The Matts Workshop

Replace [TOPIC] with: "cloud computing", "DNA", "quantum physics", "offside rule in football" etc. Or instead of a topic, upload a document such as your travel policy and ask it to explain that.

Add in your own scenario: "I want to move from sales to leadership role", "dealing with a difficult client", provide some useful context as well. You could upload a document instead of typing a scenario e.g. upload your new travel policy. Then experiment with a meeting transcript, an Excel file or even a PowerPoint.

Microsoft 365 Copilot upgrade only

No scenario needed: Copilot reads your own emails and meetings. To focus it a bit, type / and pick a person.

Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015

The full Act, PDF, 62 pages, 1.9 MB. From legislation.gov.uk.

Download the Act (PDF)

1. Download the PDF of the Act above, or use one of your own files.
2. Start a new chat in Copilot, click the +, then click Upload document.
3. Paste the prompt below and send it. Fill in the optional details or leave them blank.
   Create a hand-drawn infographic image that explains the file, link or topic I give you. If I give a link, first tell me in one line what the page is about. If you cannot open it, say so and stop. FOCUS ON: [OPTIONAL: WHAT TO EMPHASISE, OR LEAVE BLANK] CONTENT • Pick the 3–5 ideas that best explain the subject. Leave out the rest. • Search the web if you need to check facts or add context. • Make the most important idea the biggest and boldest. • Lay the ideas out as a clear visual journey across one page. DRAWING • Explain through pictures: people, objects, simple scenes and visual metaphors. • As few words as possible, with short, conversational headings. • Sketchnote style: warm white paper, loose black marker outlines, natural hand lettering. • Muted red, mustard yellow, dusty blue and soft grey. • Arrows only where they show a connection. • Plenty of white space. No tiny text, clutter, piles of speech bubbles or polished corporate diagrams. Someone should get the main idea at a glance. Explain visually, don't just decorate the words.
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   Hint: no file? Put a website link or a topic in the FOCUS ON line instead.

Flu vaccination invitation letter (UKHSA template)

A real public letter that parents, teachers and school nurses each read differently.

Download the letter (Word)

1. Download the letter above, or use one of your own Word files.
2. Start a new chat in Copilot, click the +, then click Upload document and choose the letter.
3. Paste the prompt below and send it.
   Review this document with a council of three reviewers. Improve it, don't rewrite it. Use tracked changes and comments. Council: an expert editor and [CHOOSE TWO RELEVANT PERSONAS FOR ME] First, read the whole document. If I haven't named the council, pick the two people who matter most for this document, such as different readers or someone who must act on it. Tell me who you picked and why, one line each. Then work in this order. 1. EXPERT EDITOR: TRACKED CHANGES Up to 6 tracked changes for unclear, long or overly technical wording. Each change replaces a short phrase, copied exactly from the document, never a whole sentence. Keep the meaning and every detail, and never make a claim stronger or weaker. If an edit would change the meaning, comment instead. 2. EXPERT EDITOR: CHECK COMMENTS Up to 3 comments, each starting "CHECK:". Look first for inconsistencies, where something doesn't match another part of the document (terms, names, dates, figures, blanks). Then claims with no evidence. 3. EACH PERSONA: GAP AND RISK COMMENTS Up to 2 comments each, from their own point of view, each starting with its type: • GAP: a question this reader would ask that the document doesn't answer. • RISK: act as a critical friend. Imagine it is a year from now and this document has failed. Why? FOR EVERY COMMENT • Set the author to the member's role, such as "Expert Editor". • Write it as one short question for me. • Never add facts. Ignore blanks left to fill in, unless two don't match.
   Copy Prompt

To store a rule, type an instruction that begins with "Remember and save to memory". Copilot confirms it and keeps it.

To view your saved memories

1. Click the three dots in the top right corner
2. Click Settings
3. Click Personalisation, then manage your saved memories

Three prompts worth saving

Regional preferences

Evidence, uncertainty and "don't guess"

Challenge your thinking

To start one, click the temporary chat icon in the top right corner of Copilot.

It is not private. The chat still follows your organisation's retention policy and may still be accessible to your admin.

Works on anything with a pattern: documents, slide decks, websites, images, reports, standard operating procedures, transcripts. Attach a PDF or an image for best results: export slides to PDF first, and for a website paste the URL and check in the reply that the AI actually opened the page.

Want a worked example of a reusable house style? Open the Matts Witty Slide Deck prompt ↗ in the NotebookLM library: a full slide-design system you can copy and adapt to your own material.

Or the Cardiff University Slide Design prompt ↗: the full University brand system (palette, fonts, layouts) written as one reusable prompt.

