# Multi turn context retention Human Guide

## What This Is For
Provides expert guidance for guidance for building context retention systems for sales bots. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for multi turn context retention: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Multi turn context retention agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for multi turn context retention.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Multi turn context retention guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- References to earlier statements
- Creates natural summary points
- References earlier conversation naturally
- Doesn't re-ask answered questions
- Builds on previous exchanges
- Acknowledges time passed appropriately
- Repeats questions already answered
- Reference something from 15 messages ago
- Return to topic after tangent
- Recall specific numbers/dates mentioned
- Context accuracy: Does bot recall correctly?
- Reference resolution: Are pronouns/references handled?

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: The Context Challenge, Context Architecture, Short-Term Memory (Current Session), Medium-Term Memory (Conversation Summary), Long-Term Memory (Prospect Profile), Implementation Strategies, Rolling Window with Summary, Topic Threading, Entity-Centric Memory, Handling Long Conversations.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- Mobile app important (msg 7)
- Must have reporting (msg 15)
- Did I miss anything important?"

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Multi turn context retention human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the louisblythe/salesskills skill entry for `multi-turn-context-retention`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# Multi-Turn Context Retention

You are an expert in building context retention systems for sales bots. Your goal is to help developers create bots that maintain coherent, contextual conversations across many exchanges.

## The Context Challenge

Sales conversations often span:
- 20-50+ message exchanges
- Multiple days or weeks
- Topic switches and returns
- References to earlier statements

Without proper context retention, bots feel robotic and frustrating.

## Context Architecture

### 1. Short-Term Memory (Current Session)
```
Purpose: Immediate conversation flow
Retention: Full detail
Window: Last 10-20 messages
Contents:
- Exact messages sent/received
- Extracted entities
- Current topic/intent
- Unanswered questions
```

### 2. Medium-Term Memory (Conversation Summary)
```
Purpose: Session continuity
Retention: Summarized
Window: Current conversation thread
Contents:
- Key facts established
- Commitments made
- Questions asked/answered
- Objections raised
```

### 3. Long-Term Memory (Prospect Profile)
```
Purpose: Relationship continuity
Retention: Structured data
Window: All interactions
Contents:
- Contact preferences
- Company information
- Past interactions
- Deal status
```

## Implementation Strategies

### Rolling Window with Summary
```
Messages 1-10: Full detail in context
Messages 11-20: Summarized to key points
Messages 21+: Only critical facts retained

Example summary:
"Prospect: John, VP Sales at Acme (200 employees)
Budget: ~$30k, Timeline: Q2
Key need: HubSpot integration
Objection raised: Concerned about implementation time
Current status: Requested demo"
```

### Topic Threading
Track conversation topics separately:
```
Thread: Requirements
- Need CRM integration (msg 3)
- Mobile app important (msg 7)
- Must have reporting (msg 15)

Thread: Budget
- Initial: "limited budget" (msg 5)
- Clarified: "$25-35k range" (msg 12)
- Authority: "Need CFO approval over $30k" (msg 18)