Prompting Basics
The skill of talking to AI.
A prompt is simply the message you give to an A I. And the quality of that message, decides the quality of the answer. The good news is that prompting is a skill anyone can learn in an afternoon. In this lesson, you will learn a simple recipe that works almost every time.
- A prompt is your message to the AI
- Better prompts, better answers
- A simple recipe anyone can learn
A weak prompt versus a strong prompt
Look at the difference. A weak prompt says, write about dogs. The answer is vague, generic, and not very useful, because the model has to guess what you want. A strong prompt says, write a friendly two paragraph blog intro, for new dog owners, about house training puppies, in a warm tone. Now the model knows the topic, the audience, the length, and the style. The answer is far more useful. The model can only be as precise as you are.
The four-part recipe
Here is the recipe. Four parts. First, the role. Tell the model who to be, for example, you are an experienced travel planner. Second, the task. Say clearly what you want done. Third, the context. Give the background it needs, like who the audience is, and what you already know. Fourth, the format. Say how the answer should look, a short list, a table, or three sentences. Role, task, context, format.
- Rolewho the AI should act as
- Taskexactly what you want done
- Contextbackground, audience, constraints
- Formathow the answer should look
Prompt in action: a travel plan
Let's apply the recipe. Role, you are an experienced travel planner. Task, plan a three day trip to Lisbon. Context, I love food and history, I dislike crowds, and my budget is moderate. Format, a day by day list, with one morning, one afternoon, and one evening activity. Compare that to, plan a trip to Lisbon. The first prompt gets a plan you can actually use.
Five habits of great prompters
Five habits will take you far. Be specific, vague questions get vague answers. Give examples of what you want. Break big jobs into smaller steps. Say what to avoid, as well as what to include. And iterate. Your first prompt is a draft. Read the answer, then refine, make it shorter, make it friendlier, add numbers. A conversation with an A I is not a single shot, it is a back and forth.
Summary
Good. A prompt is your message, and its quality shapes the answer. Use the four part recipe, role, task, context, and format. Be specific, give examples, break jobs down, and iterate. Next, we learn the powerful techniques that professionals use, like few shot prompting, and chain of thought.
Key takeaways- Role + Task + Context + Format
- Be specific, give examples
- Iterate: the first prompt is a draft