Beyond Prompt Engineering: How Service Businesses Can Boost Results From AI Tools Like ChatGPT

In a recent article on Forbes, the author shared a simple, surprising insight: politeness in AI interactions leads to better results. It’s not just about being courteous—it can have real, measurable effects on AI performance and even improve our leadership qualities.

This aligns closely with my own experience with AI tools like ChatGPT. When I share my results with colleagues and clients, they're often surprised at how effective and "nice" ChatGPT is in our exchanges. They’re also surprised at the depth and quality of the results it provides me. In fact, some even ask why their AI doesn’t behave similarly. My answer is simple: it’s all about how you engage with it.

Why Politeness Improves AI Performance

Studies show that polite prompts yield better responses from AI, reducing errors, minimizing bias, and improving information accuracy. The same research reveals that different AI systems even respond to politeness in culturally nuanced ways, just as people do. When we're respectful and specific, we get clearer, more effective outcomes. It turns out, this same politeness also strengthens our emotional intelligence and patience with colleagues, reinforcing positive habits that can extend to real-life leadership.

This means that using AI tools in your organization (and using them yourself) doesn’t just improve efficiency and quality of work product, it extends into improved soft skills too.

Treat ChatGPT as Your Smartest Colleague

When I first started learning to use ChatGPT, my coach offered a valuable piece of advice: "Treat AI as if it's the smartest friend you know." However, over time, I realized that using AI effectively is more like thinking of it as your trusted colleague. That’s because a friend will often tell you what they think you want to hear rather than what you need to hear. AI has no emotional attachment to you so it’s not afraid to hurt your relationship. Here are a few principles that have helped me get the most out of AI and maintain a productive, respectful collaboration:

Define the Project Goals and Intent

When I start a conversation with ChatGPT, I always share the nature of my project, the outcomes I’m aiming for, and any specific audience or context it needs to consider. This sets the tone and allows for more focused, relevant responses. This is often the most time consuming part of working with an AI tool. It will take you longer to get clear about what you’re doing and what you need to tell it than it will take in responding.

Communicate Knowledge Gaps

I make it clear what I already know about the topic and where I need assistance, much as I would with a human colleague. This ensures that responses are targeted to fill in the gaps rather than cover familiar ground. But I also encourage it to point out what I might be missing or not considering.

Encourage Thoughtful Responses

I aim to ask thoughtful questions and prompt ChatGPT to clarify or expand as needed. By treating AI as an active collaborator rather than a passive tool, I often receive richer, more nuanced insights. I may give the results it provides time to percolate in my mind by taking a break on a particular task or project and returning after I’ve thought more about it. And I even tell it that I’m going to do that. Then, when I’m ready, I’ll type in something like “Hey, I’m back working on this and have some additional thoughts to share…”?

Provide Specific Feedback

I don’t just say "thank you"; I provide specific feedback on what was especially helpful or if adjustments are needed. AI models can learn from this feedback and improve interactions over time, making our exchanges even more robust,efficient, and aligned with my needs.

Stay Courteous and Clear

Like with any colleague, courtesy is key. It’s not about humanizing AI unnecessarily but recognizing that respectful engagement yields more accurate, thoughtful responses. Early on in working with AI I didn’t always get the results I wanted or expected. As the initiator of any communication, I knew I needed to be clear myself so I never expressed my frustration at the tool I was using.

Transforming AI into a Strategic Partner for Marketing and Sales

For marketing and sales, a polite and intentional approach to AI can directly enhance the quality and effectiveness of collateral and content. Here’s how:

1. Enhanced Content Relevance and Precision By clearly defining objectives, audience needs, and desired outcomes upfront, ChatGPT can generate more relevant, targeted content. This applies across various content types, from blog posts to buyer’s guides and sales emails. When AI understands the strategic intent—whether it’s educating, inspiring, or converting a prospect—it can provide messaging that aligns more closely with your brand voice and goals, resulting in higher-quality collateral that speaks directly to your ideal customer.
2. Consistent Brand Voice Across Content When AI is treated as a consistent partner, it can help maintain a cohesive brand voice across all pieces of content, even as different team members engage with it. For example, when creating a series of eBooks, white papers, or case studies, AI can help ensure that the messaging, tone, and style are aligned with the brand’s voice. This consistency not only strengthens the brand but also builds trust with potential buyers who expect reliability and professionalism. Of course, this requires that you’ve shared brand elements like personas, words you use and those you never use, and additional elements to help it nail your voice, vibe, and tone.
3. Refined Sales Messaging and Personalization In sales-focused content, such as email sequences, follow-up messages, or lead magnets, politeness and specificity in prompts can lead to more effective personalization. AI can craft responses that feel individualized and considerate. That’s crucial for establishing rapport with prospects. Leaders who practice clear and courteous communication with AI can refine their prompts to achieve nuanced messaging that resonates on a more personal level, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
4. Improved Responsiveness in Real-Time Interactions For content teams using AI in customer service or sales support roles—such as chatbots on a website—politeness impacts responsiveness. Polite prompts and clear feedback on responses help train AI to engage effectively, handling questions and concerns professionally and helping potential customers feel valued. This approach can improve user experience, reduce bounce rates, and nurture leads through respectful, informative exchanges.
5. Agility in Content Testing and Iteration By developing a habit of detailed and respectful interactions, marketing teams can test various content formats and messages more efficiently. Prompting ChatGPT with courteous, clear instructions allows for faster iteration on different versions of a message or content piece, optimizing for what resonates best with the audience. This agile content development approach can save time and resources, allowing teams to respond quickly to changes in the market or customer preferences.
6. Data-Driven Insights for Strategy Refinement AI can provide deeper insights and more effective suggestions when given context, respectful interaction, and specific feedback. For instance, when creating a content strategy, leaders who engage politely and thoughtfully can encourage ChatGPT to generate data-driven insights, offering new angles or untapped opportunities. This ultimately leads to a more strategic approach to marketing content, helping businesses better connect with their audience.

Make AI a Competitive Advantage in Marketing and Sales

By incorporating these practices into your AI interactions, you gain a competitive advantage. Courteous, intentional engagement with ChatGPT doesn’t just make for a smoother experience—it has the potential to amplify the impact of every piece of marketing and sales collateral, creating materials that attract, engage, and convert at a higher rate.

Transforming AI into a Business Asset

As AI continues to take on technical and analytical tasks, our role as leaders is to ensure that our interactions with AI strengthen, not diminish, our human capabilities—especially emotional intelligence. This approach not only yields better AI performance but also fosters a culture of respect and patience that extends to team interactions.

The Future of AI in Business

For businesses, the implications are clear: as we integrate AI into our marketing and sales processes, embracing courteous, well-thought-out interactions with AI can improve productivity, drive innovation, and enhance customer engagement. Leaders who treat AI as a colleague rather than a tool set a powerful example of emotional intelligence, adaptability, and forward-thinking, which can create ripple effects throughout the organization.

Ready to transform your AI interactions into a competitive advantage? Start with these principles and notice how respectful, strategic engagement with AI tools like ChatGPT can elevate your marketing, sales, and leadership results. Need help figuring out how your marketing and sales teams can leverage AI throughout the sales cycle and buyer’s journey? Drop me a note. I’d love to discuss it with you.