ChatGPT responses Not Quite Right? The Art of Prompting.

Ever used ChatGPT and felt like the results were a little... off? You're not alone. But here's a thought: maybe it's not the AI that's the problem. Maybe it's how you're asking the questions.

Let’s break this down with a popular meme analogy—the one about building a swing. You know the one:

This meme perfectly captures how miscommunication can lead to unexpected results. The same thing happens when you chat with AI Large Language Models like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini. If your questions are vague, the answers will be too. It's like asking, "Tell me how to create a marketing plan," and getting a generic answer that you could have got out of a text book.

Instead, try being specific: "We are a innovative clothing brand and we want to create a marketing plan that will allow us to grow into new markets. We are currently focused on the European market but we are looking to expand to the USA market." Boom—now you’re likely to get something useful. The more information you provide, the more likely the result will be more useful.

Imagine you're an experienced painter. Before you even touch the canvas, you're thinking about:

- Which brushes to use

- What paint and colors to select

- The layers and textures you want to create

- The overall vision of your piece

You don't just start randomly painting—you plan and construct the image in your mind. Otherwise the result may not be what was intended.

Similarly, when you’re prompting AI, you need to construct your question with the desired output in mind. If you don’t know what you want, you’ll get a very generic response because the AI is left guessing what you need. The AI will be filling in the blanks.

But here’s the good news: Not all is lost if you don't know exactly what you're after. If you have a broad idea but are unsure of the details, use ChatGPT to brainstorm and consult with you to get to the result you want. You could say, "I want to create a marketing plan, but I am unsure how to prompt you to get the result that I need. Can you ask me clarifying questions so that we can get the best outcome". C can help you build that killer prompt that will get you closer to the outcomes you’re after.

So, if you’re not getting the answers you’re looking for from ChatGPT, take a step back. Are you being clear and specific? Are you giving enough context? Are you guiding the AI towards the answer you need?

Remember, good prompts lead to good responses. The more detailed and focused your question, the better the result. So, next time you’re chatting with ChatGPT, think like a painter. Plan your question, visualize the answer, and let the AI help you refine it until it’s just right.

There is an art to prompting mastery. In coming articles I will be going over some frameworks on how to create prompts that will improve you results.

Do you have any favourite prompt frameworks? Have you gotten frustrated with the results of your prompts with AI? Share you experiences below.