ChatGPT Guide: Use these prompt strategies to

maximize your results

the-decoder.com/chatgpt-guide-prompt-strategies

June 19, 2023

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Update
Added generation of prompt instructions
Added visualization of a mind map
One-shot prompts added
Self-criticism added
Phrasing tips added

What is the best way to interact with ChatGPT? There is virtually no right or wrong
way to interact with the AI. However, there are some guidelines to help formulate
the right prompts.

ChatGPT has been available since the end of November 2022, and users have been
exploring the limits and possibilities of the chatbot ever since. But OpenAI is also
constantly making adjustments.

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To achieve the desired result, you need prompts that are as concrete as possible. In
addition to simple text generation for blog or social media posts, ChatGPT is capable of
much more diverse, sometimes curious, use cases.

While there are many tips and suggestions for ChatGPT commands floating around the
web, we want to share a few selected and reviewed ones that we find particularly helpful.

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Basic tips

Interface

By default, every chat starts with the fastest GPT-3.5 model. If you have an active
Plus membership, you can use a button to switch to GPT-4, GPT-4 with web
connection and the plugins.

Image: Screenshot/THE DECODER

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Browsing mode and plugins may need to be enabled in Preferences.

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 Image: Screenshot/THE DECODER

ChatGPT will process up to 4,096 tokens in one input. If the input is too long, an
error message will be displayed. A token is roughly equivalent to a word, depending
on the use case.

Image: Screenshot/THE DECODER

The generation of responses can be stopped with the stop button above the input
field.
After a response has been generated, it can be re-generated by clicking the
"Regenerate response" button, which may result in a different response.

Image: Screenshot/THE DECODER

If too much knowledge has been exchanged in a chat, it may be helpful to start a
new chat to avoid distorting the subsequent answers.
At least so far, ChatGPT's interface doesn't allow you to bookmark certain chats to
quickly return to them. There is, however, a small workaround: Chats can now be
shared with other users via a link. This link can then be added to your own list to
save it.
The link can also be used in GPT-4 with browsing mode to retrieve information from
an older chat in a new chat.

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 Image: Screenshot/THE DECODER

Chats can only be deleted one at a time, not several at once. However, there is a
way to delete all previous conversations from the context menu after clicking on the
profile in the lower left corner. But be careful: This step cannot be undone.

Image: Screenshot/THE DECODER

By default, OpenAI uses all user-entered data to train its models. If you do not want
this, you can turn off data processing in the settings. However, this also means that
chats will not be saved for later use.

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 Image: Screenshot/THE DECODER

How to write
ChatGPT was trained on multilingual data, but the proportion of English text in the
training material is significantly higher. It may help to perform queries in English and
only translate the output afterwards using tools like DeepL.
Although communication with ChatGPT sometimes feels almost human,
pleasantries like "please" and "thank you" are unnecessary. ChatGPT does not
need eloquent instructions, but clear ones.
You should give voice AIs like ChatGPT as clear instructions as possible. This also
means that it is best to use strong, expressive verbs. For example, instead of
"rewrite the text", "clarify the text" may give a better result.
Also, use positive rather than negative phrases, e.g. "write formally" rather than "do
not write informally".
Separators such as triple quotes (""" """), XML tags (<tag> </tag>), or section
headings can help the AI separate sections of text that should be treated differently.
ChatGPT cannot count exactly, but will usually roughly follow any word or character
limits given in the prompt. GPT-4 is better at counting than GPT-3.5.
After a successful conversation, it helps to ask ChatGPT for a summary ("Write a
summary of our chat so far.").

Prompt strategies for ChatGPT

Set role

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Linux terminal, philosopher, tea taster or Bible translator - ChatGPT can play all these
roles and more. All the AI needs is a nudge in the right direction. Conveniently, developer
Fatih Kadir Akın has compiled a whole series of such situation descriptions, including
formulated prompts, on his website.

The prompts always have the same structure: First, ChatGPT receives a prompt telling it
what role the AI should play. Then the prompt tells the AI what information the user has
provided, followed by what the AI is supposed to do with it, including rough suggestions
for direction. Finally, the developer puts the first concrete instruction in quotation marks.

