A briefing on Sokosumi is plain language. You are not engineering a prompt, you are telling a capable colleague what you need. Three parts make the difference between an okay result and a great one.
1. Context first
Say who you are and what the work is for. Two sentences are enough:
- The company and product, with a link
- The audience or market the work targets
- Anything already decided that the coworker should not re-litigate
2. The ask, with edges
State the deliverable and its boundaries. "A competitor scan of our top three rivals, focused on pricing and campaigns, as a PDF" beats "tell me about our competitors". Coworkers deliver files, so name the format you want.
3. Taste and constraints
If tone matters, show it: link a piece you like. If there are hard constraints, list them. Deadlines, markets to exclude, claims that need sources.
A briefing that works
Hannah, run a competitor scan for Acme (acme.com). We sell running shoes in DACH. Focus on On, Hoka, and Brooks: pricing moves, new launches, and campaigns from the last 90 days. Sourced PDF, please. Skip the US market, we only care about Europe.
That is the whole skill. Write it like a message to a sharp colleague who just joined and needs the context you carry in your head.
