Deep guide

The Blank Slate Problem

Claude starts every single conversation knowing absolutely nothing about you. No memory of last time. No assumptions about your situation. No idea what a good answer looks like for your life. Understanding this one fact — and acting on it — is the single biggest unlock in using AI well.

Why most people get mediocre answers

Think about how you'd ask a question if you'd just met a stranger at a braai. You'd give them some background. You'd explain your situation. You'd tell them what you've already tried. You'd be specific about what you actually need.

Now think about how most people use Claude. They type one sentence. They get a generic answer. They think AI isn't that useful.

The stranger at the braai would also give you a generic answer if all you said was "how do I save money?" They'd give you the same advice they'd give anyone. But if you said "I earn R18,000 a month, I have R8,000 in clothing account debt at 22% interest, no emergency fund, and I want to start building towards a house deposit in the next 3 years" — now they can actually help you.

Claude is the same. The context is the instruction.

"Most people give Claude the task. The people who get great results give Claude the situation first."

What Claude doesn't know about you

Unless you tell it, Claude has no idea:

— Who you are or what you do
— Your income, debts, assets, or financial situation
— Your constraints — time, money, skills, location
— What you've already tried and why it didn't work
— What a "good answer" looks like for your specific life
— Your goals, values, or what you're trying to build
— That you're in South Africa, dealing with SARS, or earning in Rands

When you don't supply this, Claude fills in the gaps with assumptions about the most likely person asking that question. That person is usually some average, generic human being — not you.

What changes when you give context

Here's the same question asked two ways. The difference in output quality is not small — it's the difference between advice you could have found on Google and advice that could actually change what you do:

Without context

"How should I handle my debt?"

With context

"I'm 29, earning R22,000 net/month in Cape Town. I have: clothing account R6,200 at 22% interest, personal loan R42,000 at 18% over 48 months (R1,350/month), and a car payment of R2,900/month with 18 months left. I have no savings. My take-home after all fixed costs is about R5,500. I'm not in a position to earn more right now — I need to work with what I have. What order should I attack this debt in, and what's a realistic timeline?"

What the contextual version unlocks

Claude can now apply the avalanche vs snowball method to your specific debts. It can calculate exact payoff timelines. It can tell you whether your car payment is the actual problem. It can recommend whether to put the R5,500 surplus toward debt or emergency fund first — based on your interest rates and real risk profile. It can give you a month-by-month plan.

The generic version can't do any of that. It can only tell you that debt is bad and you should pay it off. You already knew that.

The five things to include in any serious prompt

You don't need all five every time. But whenever you're asking Claude for something genuinely important, check this list:

Context template

1. Who you are (relevant to the question)

Your job, age, stage of life, what you know about the topic. Not your life story — just what's relevant. "I'm a 35-year-old finance manager with no investing experience" is enough.

2. Your specific situation

The actual numbers, actual relationships, actual circumstances. Vague situations produce vague advice. "I earn R45,000/month, my rent is R11,000, I have R15,000 in savings" is infinitely better than "I earn a decent salary and have some savings."

3. What you've already tried or know

This stops Claude from telling you things you already know. "I've read the standard advice about budgeting and tried the 50/30/20 rule but it doesn't work for my variable income" moves you past the basics immediately.

4. Your actual goal and timeline

What does "success" look like here? By when? "I want to retire early" and "I want to retire at 60 with R8 million in today's money" are completely different briefs.

5. Your constraints

What are you not able to do? Budget limits. Time limits. Things you've already ruled out. Skills you don't have. These aren't weaknesses to hide — they're the frame that makes the advice actually useful.

The shortcut: ask Claude what it needs

If you're not sure what context to give, just ask. This is one of the most underused techniques in AI:

The context-gathering prompt

"I want to ask you about [topic]. Before I do — what information would you need from me to give genuinely useful, specific advice rather than general principles? Ask me the questions first."

Claude will ask you exactly what it needs. You answer those questions. Then you have a tailored brief and Claude has the context to actually help. This takes 2 minutes and the difference in output quality is enormous.

The permanent fix: Claude Projects

If you use Claude regularly, you'll quickly get tired of re-entering your context every single conversation. The fix is Claude Projects — a feature in Claude Pro that lets you set a persistent context that applies to every conversation in that project.

A good project context looks something like this:

Example project context (finance)

I am a 36-year-old South African working in corporate finance in Johannesburg. I earn R68,000/month gross. I am married with two children (ages 4 and 7). I have a home loan (R1.4M outstanding, 18 years remaining), a retirement annuity I contribute R3,000/month to, and a TFSA I maxed out last year.

Always use South African Rands. Always reference current SARS rules when tax is relevant. Always be direct — I don't need things softened. I prefer tables and structured output over paragraphs. Flag any assumptions you make about my situation.

With that set, every conversation starts already knowing who you are. You never have to re-explain your situation. Claude can give you specific, calibrated advice from the very first message.

This is the jump from "using AI" to "AI that works for you specifically."

What to do next: Pick one real question you have right now. Before you open Claude, write out the five context items above. Then paste them all in before asking. The difference in the answer will be immediate and obvious.

Open Claude and try it →