AI works better with better prompts
The “prompt” is the command you give the AI.
Whichever AI you use, whether it’s ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, or Claude (or any of the others), you don’t need a lot of skill to get started. To quote Google now-famous ad (featured below), it just does whatever you type.
However, you can get a lot more out of it if you follow a few pieces of advice in writing your prompts.
How to Write Better AI Prompts
To craft your prompts, include the following:
- Who should the AI be?
- A teacher? A designer? A friend?
- What should the AI do?
- Answer a question
- Write a story
- Solve a problem
- Brainstorm ideas
- How should it do it?
- Formal or casual?
- Short or detailed?
- Include examples?
- What should it include or avoid?
- Specific words
- Certain topics
- Particular formats
- What’s the goal?
- What do you want to use the output for?
For example, you might use this prompt to brainstorm ideas for a lesson:
[BE] I need you to be my thought partner while I come up with ideas for a lesson on the water cycle for a fifth-grade classroom. [DO] I want you to give me ten ideas for fun, meaningful activities I can do with my students. [HOW] Give me the ideas in a list. Keep it casual and short. Bullet points is fine. [INCLUDE/AVOID] Don’t give me ideas that will cost me money or require me to make a video. Also, no PowerPoint presentations or the like. [GOAL] I want to use these ideas to reinforce a lesson on the water cycle (the kids already know the very basics).
With this kind of more-precise prompting, you’ll get better responses.
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