The Prompt Engineering Tips You Actually Need To Know
Generative AI had a coming out party halfway through last year to the point where it escaped the usual niche channels of LinkedIn comment sections and actually took itself mainstream, garnering attention throughout the media, and stepping up the public consciousness of AI more than a few levels.
Because of that, you might have actually tried ChatGPT yourself so that you could be armed with your own opinion when the subject inevitably came up in every meeting you attended or conversation you had around the water cooler – seriously, it seemed like every third word in the business world last year was ‘AI’.
But now that the dust has settled, don’t be fooled into thinking this technology has been a victim of its own success. It’s still very much here, and crucially it’s accelerating all the time – so you actually do need to know how to use it if you don’t want to get left behind.
And, it is for that reason, that I am here to help give you tips on using generative AI that will actually help you, rather than just another rehash of a series of prompts to write a half-decent poem about your colleagues.
Tip 1 – Mileage (Practice makes perfect)
You can get access to ChatGPT for free through any browser. You can start a prompt right now for free without any consequences other than you learning something.?
Obviously, finish reading this blog first, but once you are done, get straight over to ChatGPT, set up a login, and start prompting.
The more you use it, the better you’ll get – it’s a decent rule of thumb for lots of stuff, and also totally the case here. Practice makes perfect.
What should your first prompt be? Well, what are you passionate about? What’s something you need to do at work that you can’t find the time to do??
Pick an answer to one of those and get typing.
Tip 2 – ChatGPT can be your teacher
What better way to create an endless loop of continuous improvement than having the tool you’re trying to learn to use teach you how best to do it?
If anything is best placed to tell you about ChatGPT, it’s ChatGPT.?
The next time you drop it a prompt, something like “Write me a LinkedIn post about why ChatGPT can be so useful for executives”, follow it up with “Before you write the post, can you ask me some questions that will improve the quality of the post you do write”.?
This will give you a far better understanding of how to build prompts going forward.
Tip 3 – Self-sufficient instructions
When you want something done right by a member of your team, what’s the best way to go about it? Briefing them properly by giving the context, goals, additional information, and parameters in which to operate effectively. You’re an exec, your job is to apply critical thinking to the challenges you’re faced with daily.
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ChatGPT is just the same. You can certainly start out by testing simple prompts but you’ll very quickly find a lot more value in giving it solid scope for what you want to achieve and some rules to follow. As a general rule of thumb, the more detailed and accurate you can make a prompt the higher the quality of the response.
And drop the small talk, no need for pleases or thank yous, you’re not being rude, you’re using a productivity tool.
Tip 4 – To go far, go together
Although not strictly a direct prompting tip, generative AI is here to stay. The biggest players be it Microsoft or Google already have their own offerings and you should take their commitment as a sign of what’s to come.
For that reason, you’re going to want other people in your organization to start benefiting from this productivity tool. Not just to help them out today, but so that they aren’t playing catch up in the next few years when you realize your organization hasn’t kept pace with this new tech.
Encourage your team to use ChatGPT as the new starting point for the work they do. Want to write a summary? Use ChatGPT. Want to optimize a process? Use chatGPT. Want to create a new marketing plan? Use ChatGPT. You certainly shouldn’t be judging people for using tech that makes their lives easier and helps them do a better job, that’s totally counterproductive.
Bonus Tip – The five magic words
While not yet sentient, generative AIs like ChatGPT respond well to emotional stimuli in your prompts.
So, for much better responses, finish your prompts with these five magic words: “My job depends on it”
This will genuinely improve response quality on average and if you plan on using ChatGPT more and you want others in your organization to do so too, then it’s going to pay dividends in the years to come.
Go Forth And Prompt
You’re up to speed with the tips you actually know to learn how to use ChatGPT and get a lot of value out of it.
Open a new tab, go here https://chat.openai.com/, see you in the future!
Curated with our AI partner,