Simple prompt guide — How to write effective prompts in ChatGPT or other AI systems

Reza Rezvani
3 min readApr 7, 2023
ChatGPT by OpenAI

Writing effective prompts for users is a crucial aspect of ensuring they receive precise and valuable answers from AI systems like ChatGPT, Google Bard or Midjourney. Crafting a good prompt requires a thorough understanding of the topic, clear communication skills, and attention to detail.

As a prompt engineer, your primary goal is to create questions or statements that guide the AI’s response in a specific and desired direction, providing users with the most relevant and helpful information. To achieve this, you need to focus on factors such as clarity, context, specificity, and conciseness. The following step-by-step guide outlines the process of crafting high-quality prompts for specific topics, enabling users to get the most out of their interactions with LLM (Large Language Model) AI systems.

Step 1: Identify the topic

Choose the specific topic for which you want to create a prompt. Ensure that it is clear and focused so that users can easily understand the context.

Step 2: Determine the purpose

Understand the purpose of the prompt. Is it to gather information, seek advice, brainstorm ideas, or solve a problem? Knowing the purpose will help you craft a better prompt.

Step 3: Research and gather information

Research the topic thoroughly to gather relevant information and background context. This will help you create a prompt that is both accurate and informative.

Step 4: Break it down

Break the topic down into smaller, more manageable parts. This can make it easier for users to approach the prompt and for the AI to provide a precise answer.

Step 5: Use clear and concise language

Write the prompt using clear and concise language. Avoid jargon, slang, or overly complex phrasing. Keep it simple and straightforward so that users can easily understand what is being asked.

Step 6: Be specific and direct

Include specific details and keywords related to the topic to help guide the AI’s response. Be direct in your question, making sure to ask for exactly what you want the AI to provide.

Step 7: Provide context and examples (if needed)

If necessary, provide context or examples to clarify the prompt. This can help users and the AI better understand the topic and its nuances.

Step 8: Test the prompt

Test the prompt with the AI to see if it produces the desired results. If not, revise the prompt to improve clarity or specificity, and test again.

Step 9: Iterate and refine

Based on the testing results, iterate and refine the prompt until it consistently yields precise and useful answers from the AI.

Step 10: Document and share

Document the final prompt, along with any important notes or insights. Share it with users so they can use it to effectively engage with the AI on the specific topic.

By following these steps, you can create high-quality prompts that will help users get precise answers from AI systems like ChatGPT from OpenAI.

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Reza Rezvani

AI and visions of information technology. As CTO at a healthcare startup I face every day new challenges on my daily workflow.