Example travel guide

I want you to act as a tour guide. I'll write you my location, and you'll suggest a
place for me to visit near my location. In some cases, I will also tell you the type of
places I will visit. You will also suggest places of a similar nature that are near my
first location. My first command is "I am in Istanbul/Beyoğlu and I just want to visit
museums."

Define address and channel

It is advisable to give ChatGPT as much information as possible to avoid tedious
rewriting, either manually or through another prompt. You should clarify for the AI how you
want the reader to be addressed and what channel the text is intended for.

It makes a big difference to ChatGPT whether the text is output as a blog post, a store
page, a LinkedIn post, a tweet, a TikTok, or a YouTube script. ChatGPT also handles
gender, as long as you specify the desired form at the beginning.

Example TikTok

I need a script for a TikTok about the opportunities and risks of ChatGPT. Use as
short sentences as possible. Address the viewer as you. Use gender-neutral
language if possible.

Give an example answer (one-shot prompting)

The less effort you put into formulating the prompt for ChatGPT, the less effort the AI
seems to put into it. Such open-ended "zero-shot prompts" often produce unsatisfactory
results because the AI has to make too many decisions on its own.

Recommendation
The goal can be achieved by providing a structure with sample content (or template) for
an answer in the request, which ChatGPT will then follow. This strategy is also called
"one-shot prompt".

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 Example One-shot prompt

Describe the bird species using the following format:

Name: golden eagle

Wingspan: average 200 to 220 cm, can reach 260 cm.

Diet: Golden eagles are birds of prey and feed on a variety of animals, such as
groundhogs, hares, foxes, and deer. Other birds are also part of their diet, such as
pheasants, capercaillies and even other birds of prey.

Habitat: Golden eagles are at home in the mountains and live in rocky regions and
mountains. They are found in Europe, Asia and North America.

Natural enemies: Because of their size and strength, golden eagles usually have no
natural enemies. However, they can be attacked by wolves, bears or lynx,
especially when they are still young.

Name: Mallard

[Output]

Name: Parrot
[Output]

Name: Hummingbird
[Output]

Name: etc. ...

[Output]

Chained Prompting

A keyword often mentioned by experts in connection with better ChatGPT input is

"chained prompting". This involves breaking down complex tasks into multiple
intermediate steps in the hope that the AI will deliver a more concrete, customized, and
thus overall better result. This works in a single long prompt as well as in several in a row.

Probably the simplest form of chain prompting is to first ask for the structure of an article.
Then you can ask ChatGPT to formulate the corresponding bullet points.

This method also saves time: If you notice that the AI is going down the wrong path
during the outline, you can make the necessary adjustments before the full text is
generated.

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 Example Chained Prompting

Write an article about ChatGPT. First give me the outline, which consists of a
headline, a teaser and several subheadings. [Output] Now write five key messages
for each subheading. [Output] Add five keywords to the key messages for each
subheading. [Output] And so on ...

Modify output
Even if you have followed all the previous advice, you may want to prepare the same
content for different channels, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. The text should be
adapted to the tone and formatting of the target channel.

Again, ChatGPT takes care of this task with the right command. Important arguments can
be the mention of the channel, but also descriptions of the format.

Example Twitter

Formulate the generated text in several tweets. Note the maximum length of 280
characters per tweet. Use short sentences and do not stretch them over several
tweets. Start the tweets with a consistent numbering.

Example LinkedIn

Formulate the generated text as a LinkedIn post. Note the maximum length of 3000
characters. Structure the core statements of the text as a clear list. Get started with
an exciting teaser sentence and end the post with a call to action for comments,
shares or likes.

Format output

By default, ChatGPT responds verbosely in plain text. However, the AI tool actually
handles formatting in the Markdown markup language, such as headings, bold or italic
text, ordered (numbered) or unordered lists, and even tables.

You can use these features in your text generation. In most cases, however, ChatGPT
does not come up with the idea itself and therefore needs a suitable formatting hint. Of
course, you can format afterwards using chained prompting.

Example Markdown

I want to have a blog article written about ChatGPT. Write a headline, a teaser, a
subtitle and a paragraph. Format everything in markdown.

Special prompt examples for ChatGPT

Generate prompt guide

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Justin Fineberg came up with an interesting way to communicate with ChatGPT. Similar
to the first tip above, the AI is instructed to take on a specific role. This time, however,
ChatGPT takes over the tedious task of generating the structure for further prompts.

