's worth something. That's worth a lot, actually.

Four Things You Can Try Right Now

If this resonates with you, here are four practical ways to start applying prompting principles to your human communication. These four elements are inspired by the CRIT prompting framework, from the amazing book, The AI Driven Leader, by Geoff Wodds. If you’ve not read it yet, do that next (but only after you’ve finished reading my article):

• Lead with context. Before you ask someone to do something, give them the background. Why does this matter? What's the situation? What do they need to know to do this well? Don't make them guess.
• Define the role. When prompting AI, it’s best to give the platform a role to play so it knows how it can help you. When communicating with others, are you asking them to execute, to think, to advise, to push back and challenge you? Be explicit. "I want you to just get this done" is a very different ask than "I want you to think critically about this and tell me what I'm missing."
• Invite the interview. One of the most powerful prompting techniques is asking AI to ask you questions before it responds. Try that with your team too. "Before you dive in, what do you need from me to do this well?" That question alone can save hours of rework.
• Describe the outcome. Not just the task, but what a great result looks like. What does done well actually mean? What are you going to do with it? The more they understand the finish line, the better their shot at reaching it.

This Is What "AI Making You More Human" Actually Looks Like

I presented to community bankers from all over the country on using AI to be more human at ICBA LIVE in San Diego recently, and this idea - that prompting has made me a better communicator with the people in my life - was one of the observations that seemed to land hardest in the room. Because it's counterintuitive. We expect AI to make us lazier, more transactional, and less connected.

But when you work with it the right way, it holds up a mirror. It shows you where your communication has gaps. It rewards clarity and intentionality in a way that quietly trains you to bring more of both to every conversation - not just the ones you're having with a machine.

That's not a side effect of AI adoption. That's a superpower.

And if you're a community banker leading a team, managing relationships, trying to be more present and more effective - this might be one of the most practical things AI can do for you. Not by replacing your communication. By sharpening it.

Let’s Chat

If this got you thinking about how your team is navigating AI - or how you personally are showing up as a communicator and a leader - I'd love to have that conversation. Feel free to reach out. Sometimes the most valuable thing is just talking it through with someone who's been in the weeds on this for a while.