AI is revolutionizing the world at a very fast pace. Nowadays, AI tools are part of literally every single professional setup. People in jobs are using it to improve their productivity, creators are using AI for generating content and researching ideas, and students are using AI as their personal tutor whom they can call even at midnight.

You might also be using some AI tool. You know, you can improve the response from AI by writing better prompts. This is what we are going to learn in this article. This technique of writing clear, concise, and easily understandable prompts is called Prompt Engineering.

In this article, we will go through the important tips and tricks to write good effective prompts. Before getting into those tips, let me tell you one thing: AI tools are meant to assist us in our work. So, view these AI tools as assistants. The way you explain the job to your assistants is the same as what you need to do with these AI tools. This is the entire idea of Prompt Engineering. An effective prompt is nothing but a very clear explanation of the job you want the AI tool to perform.

First, let's understand the two principles of Prompting:

1. Be clear and specific in your instructions

Your prompt should be very clear and explicitly state what you want the model to do. If you want the model to behave as a consultant, write it explicitly at the very start of your prompt. This helps the model understand the context better and provide a more accurate response.

Example:

Prompt: "Act as a business consultant and suggest five strategies to grow my online retail business, considering a budget of $10,000."

Modified Prompt:

"Act as a business consultant. I need five detailed strategies to grow my online retail business with a budget of $10,000. Ensure the strategies cover marketing, operations, and customer engagement."

2. Give the model time to think

Encouraging the model to think through a problem step-by-step ensures more comprehensive answers. This helps the AI produce logical and well-thought-out solutions instead of jumping to conclusions.

Example:

Prompt: "Analyze the pros and cons of remote work step-by-step, considering factors like productivity, employee satisfaction, and company costs."

Modified Prompt:

"Provide a detailed analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of remote work. Discuss productivity, employee satisfaction, and company costs in separate sections before concluding."

Tips for Writing Effective Prompts:

1. Use delimiters to clearly indicate different parts of input

Delimiters like triple quotes, brackets, or bullet points make it easier for the model to distinguish between different sections of the input, reducing ambiguity.

Example:

Prompt: "Write a summary and a list of keywords for the following paragraph:

"""AI is transforming industries by automating repetitive tasks and providing insights through data analysis.""""

Modified Prompt:

"Summarize the following paragraph and list keywords in bullet points:

"""AI is transforming industries by automating repetitive tasks and providing insights through data analysis.""""

2. Give the model examples of the task you want it to perform

Providing examples helps the model understand your expectations and format the output accordingly.

Example:

Prompt: "Rephrase this sentence in simpler terms: AI tools enhance productivity.

Example: Input: "AI simplifies complex tasks." Output: "AI makes difficult tasks easier."

Modified Prompt:

"Rephrase this sentence in simpler terms: AI tools enhance productivity.

Example: Input: "The software automates repetitive tasks efficiently." Output: "The tool makes repetitive tasks easier to handle quickly."

3. Specify the steps required to complete the task

Breaking down tasks into steps helps the model produce structured and detailed responses.

Example:

Prompt: "Help me plan a trip to Paris by following these steps:

1. Suggest three places to visit.

2. Recommend two restaurants for dinner.

3. Provide tips for local transportation."

Modified Prompt:

"Plan a five-day trip to Paris with these steps:

1. Suggest three places to visit each day, including historical landmarks and hidden gems.

2. Recommend two restaurants for dinner each day, considering local cuisine and ambiance.

3. Provide tips for using public transportation, including ticket costs and best routes."

4. Ask for output in a specific format

When you specify the format, it’s easier to get responses that align with your requirements.

Example:

Prompt: "List the benefits of exercise in bullet points."

Modified Prompt:

"Create a bulleted list of five benefits of exercise, followed by a short explanation of each benefit."

5. Instruct the model to work out an entire solution rather than reaching a conclusion directly

Asking the model to explain its reasoning ensures more detailed and logical responses.

Example:

Prompt: "Compare online education and traditional education by analyzing their advantages and disadvantages step-by-step, then conclude which is better."

Modified Prompt:

"Compare online and traditional education in the following aspects: accessibility, cost, quality of interaction, and flexibility. Discuss the pros and cons of each aspect, then provide a comprehensive conclusion on which is better based on these factors."

Iterative Prompt Development

The sad part is you cannot come up with the best prompt in the first go. Hence, we propose something called Iterative Prompt Development. It’s the idea that you keep improving your prompt with every iteration after seeing the output so that you get your desired result. This process can be broken into four simple steps:

1. Try something: Start with a basic prompt.

2. Analyze where the result does not give what you want: Identify gaps or areas of improvement.

3. Clarify instructions, give more time to think: Refine your prompt to address shortcomings.

4. Refine prompts with a batch of examples: Use multiple examples to help the model better understand your expectations.

Example:

First Attempt: "Explain climate change."

Modified Prompt:

"Explain climate change in simple terms for a 10-year-old, focusing on its causes and effects. Provide examples like melting ice caps and rising temperatures."

Final Iteration:

"Explain climate change in simple terms for a 10-year-old by focusing on its causes, effects, and how people can help. Use examples like melting ice caps, rising temperatures, and planting trees."

Now, go and try using these tips the next time you use any AI tool and notice the better results you will get.

I hope you gained knowledge from this article. Stay tuned with us for more such articles on AI tools.