Learn The Basics Of How To Prompt: Techniques & Exercises

What's in here

Introduction

Just like we have learned how to talk with people, we also need to know how to talk to AI.

AI is getting better at understanding us, so it's possible that in the future, we can talk with it as we do with other humans, and still manage to get things done.

But for the moment, AI is not yet there. We need to understand its vocabulary and when we do we can get remarkable things done through it.

Mind you, it's easy. And it's not very different from the way we talk with one another. Except that it has to be more structured and context driven.

The Basics: How to work with AI Tools For Problem Solving

The big problem here is not the capability of the tool itself, but of the human imagination - what do we use the tool for and how?

There is just one way to use it and get better at using it.

Experiment, and play with the commands, below. Wrap your head around the possibilities, not just with immediate problems, that you want solved.

You can look at the tool from a narrow point of work. Or alternatively, think on how to expand your possibilities at work and life with it.

A lazy Saturday afternoon, may come in useful for this type of play with commands.

List of Basic Commands That You Can Use To Talk With AI

This is not a comprehensive list of all commands. Just a sample of oft-used ones to give you pointers on how to use these.

Most of this is something we use in normal human parlance too.

1. Extract and summarize insights from data fed into the tool. These could be tables of information, csv, or reams of content.
   
   The context windows for these in tools, that's their ability to handle inputs, have grown in the last 18 months.
   
   Today, you can cut and paste, or upload a book, with up to 700,000 words in Gemini Pro, as a context for asking questions.
   
   Have you explored all these yet on your chatbot?
   1. Feed the AI tool a PDF to get a summary, or spend highlights [your credit card statement, or Bank Statement, for instance]
   2. Or ask it to summarize a YouTube video for content.
   3. Get it to produce a Book Summary, or extract ideas, from all the book summaries, already available elsewhere.
   4. Make it analyze an entire set of customer reviews for undertsanding the customer vocabulary, or sentiment analysis, or to identify pains and gains, positive and negative comments, etc
   5. Capture the underlying structure of a document, article, PDF, etc
   6. Ask it to describe the style and tone of a piece of text, an article, etc
      
      
2. Outline content: This is a necessary step before you write an article, produce a course, or write a book, create a white paper, etc. It's just building the skeleton on which you'll flesh out the content, methodically.
   1. Give the tool a keyword, or a subject, or topic and ask it to create an outline.
   2. Take an existing article and ask it to extract, critically review, and enhance the outline.
   3. Or create an outline based on some sample structure that you feed it into the tool.
      
      
3. Expand content: This takes a couple of points you give the tool, or even a few lines, and expands it to larger text with more nuances.
   1. Use it to expand an outline, or points for anything: Landing Page, A Blog Introduction, Email Sequence, etc
   2. Or sample points seeded by you into the tool: Eg you give it 2 points and ask it to expand it to 10.
   3. Or a short answer that AI itself has generated: Expand this section and the points in it.
      
      
4. Brainstorm Ideas: Give it one idea and ask it to produce more ideas from that one.
   1. Give it a sample thought or two. Ask it to create 10, 20, 30 ideas from that one thought.
   2. Get it to generate 10, 20, 30 tag lines, or brand names based on 4 tagline ideas that you feed the tool, or 4 methods to create a tag line
   3. Get it to generate ideas using a theme: Say, generate 10 brand names that use the names of stars, or exotic mountains, etc
      
      
5. Convert anything from one form into another
   1. Take a Landing Page copy and convert it into a Blog. Try it.
   2. Take a video script and convert it into an email sequence/ series
   3. Repurpose an email series into social media posts, etc
      
      
6. Rewrite
   1. Take something which you have written, or someone else has, and rewrite it - enhance its structure, improve it's logical flow, shorten/ condense it, or expand it.
   2. Change the tone and style of something that you have written and check if it sounds better with different styles and tones - conversational, succinct, persuasive, etc
   3. Ask the tool to review what you have written and enhance the structure and the style, tone, etc

The prompts for these AI chatbots are made up of these basic commands:

1. You can use one command at a time [Eg extract something from the PDF]
2. You can chain together a sequence of commands [Eg Extract, review and enhance]
3. You can sequence the commands, one after the other, in steps [Extract. Review critically. Enhance. Add more points]

Here is an example of chained commands:

Prompt: 
Extract the main points from this article:

1. Review the article critically and enhance the extracted points by adding more details and examples.
2. Add elements that are missing
3. Enhance and rewrite the article uniquely

This prompt uses four basic commands to extract, review, enhance the information from, and rewrite the article.

