How to ask well

Claude answers the message you wrote, not the one in your head. A clear message saves you three rounds of "no, I meant...". Here are seven habits. Each comes with a weak example and a strong one, using Binder.

1. Be specific

Weak: "Make the app better."

2. One thing at a time

Weak: "Add photos, change the colors, fix the total, and make a settings page."

Big messages get half-done answers. Small messages get done.

3. Say what you see

Claude can't see your screen. Describe it, or send a screenshot (next step).

Weak: "It doesn't work."

4. Say what you want it to look like

Weak: "Make the home screen nice."

5. Ask for plain words

Claude knows you are new only if you tell it.

6. Ask Claude to ask you questions first

This is the most useful habit in this guide. Instead of guessing, Claude interviews you.

7. Paste error messages exactly

When something goes wrong, the computer often shows a message in red or in a box. Don't retype it or describe it. Select it, copy it (Command + C on a Mac, Ctrl + C on a Windows PC) and paste it (Command + V or Ctrl + V) into your message, whole, even if it looks like gibberish. To Claude, it isn't.

Try it now

Open a new chat and send the message from habit 6. Answer each question with one or two sentences. Notice how much better the result is than a one-line request.