New Webinar - "Beyond Prompting: How to Communicate with AI"

Beyond Prompting: How to Communicate with AI
A Library 2.0 / Learning Revolution Workshop with Reed Hepler

OVERVIEW

The most common misconception about working with artificial intelligence tools is that success depends on mastering the perfect prompt—a precisely engineered set of instructions that will produce ideal results on the first attempt. This workshop challenges that assumption by introducing conversation steering, a more flexible and human-centered approach to AI collaboration that emphasizes ongoing dialogue, iterative refinement, and maintaining control throughout the interaction. Participants will learn that effective AI communication is not about finding magic words but about understanding what they want to accomplish, providing the necessary context and information, and guiding the conversation toward their objectives through multiple exchanges. The session will demonstrate how conversation steering differs fundamentally from prompt engineering, shifting focus from tool-centered techniques to objective-centered practices that keep humans in control of the creative and analytical processes.

Understanding conversation steering as a practice rather than prompt engineering as a technique carries significant implications for how librarians and faculty integrate AI into their professional workflows. When users approach AI interactions as conversations they can steer rather than commands they must perfect, they position themselves to maintain agency, correct course when outputs drift from objectives, and leverage AI capabilities without surrendering professional judgment. This workshop provides concrete frameworks for structuring AI conversations, including the COSTAR method (Context, Objective, Style, Tone, Audience, Response) and the Rhetorical Framework, both of which help users think through their purposes before and during AI collaboration. Participants will learn how to provide sufficient context in initial prompts while remaining prepared to clarify, redirect, and refine through subsequent exchanges. The workshop emphasizes that conversation steering is not merely a technical skill but a literacy practice—one that requires users to understand their own objectives clearly enough to recognize when AI outputs serve those objectives and when they require correction or redirection.

By the conclusion of this workshop, participants will possess practical conversation steering techniques they can apply immediately across all AI interactions in their professional contexts. Attendees will leave with conversation templates that structure initial prompts effectively, strategies for recognizing when AI outputs drift from stated objectives, and methods for redirecting conversations without having to start over. Participants will understand how to balance providing comprehensive information in initial prompts with maintaining flexibility for iterative refinement through ongoing dialogue. Most importantly, participants will recognize that conversation steering is a more sustainable and transferable skill than memorizing prompt formulas—as AI tools evolve, the ability to steer conversations toward human-defined objectives remains constant. This workshop ensures that librarians and faculty can communicate effectively with AI tools while maintaining the professional expertise and critical judgment that define their work.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Participants will be able to

• Distinguish between prompt engineering (tool-focused technique seeking perfect initial inputs) and conversation steering (objective-focused practice maintaining human control through ongoing dialogue)
• Apply the COSTAR framework and Rhetorical Framework to structure initial AI prompts that provide necessary context while remaining open to iterative refinement
• Implement conversation steering techniques that redirect AI outputs when they drift from stated objectives, including clarification strategies, constraint addition, and perspective shifts
• Evaluate AI outputs against stated objectives throughout multi-turn conversations, recognizing when to accept, refine, or redirect AI-generated content

The recording and presentation slides will be available to all who register. 

DATE: Tuesday, July 21st, 2026, 2:00 - 3:00 pm US - Eastern Time

COST:

• $99/person - includes live attendance and any-time access to the recording and the presentation slides and receiving a participation certificate. To arrange group discounts (see below), to submit a purchase order, or for any registration difficulties or questions, email admin@library20.com.

TO REGISTER: 

Click HERE to register and pay. You can pay by credit card. You will receive an email within a day with information on how to attend the webinar live and how you can access the permanent webinar recording. If you are paying for someone else to attend, you'll be prompted to send an email to admin@library20.com with the name and email address of the actual attendee.

If you need to be invoiced or pay by check, if you have any trouble registering for a webinar, or if you have any questions, please email admin@library20.com.

NOTE: Please check your spam folder if you don't receive your confirmation email within a day.

SPECIAL GROUP RATES (email admin@library20.com to arrange):

• Multiple individual log-ins and access from the same organization paid together: $99 each for 3+ registrations, $75 each for 5+ registrations. Unlimited and non-expiring access for those log-ins.
• The ability to show the webinar (live or recorded) to a group located in the same physical location or in the same virtual meeting from one log-in: $399.
• Large-scale institutional access for viewing with individual login capability: $599 (hosted either at Learning Revolution or in Niche Academy). Unlimited and non-expiring access for those log-ins.

REED C. HEPLER

Reed Hepler is a digital initiatives librarian, instructional designer, copyright agent, artificial intelligence practitioner and consultant, and PhD student at Idaho State University. He earned a Master's Degree in Instructional Design and Educational Technology from Idaho State University in 2025. In 2022, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science, with emphases in Archives Management and Digital Curation from Indiana University. He has worked at nonprofits, corporations, and educational institutions encouraging information literacy and effective education. Combining all of these degrees and experiences, Reed strives to promote ethical librarianship and educational initiatives.

Currently, Reed works as a Digital Initiatives Librarian at a college in Idaho and also has his own consulting firm, heplerconsulting.com. His views and projects can be seen on his LinkedIn page or his blog, CollaborAItion, on Substack. Contact him at reed.hepler@gmail.com for more information.

