Hi ,
Want to get the most from ChatGPT (or Claude, or Gemini, or your GenAI tool of choice)?
Use these three tips for writing prompts that work consistently well over a wide range of
data, that I learned from Vikram Oberoi, creator of the AI-powered citymeetings.nyc:
Tip 1: Say what you actually want
If you want ChatGPT to explain a concept to you as though you were five, or to provide a dot-point
summary of a document, tell it to do just that. Then, refine your prompt to allow for any additional complexities that occur to you along the way. The more pedantic you can be when writing the prompt, the better the results will be.
Tip 2: Provide 5 - 10 diverse illustrative examples
Once you reach the limits of your ability to articulate what you want in your prompt, start providing illustrative examples to show ChatGPT what a “good” response looks like. A good place to start is the output of the first version of your prompt - if you like the output, include it as is. If not, edit it and then include it.
Tip 3: Decompose your task
Rather than asking ChatGPT to perform a complex task with a single prompt, break the task down into subtasks and write a separate prompt for each. It's easier to explain to ChatGPT how to write a paragraph than how to write a whole essay.
Follow these steps and you'll soon find yourself getting better outputs from ChatGPT.
Want to learn more? Listen to my entire conversation with Vikram Oberoi here: Episode 46: Empowering Democracy with LLMs.
Talk again soon,
Dr Genevieve Hayes.
