Here are tips on how to effectively ask generative AI prompts:

Be Clear and Specific
- Clearly state your request and provide details about what you want.
- Example: Instead of "Tell me about AI," ask "Explain how AI can improve healthcare outcomes."
Use Examples
- Provide examples to clarify your expectations.
- Example: Instead of "Write a story," ask "Write a short story about a robot learning to care for humans."
Set the Tone or Style
- Specify the tone, audience, or style you want.
- Example: Instead of "Write about climate change," ask "Write a persuasive article about climate change suitable for middle school students."
Ask Step-by-Step Questions
- Request detailed, step-by-step explanations.
- Example: Instead of "Help me solve this math problem," ask "Explain how to solve 2x + 3 = 7 step by step."
State the Desired Output Format
- Specify the format of the response (e.g., summary, outline, list).
- Example: Instead of "Explain AI topics," ask "List five key AI topics with a one-sentence explanation for each."
Provide Context
- Offer background information to guide the response.
- Example: Instead of "Plan a trip," ask "Plan a weekend trip to New York City, focusing on budget-friendly activities."
Refine and Iterate
- If the response isn’t right, refine your prompt and try again.
- Example: "Can you rewrite that in a more casual tone?"
Ask for Suggestions
- Use AI to brainstorm ideas or approaches.
- Example: "What are some creative ways to teach math to 10-year-olds?"
Include What You Don’t Want
- Specify any information or tone to avoid.
- Example: "Explain renewable energy without technical jargon."
Encourage Thoughtful Responses
- Instruct AI to think through the answer slowly and logically.
- Example: "Provide a detailed analysis of the pros and cons of electric vehicles."
Review and Revise
- After receiving a response, assess its accuracy and relevance.
- Refine your prompt as needed to improve the output.

By being specific, structured, and iterative, you’ll get more accurate and tailored responses!

Remember that generative AI is a language model and not a human, so the responses generated may not always be perfect. It's important to critically evaluate the information and use it as a starting point for further research or discussion.

Advanced Prompting Techniques

Multi-step Prompts: Utilize multi-step prompts to guide generative AI through a series of related questions or tasks. For example, instead of asking for a single response, you can break down a complex topic into smaller steps or sub-questions to elicit a more detailed and organized response.
Perspective Shifting: Experiment with prompting generative AI to generate responses from different perspectives or viewpoints. For instance, you can ask ChatGPT to provide a response as if it were a historical figure, a fictional character, or from the viewpoint of a specific community or culture.

Prompt for Creativity

Emojis and Dialogue: Encourage creativity in responses by incorporating emojis or using prompts that ask for responses in the form of a dialogue between characters. This can add a playful and engaging element to the interaction with generative AI.

Customizing Output Structure

Lists, Tables, Headings/Subheadings: Prompt generative AI to generate responses in specific formats such as lists, tables, or with headings/subheadings to create structured and organized content. For instance, you can ask for a list of pros and cons, a comparison table, or a response with clear headings and subheadings for different sections.

Prompting for Tone

Tone and Style: Specify the desired tone or style for the response, such as formal, informal, academic, conversational, humorous, or any other tone that aligns with your intended communication style or audience.

Prompting for Different Content Types

Academic Content: You can prompt generative AI to generate academic content, such as essays, summaries, research papers, or presentations, tailored to your specific subject or topic. For example, you can provide a prompt like "Write a summary of the key concepts and theories related to quantum mechanics" or "Compose a research paper on the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity in the Pacific Ocean."
Informative Articles: You can prompt generative AI to generate informative articles on various topics, such as news, features, or informative blog posts. For example, you can provide a prompt like "Write an article discussing the latest advancements in artificial intelligence and its potential applications in healthcare" or "Compose an informative blog post on the benefits of mindfulness meditation for mental health."
Creative Stories: You can prompt generative AI to generate creative stories, including short stories, flash fiction, or storytelling prompts. For example, you can provide a prompt like "Write a short story about a time-traveling detective solving a murder mystery in ancient Egypt" or "Compose a flash fiction piece about a young girl who discovers she has magical powers and embarks on a quest to save her village from an evil sorcerer."

By providing specific prompts for different content types, you can harness the creative potential of generative AI to generate content that aligns with your desired format, tone, and content requirements

Want to learn more?

OpenAI prompt Engineering Guide

The University of Michigan-Flint has a self-paced Generative AI Prompt Literacy Course

Cynthia Alby has developed AI Prompts for Teaching

Harvard University's Getting started with prompts for text-based Generative AI tools

Open Prompt Engineering Course: a project by DAIR.AI(opens in a new tab) that aims to educate researchers and practitioners about prompt engineering.

Prompts for Educators from Tarrant County College

Prompt Library provides a variety of prompts to help you lesson plan and do administrative tasks with GenAI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, Bard, and Perplexity. Plus, for learners, they have "explain it to me like" to use ChatGPT to simplify topics/concepts.

📌 Ethan Mollick has developed a Prompt Library for teachers and students.