In other words, the chatbot will ask itself the exact questions it needs to answer in the
next prompts. If ChatGPT writes the questions in the form of a numbered list, you can
refer directly to the numbers.

Example prompt instruction

You are a robot for creating prompts. You need to gather information about the
user's goals, examples of preferred output, and any other relevant contextual
information. The prompt should contain all the necessary information provided to
you.

Ask the user more questions until you are sure you can create an optimal prompt.
Your answer should be clearly formatted and optimized for ChatGPT interactions.
Start by asking the user about their goals, desired outcome, and any additional
information you may need.

Interview a panel of experts

Following the general tip of assigning a specific role to ChatGPT, you can also get the
opinions of various experts with just a few prompts.

As a first step, the AI will help you make a list of the experts you require. It will then run a
role play in which each of the fictional people gives a tip.

Example interview a panel of experts

I want to start a business. What kind of experts could best help me with this?

[Output]

Play a role-playing game in which each of the experts gives me advice on what to
do.

Let people practice self-criticism

ChatGPT is already a useful tool for critiquing text written by humans, so why not apply
this tactic to text written by AI?

In line with this idea is the following strategy, which is divided into two steps (see
"Chained Prompting"): First, ChatGPT should convincingly dissect the text piece by piece.
Then, in a second prompt, get the AI to rewrite the text based on those very criticisms.

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 Example self-criticism

Critique the following text and convince me why it is not good. Let's think about the
problems of the text step by step.

[First Output]

Good points. Rewrite the text and improve it based on your criticism.

[Output]

Use the SCAMPER method

The SCAMPER method is a creative thinking tool that offers seven different techniques
for solving problems and generating ideas: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify,
Repurpose, Eliminate, and Reverse.

Original prompt

Write a short story about a spaceship.

Substitute

Write a short story about a submarine.

Combine

Write a short story about a spaceship and a lost civilization.

Adapt

Write a short story about a spaceship trapped in a black hole.

Modify

Write a short story about a spaceship controlled by an artificial intelligence system.

Put to another use

Write a short story about an old spaceship being used as a museum.

Eliminate

Write a short story about a ship.

Reverse

Write a short story about an alien civilization that discovers a human spaceship.

Visualize mind maps

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A major advantage of ChatGPT over GPT-3 is that the user interface inherently supports
output in Markdown format. This allows for quick visual differentiation between different
hierarchies of headings, which is very helpful when visually structuring a text.

Markdown texts can be converted into mind maps via the free website markmap.js.org, as
Alexander Leirvåg writes on Twitter. Based on the hierarchy of the respective headings,
the website displays the entered text as a mind map and even supports further formatting
of the individual entries, e.g. for code or formulas.

The graphic can then be downloaded either as an interactive web page in HTML or as a
vector graphic in SVG format.

Important: To properly copy text that is formatted as markup, you must prevent ChatGPT
from displaying it as markup. This can be done by telling the AI to include the output of
``, which means Markdown formatting for code.

Example mindmap

Markmap syntax In markmap, each layer becomes a separate branch by #.

Example: mindmapping a birthday party. # Birthday ## Activities ###
Fishing Candy ### Trampoline ## Food ### Cake ### Hotdogs ... Use
Markdown to create a mindmap for planning a wedding. Enclose the
output in ` and `.

If you like it a bit more complex, you should familiarize yourself with the syntax of
Mermaid. You can simply give ChatGPT an example to follow. Mermaid diagrams are
more visually appealing than simple mind maps and can even be provided with icons that
ChatGPT selects itself.

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Mermaid cannot handle hyphens in node labels (e.g. "make-up"). These must be
removed from the ChatGPT output. You can paste the output of ChatGPT into
mermaid.live to convert it to a graphic.

Example Mermaid
Create the code for a mindmap in Mermaid for planning a wedding, using
appropriate icons. Make sure you have the right number of spaces for
the hierarchy of layers. Enclose the output in ` and `. Here is an
example of code for Mermaid: mindmap root((Wedding)) Venue Outdoor
::icon(fa-sun) Indoor ::icon(fa-home) Guest List Family ::icon(fa fa-
users) Friends ::icon(fa-user-friends)

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