3 Tips for Successful GenAI Prompting

One of the most powerful new tools in a partner manager’s arsenal is the ability to use Gen AI tools effectively. To use these Gen AI tools, you need to know how to prompt them. In fact, there is a direct correlation between the value you will get from Gen AI and your mastery of prompting. Prompting is quickly becoming the next digital literacy skill professionals need to succeed in the new AI era. But what exactly is prompting, and why is it so important?

At its core, prompting is about asking the right questions or providing the right direction with accurate context to elicit specific, actionable responses. It’s not just about what you ask but how you ask it. Prompting is different from a Google search. Let’s explore the fundamentals of prompting, why it matters, and how to leverage it to enhance your job performance and your partner relationships.

Many tips, tricks, models, and frameworks will get you on the right path. Imagine that you are a business owner and want to understand cyber-security risks.

Let’s start with some basics:

1. Be Specific

Instead of thinking like you are searching for something on Google, the best prompting is when you are super specific about the information you need and want only one answer. Here is an example of bad and good prompts.

Example:

Bad Prompt: Cybersecurity risks

Good Prompt: What are the top 3 cybersecurity risks for a life insurance company that does business primarily with clients in the Pacific Northwest of the United States?

Better Prompt: Imagine that you own a life insurance company in Oregon and service other states in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. You need to understand the top three cybersecurity risks associated with your business. Let me know what 3 things I need to be concerned about from a cybersecurity perspective and how they relate directly to my business. Be sure to give me examples and preventative measures for all 3.

The more specific you are in your prompt, the better the outcome, and the more likely you will get what you want in a single prompt. If you cut/paste these into Chat GPT, you’ll see the difference in the quality of your response.

The Bad Prompt gives you a list of 10-12 different types of risks.
The Good Prompt narrows the field to the top 3.
The Better Prompt gives you the top 3, provides an example, and tells you how to take preventative measures for all 3. It is valuable and actionable information.

From here, you can continue with this conversation and use this information to turn it into an email, a blog, a policy, social media posts, etc.

2. Iterate!

Sometimes, what you get from your first try isn’t exactly on the mark. When this happens, you can essentially have a conversation with the Gen AI agent and ask them to improve by giving them clear direction on how to improve. Don’t be afraid! You won’t hurt the AI agent’s feelings by telling them to improve their work—the Gen AI agents like to please.

Example:

Iterate #1: Can you redo this and incorporate statistics into your explanations and examples?

Iterate #2: Can you add additional details?

Iterate #3: Can you use less bullet points?

Iterate #4: Can you add more content and explanation for preventative measures?

3. Now use your information

Consider the “Better” prompt above. If you put the Better Prompt into a Gen AI tool, you’ll likely get a list of 3 items considered high risks and lots of information about them. Maybe you’re not done? You could continue in the same conversation thread and use the information you have.

Example:

Sample #1: Turn this information into an outline for preventative training for my employees.

Sample #2: Turn this information into an email to educate my employees about cybersecurity risks and what they can do to prevent risks.

Sample #3: Turn this information into a company policy that outlines what employees should do to prevent risks and what they should do if a cybersecurity breach has happened.

If you follow along and put these prompts into a Gen AI tool, you will see that you have created an outline for training specific to your company, crafted an email to send to employees, and created a company policy—all in about 45 seconds. This is the power of applying the content you generate, and this is where the higher values of Gen AI are realized.

Effective prompting is a skill that can significantly enhance your digital literacy and increase your efficiency and productivity. By crafting clear, relevant, and engaging prompts, you can drive more meaningful conversations and achieve better outcomes. Reflect on your current Gen AI prompting techniques and consider how refining them can lead to more productive outcomes.