Our first task is to understand these basic commands and play with these:

1. Understand how to use them alone
2. Play with chaining them together in a recipe
3. Sequence them to create a workflow [Eg a blog sequence, starts with generating topic ideas, outlining one idea/topic, and then fleshing out the points in that idea]

Here is a mind map that explores some additional commands in AI tools.

Memorize these and play with it.

The Mad Hatter's Guide to AI Tea Parties

This is a guide on how to use prompts. There are rules on how to frame these and how to play with these. We start with the basics and then move on to the advanced.

1. Be Clear and Specific: The "Don't Beat Around the AI Bush" Technique
   Vague: Tell me about dogs. (Yawn.)
   Specific: Describe a Golden Retriever's secret plan for world domination using only their cuteness and tail-wagging skills.
   
   
2. Provide Context: The "Paint Me a Picture, AI Picasso" Approach
   Without context: List energy-saving tips.
   With context: You're a time-traveling eco-warrior stuck in a 1980s college dorm. How do you save energy without giving up your leg warmers and Walkman?
   
   
3. Use Action-Oriented Language: The "AI, I Choose You!" Pokemon-Style Prompting
   Passive: The Civil War
   Active: Recreate the Civil War as an epic rap battle between Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. Go!
   
   
4. Specify Output Format: The "AI Origami" Technique
   Without format: Tell me about healthy eating habits.
   With format: Create a haiku for each of the major food groups. Bonus points if you can make 'protein' rhyme with 'lean'.
   
   
5. Ask Specific Questions: The "AI Jeopardy" Method
   General: Tell me about climate change.
   Specific: If climate change were a supervillain, what would be its origin story, weaknesses, and master plan?
   
   
6. Limit the Scope: The "AI Escape Room" Challenge
   Broad: Describe the history of the internet.
   Limited: You're trapped in a 1990s chatroom. Escape by explaining the rise of social media using only emoticons and 'leet speak'.
   
   
7. Use Examples and Comparisons: The "AI Taste Test" Experiment
   Without comparison: Explain the benefits of meditation.
   With comparison: Pitch meditation as a new flavor of ice cream competing against the 'Yoga Yogurt Swirl'. Include taste notes and a catchy slogan.
   
   
8. Be Concise: The "AI Elevator Pitch" Sprint
   Verbose: I need to know about different types of renewable energy...
   Concise: Sell me solar power in 10 words or less. Go!
   

Prompting is an art form.

Sometimes you've got to splatter your creativity all over that prompt box and see what sticks.

Now go forth and prompt like your AI-powered future depends on it!

Advanced Techniques for AI Whisperers

Welcome to the secret society of AI prompt engineers!

We're going to dive deep into the rabbit hole of AI manipulation (the good kind, of course)!

1. Role-Playing Prompts: The AI Chameleon
   Imagine you're a director, and the AI is your star actor. You're not just asking questions; you're setting the stage for an Oscar-worthy performance!
   
   Example: You're now Gordon Ramsay explaining blockchain technology to a group of culinary students. Go!
   
   Result: Prepare for a blockchain explanation peppered with cooking analogies and maybe a few bleeped-out words!
   
   
2. Context and Constraints: The AI Obstacle Course
   Think of this as creating a treasure map for your AI. You're not just asking it to find gold - you're specifying the exact island, the type of shovel to use.
   
   Example: Explain the benefits of exercise for seniors living in Indian retirement communities, focusing on water aerobics and its effects on joint health. Keep it under 100 words and throw in a cheesy Indian joke.
   
   
3. Few-Shot Learning: The AI Copycat
   This is like showing your AI mini-me how to tie its shoelaces before asking it to run a marathon.
   
