How to Write Better ChatGPT Prompts: Complete Guide

TL;DR: Master prompt engineering to get 10x better results from ChatGPT and other AI tools

Step 1: Be Specific

Bad: ‘Write about AI.’ Good: ‘Write a 500-word blog post about AI coding tools for junior developers. Conversational tone. Include 3 tool recommendations.’ Specificity = quality.

Step 2: Assign a Role

Start with: ‘You are a [role]’. Examples: ‘You are a senior copywriter at a Fortune 500 company’ or ‘You are a Python expert with 15 years of experience.’

Step 3: Provide Context

Tell ChatGPT: your audience, your goal, the format you want, any constraints, and examples of good output. More context = better results.

Step 4: Use Chain-of-Thought

Ask ChatGPT to think step by step: ‘Before writing, first outline your approach. Then write each section. Finally, review for quality.’

Step 5: Iterate and Refine

Never expect perfection on the first try. Start broad, then refine: ‘Make it shorter’, ‘Add more examples’, ‘Change the tone to casual’, ‘Focus more on the benefits.’

Step 6: Use Few-Shot Examples

Show ChatGPT what you want: ‘Here is an example of the output I want: [paste example]. Now write something similar about [your topic].’