ChatGPT for the Rest of Us: A 1-Hour Quickstart Guide

Unless you're emerging from prison or a coma, you've definitely heard all the chatter about ChatGPT. For some reason, you've yet to Google and try it. If you've wanted a simple guide, this is for you. Set a time for 60 minutes, and try to blast through this simple checklist. Don't worry about "the fuss" or value yet. Just complete the steps below. Deal?

If you stick with me here, future posts will show you more on WHY this tool is a free personal or professional assistant you can train to do tech things you hate. But for today, I'm asking you to just set a timer, grab your laptop, and TRUST.

ChatGPT 1-Hour Get Started Guide for 1st Timers

Confidence is one of the biggest issues when learning new tech. Let me promise you - if you can google things, you can learn ChatGPT. It's a different style of 'search,' and it's actually way more natural for humans to learn. Okay, enough chitchat. Let's get started.

1. Google ChatGPT.

Go to Google, ideally on a laptop. Now search "ChatGPT". Click the first result you see - the words to click: Introducing ChatGPT. I want you to come in through Google, so you can bookmark the link and know how to always come back to it. But if you have trouble, click this link directly: https://beta.openai.com/.

TIP: ChatGPT is a lot of typing. When possible, I use my laptop or device with a keyboard.

2. Click "Sign up".

Click the "Sign up" button. This will take you to the official ChatGPT website. If not click this link directly: https://beta.openai.com/.

• Click the Sign up button.
• Follow the directions. I recommend signing up by email. Verify email.

3. You're in. Stop for a second and look around.

Now take a breath. Slow your roll for a second and get the lay of the land. Here's what you're looking at here:

• Center Screen: Prompt suggestions. ChatGPT calls queries or searches "prompts". Don't let the words confuse you. The middle of the landing page is full of prompt examples you can start with or try.
• Left Rail: Past prompt threads. Think of this like old text threads. Each separate prompt you write is like a new text message. Each of these threads represents a unique time you asked ChatGPT a question or told it to do something.
• Bottom: Where you write your prompt. Looking at this screen, there are 2 ways you can start a new prompt: a) Bottom of the Center Screen and 2) Top of the left rail button New Chat. EITHER of these will start a fresh conversation with ChatGPT.

4. Try it!

Dive in and try a new prompt. If you're feeling uncreative, try one of the pre-baked examples in the middle of the screen. If that doesn't do it for you, here are a few:

• Let's write a kids story together. We will take turns telling the story, and we'll build off each other's ideas. I want you to start the story using these 3 things: cheeseballs, tech layoffs, a moose. Go.
• Hey chatgpt, act like I am hiring you as my private career consultant. You are the best XYZ industry [your industry or hobby] in the world. I am hiring you to improve my LinkedIn profile [OR your Facebook profile, etc]. Optimize it for discovery on Google. Do you understand? What do you need to complete this task? [It's going to make you cut/paste your LinkedIn copy into ChatGPT. Go to your LinkedIn profile and copy the text like you would on the internet. Paste it into ChatGPT. Hit 'submit' .
• I am a junior in HS and applying to XYZ college. It is very competitive. I am hiring you as my college admissions expert. You are #1 in the world for elite college admissions. What data do you need about me to successfully complete this command? Remember: Be creative and think outside the box. No generic answers. Got it?

This is a great place to stop. Be psyched that you are now officially on ChatGPT.

Don't get overwhelmed. I promise I'll teach you more about the differences between Google and ChatGPT in an upcoming article. Sometimes prompt writing comes to non-engineers, therapists, teachers and writers more easily, as you talk to it like you do to humans.

1st Timer Tips!

Before we go, here are some big-picture concepts to understand to get the best results:

• ChatGPT is best for advice or more complicated questions. If you can Google it, do that. Like going to therapy, ChatGPT is for deeper more intricate questions or problems.
• ChatGPT's first reply will probably suck. If you're underwhelmed with the answer, it's probably because the question was too generic. You have to reply and continue to say "no" or "let's try again" or "i hate this response because...". Don't worry about this yet - I will teach you.
• Write like you're talking to a person. The best prompts are very different than google wants. ChatGPT is way more like talking to a person. It's important to always remember it is NOT a person. But if you want the best results, pretend you are REALLY sitting down with the #1 college admissions expert in the world. Talk like that.
• Your threads are saved on the left rail. Don't worry about losing your results. Every time ChatGPT replies, it is officially a new thread (just like text). I suggest deleting the threads that went haywire or were not useful. And I suggest renaming the ones you want to save.

Aaaaand...you can now officially say you "use" ChatGPT. I promise I'll be back with fun tricks, secrets I've learned, and how to use ChatGPT differently than you Google search. My advice between articles? Try stuff! Go crazy. You can NOT break it.

If you just can NOT wait until the next one, hire me as your 1:1 ChatGPT coach! Email me: [email protected] to chat about it. No pressure.

Coach sounds dumb, but you get the point. I'm best 1:1, sitting side-by-side with my laptop and yours. In a few sessions, I can teach you how to optimize your prompts and results, specific to your top priorities, goals, problems. I've also got a lot of tricks up my sleeve to get ChatGPT to do things it may say it cannot do.

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