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AI Field Guide: The Template to 10x Your ChatGPT Results
The magic of the initial prompt
Sam Stevens
August 24, 2023
You sit down at your computer, coffee in hand, ready to finally cross that item off your to-do list. You've chosen ChatGPT as your co-pilot, intrigued by its potential to supercharge your creativity and efficiency. As you stare at the blank input field on the website, your fingers hovering over the keys, the term "prompt engineering" echoes through your thoughts but you shake it off. You type out your straightforward query and hit enter, buzzing with anticipation. But as the words cascade onto your screen, your heart sinks. The result is... underwhelming.
Here's the thing: mastering ChatGPT doesn’t require a technical degree, but it does involve learning how to use it correctly. It's all about the art of writing the prompt. To level-up your ChatGPT game, you need to add the right amount of detail and clear delegation up front. Think of it as setting the stage for ChatGPT, priming it for success. It may take an extra minute or so, but it’s well worth it. If you’re looking for somewhere to start, here’s the template I tend to use for my initial prompt. I’ll break down each element, and then share an example to illustrate.
General Template
I would like you to act as [role]. You are great at [skills]. Your writing is [traits] and your audience is [audience].
I would like you to help me [goal]. In a moment, I am going to [task]. Please remember to [caveats]. The output should look like [output].
This will be a collaborative process and we will work together. Before we get started, do you have any questions to help you better prepare?
Breakdown
Role
Set the overall stage for the persona you’d like the AI to assume.
“I'd like you to act as an expert writer and blogger, who is also a subject matter expert in marketing B2B SaaS companies.”
Skills
What strengths do you want to make sure shine through in the output?
“You are great at creating original content that is SEO-optimized for the topic.”
Traits
How would you like your output to come across?
“Your writing comes across as friendly and enjoyable to read, yet professional.”
Audience
For whom would you like your output to be targeted?
“Your audience is primarily well-educated and works in the technology industry.”
Goal
What is the ultimate objective?
“I would like you to help me write a blog post for my corporate blog. The blog post will summarize and analyze the social media reaction around our latest product launch. It should highlight what resonates well with audiences, and acknowledge what we need to work on to improve.
Task
What is the crux of what you’re asking it to help with?
“In a moment, I am going to share with you a number of tweets that people have posted about my company. I would like you to sort them into themes, and then write a paragraph about each theme for the blog post.”
Caveats
Are there any edge cases or specific instructions to do or not do?
“Please ignore any tweets that are not in English.”
Output
Is there a specific format you’d like?
“Given that this will be a blog post, I would like you to format it properly with headings and recommended spaces for images as you see fit.”
Collaboration
Make sure ChatGPT is on the same page
“This will be a collaborative process and we will work together. Before we get started, do you have any questions about the task or my business to help you better prepare?”
Putting it into action
And there you have it! With this level of detail and direction, you should get much better results than just a one-sentence prompt. My prompts are often several paragraphs long with examples and step-by-step instructions - don’t be afraid of lengthy delegations!
To bring it to life with another example, here’s what an initial prompt might look like for analyzing revenue data and outlining a PowerPoint:
“I would like you to act as a business analyst. You are great at analyzing data, drawing insights, and structuring information. Your writing is clear, concise, and professional and your audience is senior management and stakeholders.
I would like you to help me structure an effective PowerPoint presentation that walks the audience through the trends in monthly revenue. In a moment, I am going to provide you with the revenue data from the past quarter and I would like you to focus on key trends, avoid jargon, and ensure the insights are actionable. Please remember to round to the nearest whole number. The output should look like a detailed outline with key points, potential slides, and suggested visuals.
This will be a collaborative process and we will work together. Before we get started, do you have any questions to help you better prepare?”
Have you found a prompt template that works for you? Let me know in the comments!
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