How to Write a Good Prompt: The Recipe + 8 Examples
You tried ChatGPT, and the answer was… underwhelming. The problem is almost never the AI. It’s the question you ask it. A good prompt changes everything. Here’s how to write one, with copy-paste examples.
What exactly is a prompt?
A prompt is the message you write to the AI: a question, an instruction, a request. The golden rule fits in one line:
A vague request gets a vague answer. A precise request gets a useful one.
The 4-ingredient recipe for a good prompt
- The role: tell the AI who it should be. “You are a supportive writing tutor.”
- The task: what you want, precisely. “Proofread this text without changing its meaning.”
- The context: for whom, for what purpose, in what tone. “It’s for a professional email, polite and concise.”
- The format: the shape of the answer. “Reply in 5 bullet points, no jargon.”
8 examples ready to copy
- “Explain [a topic] to me as if I were 12 years old.”
- “Rewrite this message to make it more polite: [text].”
- “Give me 10 ideas for [a meal / a gift / a title].”
- “Summarize this document in 5 key points: [text].”
- “Compare [A] and [B] in a simple table.”
- “Act as a recruiter and ask me 5 interview questions.”
- “Translate this text into French, natural tone, not word for word.”
- “Before answering, ask me any questions you need.”
The trick 90% of people miss
Ask the AI to ask you questionsbefore it answers (the last example above). It gathers the context it’s missing, and the answer gets dramatically better. And don’t hesitate to push back: “Too long, make it shorter”, “Give me 3 other versions”. It’s a conversation, not a vending machine.
The habit to keep
Even with a perfect prompt, the AI can get things wrong (read why AI sometimes makes things up). You remain the decision-maker: you review, you approve. That’s the whole spirit of manage it, don’t be replaced by it.
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