The secret of "Genuine" Prompt: Harness the full power of ChatGPT

Have you ever experienced the feeling of being “dumbfounded” when ChatGPT answered “incorrectly” or didn’t mean what you meant, even though you tried to ask very clearly? If so, you are not alone! Many ChatGPT users often think that if they ask a question, the AI will automatically understand, but in fact, the key to “unlocking” its full potential lies in a small but extremely important skill: the art of Prompt writing!

Prompt is more than just a question or command you enter. It is your language of communication with artificial intelligence. A “genuine” prompt can turn a general answer into in-depth, unique, and surprisingly accurate content. On the contrary, a vague prompt can cause you to receive unexpected results, wasting time and effort.

In this article, I will share with you the secret of “genuine” prompts and golden rules so you can turn ChatGPT into a superior tool, always working exactly as you want. Get ready to take your AI skills to the next level!

What Is Prompt And Why Is It So Important?

As mentioned, Prompt is the “key” to your communication with ChatGPT - the command, question, or request that you give for the AI to process. It’s like giving orders to a smart employee: if you give clear, detailed, and focused instructions, you’ll get perfect results.

So why is prompt so important?

Control the results: A good prompt helps the AI understand exactly what you want, thereby giving the most appropriate answer, minimizing the need for you to edit or ask again and again.
Save time: Instead of struggling with off-topic answers, a high-quality prompt will help you get straight to the point, saving a significant amount of valuable time.
Unlock hidden features: ChatGPT can do more than you think, from writing ad scripts to basic data analysis. A smart prompt can “unlock” these hidden capabilities.
Improve output quality: From “general” answers, you can turn it into in-depth, unique content, imbued with your personal or brand impression.

5 Golden Rules for Writing “Genuine Standard” Prompts

To become a prompt “artist”, remember these 5 core principles:

Principle 1: Be specific and detailed

This is the most basic principle but is often overlooked. Avoid general questions. Provide enough information so the AI has context and understands your request.

Poor Prompt: “Write about travel.” (Too general, AI doesn’t know what aspect you want to write about)
Good Prompt: “Write a paragraph of about 150 words about the benefits of backpacking in Vietnam, for a young, dynamic audience, and use a friendly, inspirational tone.”

*Analysis:* We have clearly specified the topic, length, audience, and desired style.

Principle 2: Assign Roles (Persona) to AI

When you ask ChatGPT to “play the role” of an expert, a specific character, it will think and answer from the perspective of that role, helping the answer become more profound and professional.

Poor Prompt: “Explain economics.”
Good Prompt: “You are an economics expert with 20 years of experience, please explain the concept of ‘inflation’ to a high school student in the easiest way possible, with a real-life example.”

*Analysis:* AI will tailor expertise to suit the listener.

Principle 3: Determine Objectives and Output Format

Tell the AI exactly what you want the results to be and what format you want them in. This helps the AI structure the answer in an organized manner.

Poor Prompt: “Talk about the benefits of coffee.”
Good Prompt: “Please list the 5 main health benefits of drinking coffee, presented as bullet points.”

*Analysis:* AI will answer 5 questions correctly and in the required format.

Principle 4: Provide Examples (Few-shot Prompting)

Sometimes, giving the AI a few examples of the type of results you want is more effective than any lengthy explanation. This is especially useful when you want the AI to imitate a specific style or format.

Prompt: “I want you to create titles for my blog posts. Here are examples of titles I like:

'5 Tips to Help You Sleep Well Every Night'
- ‘Simple Step-by-Step Instructions for Making Bread at Home’
- Now, create 3 similar titles for the topic ‘Benefits of Daily Meditation’.”

Principle 5: Chain-of-thought Prompting

For complex or multi-step requests, instruct the AI to execute one step at a time. This helps the AI “think” sequentially and avoid missing information.

Poor Prompt: “2024 technology market analysis and strategy recommendations.”
Good Prompt: “Step 1: List the 3 most prominent technology trends in 2024. Step 2: Based on those trends, analyze their potential impact on the retail industry. Step 3: Recommend 2 effective marketing strategies that a retail company can apply to take advantage of these trends.”

Types of “Advanced” Prompts You Should Know

Mastering the 5 principles above, you can create effective prompts. Additionally, you can learn more about prompting terms in more depth:

Zero-shot Prompting: Ask a direct question without providing any examples. This is most common when you just need a simple answer.
Persona Prompting: This is Principle 2 – asking the AI to “impersonate” a specific person or expert.
Constraint Prompting: Set limits for AI’s answers, for example: “limit to 200 words”, “don’t use specialized terms”, “answer in Vietnamese”, etc.

Practice: Write a “Top-notch” Prompt Now!

Theory is one thing, practice is the best way for you to master prompt writing skills. Try the following situations and try setting a “genuine” prompt for your ChatGPT:

Scenario 1: You need to politely but firmly send an email to decline a cooperation invitation from a potential partner.
Scenario 2: You want ChatGPT to suggest 5 content ideas for your personal blog on the topic “Mental Health”, whose target audience is college students.
Scenario 3: You want ChatGPT to explain the concept of “greenhouse effect” to a 5th grade student, it needs to be concise and easy to understand.

Try writing your own prompt and see the results from ChatGPT!

Conclusion: Practice to Become a Prompt Master

Prompt writing is a skill that can be learned and improved over time. By applying the “golden” principles and practicing regularly, you will gradually become a “master” in communicating with AI. At that time, ChatGPT will no longer be a “lucky” tool but will become a powerful assistant, always understanding what you mean and bringing results beyond expectations.

Do you have any “top” prompts you want to share? Or is there a question about how to write a prompt that makes you wonder? Please leave a comment below! Together we will learn and discover more about this exciting world of AI.