Chapter 05 · WEB
Preferences, instructions and writing style
Personal preferences describe how you generally want Claude to respond. Project instructions describe the work in that project. A chat request specifies the current task. Writing style affects presentation, not factual accuracy.
Video
Steps
- Inspect the personal preferences or instructions offered by your interface. Write a short testable rule: "Use plain English and keep product names unchanged."
- Put rules for one project in that project's instructions instead of applying them to your whole account. A fixed team report format is one example.
- If the interface offers style selection or creation, try it on sample text. Compare length, tone and structure. Make sure important caveats were not removed.
- When instructions conflict, clarify what the current task requires. Inspect the actual output. A saved setting is not proof it was followed in every response.
Common pitfall: Do not put passwords, customer details or secrets into preferences to avoid typing them again.
Hands-on exercise: Write one preference, test it with two different requests, then decide whether it should be a permanent rule.
Filmed demo · Video is added in the media phase
Recap
Comprehension check
Where should a format used by only one project go?
Recap
- General preferences differ from Project instructions
- Style is not fact checking
- Test settings on actual output