1. Ask Copilot for something you need, such as an email, a summary or a plan.
2. Give it feedback until it's right, for example: "Can you make it more formal?", "Lead with the decision" or "Expand the second point, it's too brief."
3. When you get the final output, paste the prompt below and send it.
   Look at how we got from my original request to this final output. Write the prompt I should have used at the start to get this result first time. Learn from my corrections and feedback, not just the final answer. Keep the prompt simple, reusable and no longer than necessary.
   Copy Prompt
4. Save the new prompt and start with it next time.

How a conversation degrades:

Three fixes:

• Start new chats regularly. Don't wait for things to go wrong: a fresh chat keeps the context short and the model sharp.
• New topic? Start a new chat.
• Gone off the rails, or just long? Hand over to a new chat (steps below).

How to hand over:

1. In your long chat, paste the prompt below and send it.
   Prepare a handover I can paste into a new chat. Rules: 1) five bullets, one line each: decisions, key facts, constraints, open questions, next steps, marking anything unconfirmed; 2) copy anything worth keeping (drafts, wording, lists) verbatim under short headings, no rewriting or merging; 3) end with a two-line brief: the new chat's role and its first task. No sub-bullets, no commentary.
   Copy Prompt
2. Copy the summary Copilot gives you.
3. Start a new chat and paste it in. Carry on from there with a short, sharp context.

Hint: the old chat isn't lost. You can go back to it, but work in the new one.

Build a full profile of yourself

Find prompting habits you repeat

Spot tasks you keep redoing by hand

Capture your writing style

Flu vaccination invitation letter (UKHSA template)

The same letter as exercise 05. Then try a long document of your own.

Download the letter (Word)

1. Download the letter above, or use one of your own files.
2. Start a new chat in Copilot, click the +, then click Upload document and choose the file.
3. Paste the prompt below and send it.
   Use your Mermaid diagram tool to draw a mind map of the document I give you, so anyone can check it at a glance. Show it as a drawn diagram, not plain text. First, read the whole document. MIND MAP • Centre: the document's main purpose, three words or fewer. • Branches: its 3–6 main themes, fewer for a short document. • Sub-branches: 1 to 3 key points per theme, five words or fewer. Every theme needs at least one. • Write every label in plain English a new member of staff would understand. • Use only what the document says. Never add facts. FLAGS Attach each flag to the theme it belongs to, as a short question of five words or fewer. Base each flag on a specific part of the document. Up to 2 flags per theme, with at least one of each type across the map. • GAP: a question a reader would ask that the document doesn't answer, or a blank left to fill in. Shown as a cloud. • CHECK: something that doesn't match another part, or a claim with no evidence. Shown as a hexagon. • RISK: act as a critical friend. Imagine it is a year from now and this document has failed. Why? Shown as a bang. FORMAT (follow exactly, or the diagram will not draw) Put the code in a code block labelled mermaid, so it draws as a diagram: ```mermaid mindmap root((Main purpose)) Theme one Key point g1)GAP who pays for this( c1{{CHECK which date is right}} r1))RISK what if nobody acts(( ``` • Labels use only letters, numbers and spaces. No brackets, braces, quotes or symbols inside any label, even if the document has them. • The only brackets are the shape markers shown above. • Number each flag: g1, g2, c1, c2, r1, r2. • Everything sits under root. Put nothing else inside the code block. Before you reply, check every line against these rules, check the code block is labelled mermaid, and fix anything that breaks them. Below the code, write in plain words: Key: cloud = gap, hexagon = check, bang = risk. Then tell me in three lines what is strongest, weakest and most at risk.
   Copy Prompt

1. Open Copilot – go to m365copilot.com and click "Create agent" in the left-hand menu.
2. Enter Description then submit – In the "Describe" tab, paste the following and hit the submit arrow:
   You are a witty ELI5 Pal. Start every chat by asking: "Upload a document and I'll explain it like you're 5." First give a short ELI5 executive summary: a friendly one-line intro and 3 to 5 simple key points. Then give the full simple version in the chat: reading age of a young child, very short sentences, everyday words, a friendly tone with emojis and clear headings. Use simple analogies and everyday examples to explain the tricky ideas. Keep all key facts, rules and obligations, and explain any word that has to stay. The code interpreter / file generation capability is enabled. At the end, offer the simple version as a 1-page PDF, for example: "Want this as a 1-page PDF to share? Just say the word." Only create the PDF if the user asks.
   Copy Prompt
3. Click Create – Name the agent if prompted, then click the Create button.
4. Click Go to Agent – Wait for the success message, then click the blue 'Go to Agent' button.
5. Test it – Upload a dense document e.g. a policy or committee report, and compare the output against the original.