The Perfect ChatGPT Prompt Formula

There are six components to a good prompt: Task, Context, Exemplars, Persona, Format, and Tone. They have a specific order of importance. You don't need all six every time - but knowing which ones are mandatory, which are important, and which are nice-to-have changes how you write every prompt.

The order of importance

Mandatory: Task

Important: Context and Exemplars

Nice to have: Persona, Format, Tone

The mental checklist

Before sending any prompt, ask yourself:

Task is the only mandatory component. Always start it with an action verb and clearly state your end goal. Context is the trickiest to get right - but three questions get you to just enough without overloading the prompt.

Task

Always start with an action verb

Simple vs complex tasks

Context

The problem with context

The three questions to ask yourself

Example: task alone vs task with context

Exemplars are examples - and research on large language models consistently shows that including them in a prompt dramatically improves output quality. They don't have to be long. A framework or structure works just as well as a full example.

Three ways to use exemplars

1. A rewrite structure

2. An answer framework

3. A reference document

When you don't need an exemplar

Not every prompt needs one

Persona controls who ChatGPT is when it answers. Format controls how the output looks. Tone controls how it sounds. None are mandatory, but each one closes the gap between a decent output and exactly what you needed.

Persona

Think of someone you wish you had instant access to

Named individuals and fictional characters also work

Format

Visualise the output before you ask for it

Useful format options for professional work

Tone

The problem with tone

How to find the right tone words

Here is a full prompt using all six components, taken directly from the source. Read it once with the labels. Then read the output difference between this and a basic prompt covering the same situation.

The full prompt

All six components labelled

What the same situation looks like without the formula

The weak version

The difference

One shortcut worth knowing

When you have an existing document to reference

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