 

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS:

 July 14, 2026

 July 16, 2026

 July 23, 2026

 July 31, 2026

 Fall 2026

New Webinar: "10 Great Ways to Use AI for Grant Writing" with Crystal Trice

10 Great Ways to Use AI for Grant Writing
A Library 2.0 AI Workshop with Crystal Trice

OVERVIEW: 

Grant writing is how libraries fund the work they care about most, and it is also the work that gets squeezed to the edges of the week. The same person who can picture exactly what a new program could do for the community is often the one staring at a blank application at 4:45 on a Friday, wondering where to start and whether there is time to do it justice before the deadline.

This workshop offers ten responses to that pressure. Rather than treating AI as a way to game funders or mass-produce applications, this session positions AI as a thoughtful collaborator that supports, but never replaces, your professional judgment and your knowledge of your community. Participants will see real examples and walk away with concrete strategies they can use on their very next application.

The workshop is grounded in a simple belief: a good idea should not lose its funding because the person behind it ran out of hours. Used well and used honestly, AI can clear away the blank-page paralysis and the busywork, protect your library's voice and your patrons' privacy, and give you back the time to do what actually wins grants, which is making a clear case for real community need.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Apply ten specific AI collaboration strategies across the full grant development arc, from aligning an idea with your mission through drafting, funder research, and final submission
• Evaluate when AI genuinely strengthens a grant-writing task and when your own judgment and community knowledge need to lead
• Implement prompting and verification techniques that protect accuracy, data privacy, and your library's authentic voice
• Adapt AI-generated drafts to a specific funder's priorities, language, and requirements

ACTIONABLE WORKSHOP ELEMENTS:

Over 60 minutes, participants will move through ten focused applications, each illustrated with a real example or a quick demonstration:

• Align the idea with your mission or strategic plan. Show a funder that your project grows straight out of the goals your organization already set, so your case for support starts on solid ground.
• Draft a project charter. Turn a rough idea into a one-page internal agreement that earns a clear yes from your board or director before you invest hours in writing.
• Refine measurable outcomes. Move past vague goals to outcomes that name a real change in people or community, the kind funders now expect to see.
• Gather research to support your narrative. Find the data that shows the need is real and widespread, and back your story with numbers a reviewer can trust.
• Find potential funders. Build a shortlist of funders whose priorities already point at your project, so you spend time where you can actually win.
• Evaluate whether an opportunity is a good match. Weigh fit, effort, and odds before you commit, and protect your limited grant-writing time for the applications worth pursuing.
• Pressure-test against a specific opportunity. Find the weak spots in your project while there is still time to fix them, before a reviewer finds them for you.
• Sanity-check the budget. Catch the costs applicants forget, like reporting time and contingency, so your budget reads as credible and complete.
• Brainstorm grant name ideas. Land on a title that is clear, a little memorable, and hints at the scope of work, not just the topic.
• Get help with character and word counts. Fit a strong, complete answer inside strict application limits without losing what matters most.

The recording and presentation slides will be available to all who register.

DATE: Friday, July 31st, 2026, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm US - Eastern Time

COST:

• $99/person - includes live attendance, anytime access to the recording and presentation slides, and a participation certificate. To arrange group discounts (see below), to submit a purchase order, or for any registration difficulties or questions, email admin@library20.com.

TO REGISTER: 

Click HERE to register and pay. You can pay by credit card. You will receive an email within a day with information on how to attend the webinar live and how you can access the permanent webinar recording. If you are paying for someone else to attend, you'll be prompted to send an email to admin@library20.com with the name and email address of the actual attendee.

If you need to be invoiced or pay by check, if you have any trouble registering for a webinar, or if you have any questions, please email admin@library20.com.

NOTE: Please check your spam folder if you don't receive your confirmation email within a day.

SPECIAL GROUP RATES (email admin@library20.com to arrange):

• Multiple individual log-ins and access from the same organization paid together: $99 each for 3+ registrations, $75 each for 5+ registrations. Unlimited and non-expiring access for those log-ins.
• The ability to show the webinar (live or recorded) to a group located in the same physical location or in the same virtual meeting from one log-in: $399.
• Large-scale institutional access for viewing with individual login capability: $599 (hosted either at Learning Revolution or in Niche Academy). Unlimited and non-expiring access for those log-ins.

ALL-ACCESS PASSES: This webinar is not a part of the Safe Library All-Access program.

CRYSTAL TRICE

With over two decades of experience in libraries and education, Crystal Trice is passionate about helping people work together more effectively in transformative, but practical ways. As founder of Scissors & Glue, LLC, Crystal partners with libraries and schools to bring positive changes through interactive training and hands-on workshops. She is a Certified Scrum Master and has completed a Masters Degree in Library & Information Science, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and Psychology. She is a frequent national presenter on topics ranging from project management to conflict resolution to artificial intelligence. She currently resides near Portland, Oregon, with her extraordinary husband, fuzzy cows, goofy geese, and noisy chickens. Crystal enjoys fine-tip Sharpies, multi-colored Flair pens, blue painters tape, and as many sticky notes as she can get her hands on.

 

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS:

 July 14, 2026

 July 16, 2026

 July 21, 2026

 July 23, 2026

 Fall 2026