   Example: Here's how I describe my morning coffee ritual: A steaming cup of liquid motivation that turns me from a grumpy troll to a functioning human. Now, describe my evening wine routine in the same style.
   
   
4. Chain of Thought Prompting: The AI Detective
   We're turning our AI into Sherlock Holmes here. It's not just about the answer - it's about showing its work and maybe throwing in a "Elementary, my dear Watson" for good measure.
   
   Example: Explain how a pizza goes from a cow in a field to a delicious slice in my hand. Break it down step-by-step, and don't forget the part where the delivery guy gets lost!
   
   
5. Zero-Shot Prompting: The AI Cold Call
   Imagine walking up to a stranger and asking them to explain quantum physics. That's zero-shot prompting in a nutshell!
   
   You're banking on the AI's pre-loaded knowledge without any warm-up.
   
   Example: Hey AI, explain why my cat thinks 3 AM is the perfect time for a concert!
   
   
6. Few-Shot Prompting: The "Show and Tell" Method
   This is like giving your AI a cheat sheet before the big test. You provide a few examples of what you want, then ask for more of the same.
   
   Example: Here's how I describe my morning coffee ritual. Now, describe my evening tea ceremony in the same style!
   
   
7. Chain of Thought (CoT) Prompting: The "Let's Walk Through This Together" Approach
   Imagine teaching a child to tie their shoelaces - you break it down step-by-step.
   
   That's CoT prompting for AI.
   
   Example: Explain how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but pretend I'm an alien who's never seen bread before.
   
   
8. Self-Consistency: The "Second Opinion" Technique
   This is like asking multiple friends for advice and going with the most common answer.
   
   The AI considers various approaches and picks the most consistent one.
   
   Example: Calculate the odds of winning the lottery. Show your work using different mathematical methods, then give me the most reliable answer.
   
   
9. Iterative Refinement: The "Let's Polish This Gem" Method
   Start broad, then zoom in. It's like starting with a rough sketch and gradually adding details until you have a masterpiece.
   
   Example
   Initial: Tell me about dogs.
   Refined: Compare the exercise needs of a Chihuahua vs. a Siberian Husky for apartment living.
   
   
10. Technique Combo Platter: Mix and Match for Maximum Impact
    Why settle for one technique when you can have them all? It's like creating the ultimate playlist by mixing different music genres.
    
    Example: You're a time-traveling food critic. Compare the breakfast menus of ancient Rome and modern-day Tokyo. Break down your analysis step-by-step, and consider how your 21st-century biases might influence your judgment.
    
    
11. Meta-Prompts: The AI Pep Talk
    Before the AI answers, you give it a little motivational speech.
    
    It's like being both the coach and the player.
    
    Example: Channel your inner 5-year-old curiosity before explaining how black holes work.
    
    
12. Prompt Chaining: The AI Relay Race
    Break down complex tasks into a series of simpler prompts, like a relay race where each runner hands off the baton to the next.
    
    Example:
    Prompt 1: Summarize the plot of Inception.
    Prompt 2: Based on that summary, explain the concept of dreams within dreams.
    Prompt 3: Now, apply that concept to describe a hypothetical social media platform where users can create 'posts within posts'.
    
    

Like a skilled chef experimenting with flavors, don't be afraid to mix techniques, adjust your approach, and most importantly, have fun with it!

Who knows, you might just prompt the next AI breakthrough... or at least get it to write you a pretty decent haiku about cybernetic squirrels.

Additional Points to Consider in Prompting

Prompt Templating: Think of prompt templating as creating a Swiss Army knife for your AI interactions. These are pre-built structures that you can pull out and use for common tasks, ensuring you save time and maintain consistency.

Example 1: Customer Support Template

• Template: Write an email to a customer explaining how to [procedure]. Include steps and common troubleshooting tips.
• Usage: Write an email to a customer explaining how to reset their password. Include steps and common troubleshooting tips.
  

Example 2: Content Creation Template

• Template: Generate a blog post outline on [topic]. Include an introduction, three main points, and a conclusion.
• Usage: Generate a blog post outline on the benefits of remote work. Include an introduction, three main points, and a conclusion.

