Prompts that work
A simple four-part recipe for clear requests.
A "prompt" is just what you type. Vague prompts get generic answers. Clear prompts get answers you can use.
The four-part recipe
- Who it's for (the audience): "for my manager", "for a 12-year-old", "for customers on Instagram".
- What you want (the task): "write", "summarise", "compare", "list".
- What it should know (context): paste the email, the notes, the facts.
- How it should look (format): "three bullet points", "under 100 words", "a table", "friendly tone".
Before and after
Vague: "Write about our sale."
Clear: "Write an Instagram caption for our bakery's weekend sale: 20% off all cakes, Friday to Sunday. Friendly and short, under 40 words, with two emojis and one hashtag."
The second one takes ten more seconds to write and saves you five minutes of fixing.
Three phrases worth remembering
- "Use only the information I've given you." Reduces made-up details.
- "If anything is unclear, ask me first." Gets better results on bigger tasks.
- "Give me three options." Easier to pick than to fix.
Arabic tip
Say which Arabic you want: "Modern Standard Arabic for a formal letter" or "Gulf dialect, casual, for WhatsApp". Chatbots handle both, but they need to be told.
Key takeaways
- Say who it's for, what you want, what it should know and how it should look.
- Paste the real context instead of describing it.
- Ask for options and tell it which Arabic you want.
Try it now
Take one vague request you'd normally type ("write about X"). Rewrite it with all four parts, send both versions in two separate chats, and compare.
Open GeminiFree · paid from $19.99/moYou've got it when: The four-part prompt's answer needs noticeably less editing.