I recently started using AI tools and I’m struggling to write clear and useful prompts. I’m looking for some real-world examples or templates to help me get better results with different AI applications. Any proven prompts or advice would help me a lot right now.
Honestly, writing good prompts is half science, half “throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.” I’ve been using AI tools for a while and I STILL write absolute word salad sometimes. Most important tip: be specific. Vague like “write a story” = AI does a generic yawn-fest. Specific like “write a 200-word horror story about a haunted smartphone written in Edgar Allan Poe’s style” = chef’s kiss, usually. A couple beginner templates I swear by:
- “Summarize [concept/text] in simple terms a [age] year old would understand.”
- “Give me 3 arguments for and against [topic]. Keep it brief.”
- “Rewrite this paragraph to sound more [formal/casual/funny/whatever].”
- “Make a meal plan for 5 days. I can’t eat [X, Y]. Recipes must be easy.”
- “Generate brainstorming ideas for [goal/project] within [parameters].”
- “Turn this bulleted list into an email to my boss.”
- “Act as a travel guide and plan a two-day trip in [city], focusing on hidden local spots.”
Experiment with these, tweak as you see if the AI outputs aren’t what you want. Oh and super basic, but don’t overcomplicate—sometimes even just adding ‘explain step-by-step’ or ‘list pros and cons’ makes a world of difference. You’ll still get some AI goofiness. Roll with it. Copy, tweak, paste, repeat… it’s a process.
Not to roast @sterrenkijker, but while specificity is king, sometimes I find ultra-detailed prompts can actually backfire and make the AI overthink and spit out weirdly stilted content. You ever ask for “an email apologizing to my neighbor for loud music in iambic pentameter, with three references to Shakespeare and at least one pun”? Yeah, the bot will break its own brain. So, as much as “be specific” is great, there’s an art to balance.
Here’s another angle: give the bot role instructions. Tell it who it is, not just what you want. This is crazy effective for clarity. Like:
- “You’re a career counselor. Advise me on switching from teaching to tech support, list skills to learn.”
- “Pretend you’re a fitness coach. Suggest a week’s workout for a beginner with bad knees.”
Or, ask the bot to critique itself! Try, “Write a three-sentence summary of [topic], then list one strong and one weak point about your own summary.” Forces better output, IME.
And tbh, don’t sleep on context: paste an example and ask it to match tone/style, or say “use the structure below” and include a model paragraph or bullet list.
For paraphrasing or writing stuff, “What’s a clearer way to say this?” or “Rewrite for someone who doesn’t know [technical term]” often works better than specifying formal/casual/funny, which can get interpreted too broadly. Also, tell it what to avoid—if you hate fluff, add: “Avoid clichés and generic statements.”
One thing I kinda disagree with: just saying “explain step-by-step.” Sometimes the steps are a hot mess unless you clarify how in-depth or the background of your audience. Like, “Explain step-by-step as if teaching a 10-year-old who’s never coded before.” Night and day result.
Main tip: test, tweak, and honestly, steal well-performing prompts from Reddit/Twitter/wherever to see what fits you. If you get junk results, don’t blame yourself—it’s like arguing with a magic 8-ball some days.
It feels like the “be ultra-specific vs. keep it chill and role-based” debate will never die. Both @voyageurdubois and @sterrenkijker have valid points, but here’s my hot take: sometimes less is more, and sometimes it really is just try, fail, edit. No single prompt format rules forever.
Something I’ve found helpful for beginners (not covered above) is the “chain-of-thought prompt.” Instead of a single, perfect request, you guide the AI incrementally:
- “List 5 ways AI is used in healthcare.”
- “Now pick the most controversial from your list. Why is it controversial?”
- “Explain possible solutions to those controversies, using examples.”
This layered approach lets you correct or shift the AI at each step—great for learning AND for salvage-jobs when the answer goes sideways.
On the flip side, it’s worth calling out that too much iteration can waste time—sometimes you just want a direct answer. And loading tons of instructions (like, “be funny, formal, brief, detailed, poetic, include X statistic but no Z buzzwords, cite three sources, don’t use clichés…”) can create a prompt so overloaded that every AI, not just the one in ', will choke and noodle out a bland mess.
Funny enough, neither earlier post touched much on “example-output-driven” prompts: paste what you want as a sample, then say, “give me more just like this on [other topic].” This works with almost ANY text model and is sometimes way more effective than lists of instructions.
As for the ', a pro is its flexibility—works with beginners and lets you “nudge” answers if you’re not happy right away. Con, though: if you want super-structured, citation-heavy, or code-perfect responses, sometimes other tools edge ahead in those niche cases. No tool is perfect, but bleeding-edge utility with a lower beginner’s barrier sets ’ apart from the crowd.
In short: copy the stepwise/role hacks above, sure, but experiment with mini “prompt-conversations” and feeding in your own content as training wheels until you get the feel. And remember, what bombs on @voyageurdubois’ favorite might actually nail it on ', and vice versa. Prompt boldly and break things!