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How to be specific and clear

The rule of thumb is to provide just enough instructions and context to help guide the AI’s response. Here are some suggestions:
  1. Be direct and state exactly what you want (i.e. summary, list, explanation).
  2. Mention the audience and tone.
  3. Ask for one thing at a time. Avoid overloading your prompt with multiple questions.

Examples

Example 1: Generating marketing ideas.

Be direct and unambiguous in your request.Vague:
Give me some marketing ideas.
Specific:
Explain three effective digital marketing strategies for increasing social media engagement among millennials.
Explain how you want the information presented.Vague:
Give me the latest sales data.
Specific:
Provide a summary of our Q2 2023 sales data, highlighting the top three performing regions in a bullet-point list.
Tailor the response to the intended audience and desired tone.Vague:
Write about climate change.
Specific:
Write a persuasive speech for high school students on the importance of combating climate change, using an urgent and motivational tone.
Avoid combining multiple requests in one prompt.Vague:
Explain our new software features and how customers can benefit.
Specific:
List and briefly describe the three new features introduced in our latest software update.
Then, in a separate prompt:
Explain how each of these new features can improve productivity for our customers.

Additional questions or feedback? Reach out to help@helicone.ai or schedule a call with us.
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