Be specific and clear

Think of crafting prompts for LLMs as having a conversation. The clearer you are, the better the response you’ll receive.

How to be specific and clear

The rule of thumb is to provide just enough instructions and context to help guide the AI’s response. Here are some suggestions:

1. Be direct and state exactly what you want (i.e. summary, list, explanation).
2. Mention the audience and tone.
3. Ask for one thing at a time. Avoid overloading your prompt with multiple questions.

Examples

Example 1: Generating marketing ideas.

Be direct and unambiguous in your request.

Vague:

Give me some marketing ideas.

Specific:

Explain three effective digital marketing strategies for increasing social media engagement among millennials.

Example 2: Retrieving sales data.

Explain how you want the information presented.

Vague:

Give me the latest sales data.

Specific:

Provide a summary of our Q2 2023 sales data, highlighting the top three performing regions in a bullet-point list.

Example 3: Writing about climate change.

Tailor the response to the intended audience and desired tone.

Vague:

Write about climate change.

Specific:

Write a persuasive speech for high school students on the importance of combating climate change, using an urgent and motivational tone.

Example 4: Explain the software features and what's in it for the customers.

Avoid combining multiple requests in one prompt.

Vague:

Explain our new software features and how customers can benefit.

Specific:

List and briefly describe the three new features introduced in our latest software update.

Then, in a separate prompt:

Explain how each of these new features can improve productivity for our customers.