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Good Prompt, Bad Prompt: AI Hacks

Our 4-step formula for crafting prompts that bring AI into line. Plus real-world examples that illustrate how specific prompts unlock valuable AI outputs.

Stuart Riddle

Stuart Riddle

— 2 min read
Good Prompt, Bad Prompt: AI Hacks
Inject specificity into AI prompts - knkt.com.au

Ever feel like you're getting basic answers from AI, even when you ask complex questions?

You're not alone.

I used to ask vague questions like 'How can I improve team productivity?', which led to generic answers.

The problem isn't AI, it's bad prompting.

The good news is, with a few simple steps, you can unlock the full potential of AI tools. Here are 4 tips to level up your prompts and get the most out of ChatGPT.

1/ Tell it exactly what you want

Don't generalise, unleash the power of specificity. Remember, garbage in = garbage out.

❌ "Predict next quarter's sales."

✅ "Analyse this sales data from the past 5 years across APAC, considering seasonal variations and economic indicators, to forecast next quarter's sales volumes. Produce a spreadsheet with results, and include a chart to illustrate the monthly forecast."

2/ Set the context and demand credibility

ChatGPT isn't a mind reader, so give it the backstory and upload references or files.

❌ "Tell me what's happening in digital media."

✅ "Generate a report on current consumer behaviour trends in the digital media sector in APAC, citing specific studies and recent statistical data. Focus on the financial sector. Include key findings as bullet points at the start of the report."

3/ Define the output

If you want an essay, say so. If you want bullet points, say so - make sure you're clear about the format.

❌ "Generate content for our social media campaign."

✅ "Create a series of 3 engaging social media posts promoting our new financial advice app, Claras. Each post should be visually appealing with a high-quality image and a concise caption (under 140 characters) highlighting a key benefit of the app. Extract benefits from the attached testimonials."

Bonus: Be specific on the tone

If you want ChatGPT to write like Shakespeare, say so.

✅ Add "Use an energetic and motivational tone." to the previous prompt.

In future posts we'll expand these, showing how advanced prompting supercharges AI's output in a business context. Techniques include:

  • Seek understanding
  • Use iterative improvements
  • Roleplay for decision making
  • Use leverage for trend forecasting
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Looking to partner on an AI product or service? Whether it's something for your team or your customers, let's bring it to life. Set up a call to explore how we co-create problem-solving products with AI.

Until next time!
-- Stuart

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