Show, don't tell
Some things are hard to describe but easy to show. Think of trying to explain a haircut to a barber with words alone, versus showing a photo. The photo wins.
Prompts work the same way. If you want an answer in a certain style, the fastest way is often to include an example of it. This is sometimes called "few-shot" prompting, which just means giving a few samples.
Say you want short, friendly captions for your shop's social media posts. You could write, "Make them upbeat but not cheesy." Or you could paste two captions you already like and say, "Write five more like these for our new spring candles." The second prompt tells the AI the length, the tone, and the use of emoji, all without you having to name each one.
A few tips:
- Use real examples you like, not ones you made up in a hurry.
- If one example gets copied too closely, give two or three that differ, and say what they share.
- Say clearly which part is the example and which part is your request.
Ask for the shape you want
AI tools can give answers in almost any format, but they will not know which one you need unless you say so. Some useful requests:
- A table: "Compare these three laptops in a table with columns for price, weight, and battery life."
- A bullet list: "Give me the steps as a numbered list I can follow while cooking."
- A word limit: "Summarize this article in under 75 words."
- A tone: "Write this as a calm, friendly reminder, not a scolding."
- A ready-to-use piece: "Write it as a text message I can send as is."
Be specific about numbers. "Short" might mean one sentence or one page. "Under 50 words" or "three bullet points" gives a clear target. The AI may still miss by a little, especially on exact word counts, so check before you use it.
Mixing the two
The strongest prompts often do both. They show a sample and name the format. For example: "Here is one of our past event announcements: [paste it]. Write a new one for our book swap on June 8. Keep the same layout, and keep it under 80 words."
That prompt leaves very little to guess. And when an answer is not quite right, you can point to the example and say exactly what to change.
Try it
Find something you write often, like a weekly update, a meeting reminder, or a thank-you note. Pick one good past version. Paste it into a chatbot as an example and ask for a new one on a different topic, in the same format, with a word limit. See how close it gets.