Picture this: you’re a seasoned energy expert who receives a surprise phone call from Eli Moore, a fictional tech mogul known for his ambitious ideas and futuristic innovations. Eli’s facing a bit of a dilemma and needs your help. He’s just had lunch with a high-profile friend—a prominent business leader who’s influential but a bit skeptical about the benefits of clean energy. Eli thinks that if his friend could just understand the business and economic advantages, he’d be more open to supporting clean energy initiatives. But here’s the catch: Eli needs a clear, compelling explanation by tomorrow morning.
With so little time to prepare, you decide to leverage generative AI to quickly draft this explanation. But as you sit down to start, you realize that simply asking a broad question might not give you the nuanced, persuasive response you’re looking for. And that’s when you realize that crafting prompts for AI is more than just typing a question—it’s both an art and a science.
1. Starting Broad: Crafting the Basic Prompt
Welcome to this blog series on How to Effectively Talk to AI—a skill that’s more universal than you might think. Whether you’re a CEO, a creative professional, a teacher, a student, a tech novice, or just someone curious about AI, this series is designed to guide you through the process of asking better questions and getting more accurate, relevant answers from AI.
Just like Eli Moore needs a clear, concise explanation for his friend, you’ll learn how to guide AI to deliver content that is precise, relevant, and actionable.
Here’s what’s coming up in the series:
(You’re here!) Starting Broad: Crafting the Basic Prompt
Structuring Reasoning
Adding Humor & Analogies
Setting the Example
Putting It All Together: Feedback Loop
TL;DR:
You’re an energy expert helping Eli Moore, a fictional tech mogul, explain the business and economic benefits of clean energy to a skeptical business leader—using AI! This blog series will teach you how to craft better prompts for AI, turning basic questions into tailored, accurate answers. Whether you’re a CEO, student, or just curious about AI, you’ll learn how to improve your prompts step by step. In today’s post, we start with the basics: crafting a clear, broad prompt for a compelling explanation of clean energy.
2. Let’s Begin: Crafting the First Task to Talk to AI
For today’s episode, we’ll focus on the basics—how to craft a clear and effective TASK prompt. A well-defined task is the foundation for any great AI response, setting the stage for clarity and precision. In this case, we’re asking the AI to explain why clean energy matters, but we’ll start broadly without specifying the audience, tone, or structure just yet.
Before we dive in, let’s address the obvious question: what exactly is a prompt? Simply put, a prompt is your way of telling the AI what you need. It’s the question or request you give to guide its response. Think of it as giving directions—whether you’re asking for advice, insights, or a step-by-step guide, the AI’s output is only as good as your input. A well-crafted prompt sets the stage for clear, relevant, and impactful answers.
Here’s an example of a broad, general prompt many might start with:
See ChatGPT 4o response here
While the question is relevant, it’s too broad and lacks the specificity needed to guide the AI toward a focused and impactful response. Let’s refine this prompt for more precision
See ChatGPT 4o response here
This updated task provides a clear directive, ensuring that the response is tailored to be both accessible and compelling. The result is evident in the comparison: while the first output delivers a detailed and technical explanation that may overwhelm a general audience, the second instead adopts a simple, engaging tone with concise points, making it more relatable—especially when you’re trying to convince a high-powered business buddy with something they can grasp between bites of their next power lunch.
Starting with a basic prompt gives the AI clear direction and allows you to shape the conversation by adding more detail as you go. Once you have this foundation, you can begin refining the prompt to make it more targeted, engaging, and persuasive for your specific audience.
3. What's coming next
In the next episode, we’ll dive deeper by adding a GOAL and CONTEXT to refine our prompt and shape the response into a more persuasive, audience-targeted message. By targeting the audience’s needs and setting a clear purpose, we’ll create a more focused response that’s persuasive and tailored for a specific mindset.
Stay tuned for the next step in How to Structure AI prompts!
FAQs
What’s the main takeaway from Episode 1 on crafting AI prompts?
The main takeaway is the importance of starting broad with a clear TASK. This creates a strong foundation for the AI and makes it easier to refine the prompt in later steps.
Why is it important to start broad when crafting AI prompts?
Starting broad provides the AI with a general direction and prevents premature narrowing. This lets you refine the prompt gradually, leading to more targeted and relevant responses.
What does it mean to define a "TASK"?
Defining a TASK means specifying the basic action you want the AI to perform. In Episode 1, we used the example: "[TASK: Provide a simple, engaging explanation of why the US should adopt clean energy policy]." This gives the AI a clear starting point for aligned responses.
How does clarity impact the effectiveness of an AI prompt?
Clarity reduces ambiguity, helping the AI understand exactly what you’re asking. A clear task prompt leads to more relevant responses, setting a strong foundation for further refinements.