At the AI Business Success Summit. I sat in on a great presentation by Devin McPaul about prompt engineering, and I just had to share everything I learned with you. Trust me, if you’re using AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude (or planning to), you’re going to want to read this.
First Things First: What Even Is Prompt Engineering?
Okay, so you know how sometimes you ask AI to do something and get a completely random response? Or maybe you get something… okay-ish, but not quite what you wanted? That’s where prompt engineering comes in. It’s basically the art of talking to AI in a way that gets you exactly what you need.
As Devin put it during the summit, mastering this skill is crucial for leveraging AI effectively, and the very last is, anyone can do it! He shared this simple but powerful equation:
AI + Automation + Delegation = Equalizer
Pretty cool, right? But here’s the thing – like any skill, you’ve got to practice it daily. Devin suggests starting each day by asking yourself:
“What are 3 things I want to test using AI in my business today?”
I’ve started doing this, and it’s a game-changer!
Let’s Break Down the Basics
Before we dive into the juicy stuff, let’s get some AI jargon out of the way (I promise to keep it simple!):
- Provider: Think of this as the company behind the AI (like OpenAI for ChatGPT)
- Models: Different versions of AI (kind of like iPhone models – each one has its own special features)
- Prompt: What you say to the AI
- Prompt Engineering: Making those prompts work better (what we’re learning about!)
The Secret Sauce: How to Structure Your Prompts
Here’s where it gets really interesting. According to Devin, every great prompt has a few key ingredients:
- Identity: Think of this as giving the AI a role to play. Like saying “You are an executive assistant” or “You are a marketing expert.” (You don’t always need this, but it’s super helpful when you want specific expertise!)
- Task: This is where you tell the AI exactly what you want it to do. Be specific! Instead of “write something about dogs,” try “write a comprehensive guide about choosing the right dog breed for apartment living.”
- Context: Any extra info the AI needs to know. Think of it as giving background information to a new employee.
- Formatting: How you give your information to the AI. You can use brackets [ ], bullet points, or whatever makes sense for your needs and clearly defines your prompt. Don’t just use run-on sentences and large chunks of text,
Cool Techniques I Learned (That Actually Work!)
The Deconstruction Method
This one’s my favorite! Instead of asking AI to do everything at once, break it down into smaller tasks. Like instead of “write me a blog post,” try:
- Write an outline
- Create a title
- Write the introduction
- Work on each section
- Write the conclusion
🐘 It’s like eating an elephant – one bite at a time!
The Tell and Show Method
This is brilliant. Tell the AI what you want and then show the AI examples of what you want! It’s like when you show a hairstylist a picture instead of trying to explain what you want. Way more effective!
The Train of Thought Method
Have the AI think through the process step-by-step. It’s like having a conversation with a really smart friend who helps you problem-solve.
Pro Tips That Changed My Game
- Own Your Results: If you’re not getting what you want, it’s probably the prompt that needs fixing. Don’t blame the AI – improve your prompt!
- Keep It Clear: Be specific but concise. As Devin said, “AI isn’t built to read your mind!”
- Structure Matters: Don’t just dump a wall of text. Use spacing, brackets, and bullet points to make your prompt clear.
- Keep Experimenting: What works for one task might not work for another. Keep trying new approaches!
My Favorite Hack from the Presentation
Want to know the coolest tip I learned? Use your phone’s speech-to-text feature to dictate your prompts! Devin suggests pretending you’re explaining something to a child – it helps you be clearer and more natural in your instructions.
Let’s Wrap This Up
Look, I know this might seem like a lot to take in, but here’s the thing: prompt engineering isn’t about memorizing rules or finding magic keywords. It’s about learning to communicate clearly with AI tools. And trust me, once you get the hang of it, it’s actually pretty fun!
The best part? You can start practicing right now. Take one of these techniques and try it out. Then try another. Before you know it, you’ll be prompt engineering like a pro!
Your Turn!
What technique are you most excited to try? Drop a comment below and let me know! And if you’ve got any cool prompt engineering tricks of your own, I’d love to hear them.
Happy prompting! 🚀
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