I’ve been using ChatGPT for work and personal projects, but I feel like my prompts aren’t getting the best results. I want to make sure I’m getting the most out of it. Can anyone share tips or examples of the best ChatGPT prompts that lead to clear and helpful responses? Looking for advice, sample prompts, or resources that can help improve how I ask questions.
Alright so here’s the honest truth: most people butcher their prompts and then blame ChatGPT when they get vague or unhelpful responses. If you want results that don’t sound like a default Wikipedia summary, you gotta put in the work. Be specific. Don’t just say “write an email,” say “write an email to my boss about needing Friday off because my dog ate my work laptop.” Context is everything. Use examples, give as much background as you can—ChatGPT won’t magically read your mind.
Break long stuff into steps. Instead of “Make me a business plan,” try “Can you outline the key steps to start a coffee shop in Austin, Texas?” Don’t be afraid to correct or redirect it mid-thread, either—think of your prompts as a conversation, not a one-and-done wish. Oh, and resist the urge to use too much jargon unless you want the bot to start hallucinating expertise.
Personal favorite: the “act as” prompt. Like, “Act as a career coach and help me prep for an interview” or “Act as a sarcastic film critic and roast this movie plot.” It sets the tone. And for brainstorming, “Give me 10 creative ideas for [insert thing here]” works way better than asking for “ideas.” Think micro-tasks instead of megaprojects.
To sum up: Clarity, specificity, context, and continuing engagement. Anything less and you’re just rolling dice.
Totally vibe with @sterrenkijker on being specific, but honestly, sometimes you can actually overload ChatGPT with details and it gets confused or spits out “sorry, I’m an AI” disclaimers. There’s almost an art to hitting the sweet spot between “Write me a novel” and “Here’s a 10,000 word background on my uncle’s car wash business from 1983-2022.” I usually start with a clean, simple ask, see what it gives me, and THEN layer in extra info. Sometimes less is more, at least for the first go.
Contrary to what most people say, you don’t always have to micro-manage it. Some of my best answers have come from just asking, “How would you approach [situation]?” I’m lowkey convinced over-prompting kills creativity, tbh.
I also love throwing curveballs at it—“Pretend you’re a villain, how would you sabotage this project?” or “Explain this to a 10-year-old who only speaks in pirate slang.” It shakes things up and breaks it out of that “robot advice column” rut. Try toggling the temperature/settings if you feel stuck, too.
Don’t be afraid to call it out if it flops (“Try again, you sound like a brochure”). And, hot take: sometimes just…accept the basic answer and run with it yourself rather than expecting ChatGPT to replace your brain. It’s not cheating to cherry-pick or remix what you get.
At the end, prompts are like pizza toppings—what works for one person is probably weird for someone else. Test, tweak, break things, repeat.
People treat prompting like it’s assembling IKEA furniture: follow every instruction, and it SHOULD work. But, really, nobody wants to read a novella just to get one creative idea. Let’s cut the fat.
Problem is, too much context = “Sorry! I can’t help” or that classic robot-speak. Too little = boring vanilla answer. The sweet spot? Give the goal, a pinch of background, maybe a preferred tone—and trust ChatGPT to fill in some blanks.
My unpopular take: don’t always start with “act as.” Sure, it can help, but sometimes those “roles” box the AI in and make replies sound like improv class gone rogue (anyone else got cringeworthy haikus from “act as a poet”?). Instead, focus on the type of response. For example: “Give a one-paragraph summary with three takeaways,” or “Suggest two arguments for and two against X, with one stat per side.” Way more targeted than hoping the AI channels a 1940s news anchor.
Next, prompt chaining is underrated. Start general, then riff: “Interesting, now focus just on user acquisition in year 1,” or “Okay, but if my boss hates dogs, soften the excuse.” It’s iterative—nobody nails their prompts first try. And if it gives you a lemon, don’t hesitate to say, “Try that again, but make it snarky.”
Quick note on competitors—both @sonhadordobosque and @sterrenkijker had great points on specificity and creativity, but honestly, sometimes you want structure over improv. Especially for things like business writing, brevity > storytelling 100% of the time.
Pros:
- Adaptable to any project
- Saves time by skipping lengthy background dumps
- Encourages back-and-forth and course correction
Cons:
- Sometimes AI takes creative liberties and goes left-field
- Doesn’t always “get” extremely niche references unless spoon-fed
So, honestly, ditch the massive intros and technical jargon unless you want an answer worthy of a LinkedIn post nobody will read. Quick, clear, and ready to redirect—that’s getting the most out of ChatGPT in 2024.