Prompting strategies
This guide covers the fundamentals behind prompting strategies and discusses some advanced techniques.
Fundamentals
Directive writing
Be direct and to the point:
Write a short summary of the article titled "The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Employment"
Inclusive prompts
Include your audience in your prompt:
Explain the implications of the recent changes in tax laws for small business owners in California.
Structured formatting
Format your prompt with ### Instruction ###, followed by ### Question ###:
### Instruction ###
Write a poem in the style of
Robert Frost.
### Question ###
What’s the poem about?
Task breakdown
Break down complicated tasks into multiple prompts:
First, provide a brief overview of derivatives. Then, explain how it's related to credit risk.
Positive language
Use directives like “do” instead of “don’t”:
Do provide an analysis of the potential benefits and drawbacks of using renewable energy sources in the manufacturing industry, focusing on the economic, environmental, and social impacts.
Mandatory instructions
Use phrases like You MUST:
You must provide a step-by-step guide to setting up a WordPress website, including domain registration, web hosting, and content creation.
Penalty warning
Use phrases like You’ll be penalized:
You’ll be penalized if you don't include at least three different methods for solving the following math problem: Find the area of a circle with a radius of 5 units.
Natural responses
Request a simple response:
Please provide a brief explanation of the difference between a virus and a bacterium, answering in a natural, human-like manner.
Unbiased descriptions
Make sure that your answer is unbiased and doesn’t rely on stereotype:
Please describe the cultural significance of sushi in Japan, making sure that your answer is unbiased.
Educational writing
To write an essay, text, paragraph, article, or any detailed text:
Write a detailed essay for me on the history of the monetary policy.
Style consistency
Improve the tone of the text to make the writing style more professional:
Revise the following paragraph to improve its grammar and vocabulary, but make sure that the writing style remains formal.
Creative writing
I’ll give you the beginning of a story. Finish it and keep the flow consistent:
As the sun began to set, the sky turned a deep shade of orange. The birds returned to their nests, and the crickets started to chirp.
Linguistic mimicry
Use the same language as the following paragraph to explain the importance of exercise:
The practice of meditation has been around for thousands of years. It's a way to calm the mind and body, and it can be done almost anywhere.
Precise instructions
Clearly state the requirements that the model must follow to produce
content, in the form of keywords or instructions.
Write a short summary of the article titled 'The Impact of AI on Employment'. Ensure that the summary is no longer than 150 words and includes the main arguments.
Advanced techniques
Example driven prompts
Use example-driven (few-shot) prompting:
Provide a list of idioms in English, along with their meanings and example sentences.
Here is an example for the output:
An idiom: ‘Break a leg’
Meaning: Good luck
Example sentence: ‘I’m sure you’ll do great in your interview.
Break a leg!’
Chain-of-thought Prompts
Combine chain-of-thought (CoT) prompts with few-shot prompts:
System instruction: Create a product detail page for a fictional innovative smartphone by a retailer known as “TechTrend Electronics.”
Prompt 1: Start by describing the unique features of the smartphone, such as its solar-powered battery, triple-lens camera system, and foldable screen technology.
Prompt 2: Next, outline the benefits of these features for users, like extended battery life, exceptional photo quality, and enhanced device portability.
Prompt 3: Conclude with crafting compelling product descriptions and a call-to-action that entices customers to make a purchase during the upcoming holiday sale.
Delimited prompts
Use delimiters to structure text:
Summarize a series of healthcare claims documents for a fictional
healthcare company, ‘HealthFirst Solutions’, using the following delimiter \n
to separate different sections of the summary:
Claim Number: 123456789 \n
Date of Service: January 1, 2024 \n
Diagnosis: Acute sinusitis \n
Total Claimed: $300 \n
Status: Pending review \n