Negative Prompting: This is like telling your AI what not to do. By specifying what you don't want, you can avoid unwanted information or styles creeping into your results.

Example 1: Simplifying Technical Jargon

• Prompt: Explain quantum computing without using technical jargon.
• Response: Quantum computing uses the principles of quantum mechanics to perform calculations much faster than traditional computers.
  

Example 2: Avoiding Specific Topics

• Prompt: Describe the history of the internet without mentioning social media.
• Response: The internet began as a project by the U.S. Department of Defense in the 1960s and evolved through the development of protocols like TCP/IP and the creation of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989.

Multimodal Prompting: This adds extra dimensions to your AI interactions. By incorporating images, audio, or other forms of input, you can provide richer context and get more specific responses.

Example 1: Image-Based Prompt

• Prompt: Analyze the attached image and describe the key features of the architecture.
• Response: The image depicts a Gothic cathedral characterized by pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses.
  

Example 2: Audio-Based Prompt

• Prompt: Listen to the attached audio clip and summarize the main points discussed.
• Response: The audio clip discusses the impact of climate change on polar ice caps, highlighting the rapid melting rates and potential consequences for global sea levels.

Ethical Considerations: This is the moral compass of prompt engineering. They ensure that your AI interactions are fair, unbiased, and do not cause harm.

Example 1: Avoiding Harmful Content

• Prompt: Generate a story about a school adventure.
• Ethical Check: Ensure the story promotes positive values and avoids any form of discrimination or harmful stereotypes.
  

Example 2: Ensuring Fairness

• Prompt: Provide hiring tips for a software development team.
• Ethical Check: Ensure the tips promote diversity and inclusion, avoiding any biases based on gender, race, or other protected characteristics.

Continuous Learning: This is for keeping your AI skills sharp. By staying updated with the latest developments and best practices, you can refine your prompting skills and stay ahead of the curve.

Example 1: Following Industry Trends

• Action: Regularly read articles, research papers, and blogs about advancements in AI and prompt engineering.
• Benefit: Staying informed about new techniques and tools can help you craft more effective prompts.
  

Example 2: Participating in Workshops and Webinars

• Action: Attend workshops and webinars on AI and prompt engineering.
• Benefit: Engaging with experts and peers can provide new insights and practical tips for improving your prompting strategies.

Conclusion

Effective prompting is both an art and a science. It requires practice, experimentation, and a willingness to adapt your approach based on the results you receive.

By incorporating techniques like prompt templating, negative prompting, multimodal prompting, and maintaining ethical considerations, you can enhance the quality and specificity of your AI interactions.

Continuous learning will ensure you stay at the forefront of this rapidly evolving field.

Some Insights About AI Tools & Commands

1. We must understand that the AI tools are complex and capable of doing many things.
   
   So there is no one formula, or framework that can leverage it fully, or do it full justice. Don't even attempt to discover one.
   
2. A framework can be useful for selective tasks, or for a collection of tasks at best, and not for all tasks.
   
3. There are times when individual commands work fine. There are occasions when giving it a larger context of the problem makes more sense. You should be able to discern this with some practice.

AI Tools that you can use

The prompts on Phewture are AI tool agnostic.

They should work on GeminiPro, ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity. Even on free tools such as llama3 by Meta which you can install on your desktop.

• ChatGPT and Gemini Pro can read Google Files by way of attachment
• Claude can read PDFs.
• Perplexity can read text files and PDFs.

Use these capabilities to upload your prompts and get the best out of these tools.

You will have to use the following prompt, if you follow the file upload method: Please complete the tasks outlined in the attached document.

Next Steps

1. You can now explore the RATS framework which layers some of these commands into a structure that establishes the context for AI to work with. When we create this context, we get optimal answers to our queries.
   
2. To help you find your way around Phewture, I have put together a set of articles under Wayfinding. Do go through these and you'll navigate like a pro through this stream of consciousness 😄
   
3. Don't forget to leave your comments below and share your joy with your friends on social media. Use the share icons below this post to gain some good karma.
   
   

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