How to Write a Great AI Prompt

Our tools are built to be simple and easy to use (though, honestly, there's a lot happening behind the scenes). Have you ever struggled with an empty text box?:

Condensing all your ideas and goals into a single prompt can feel overwhelming. But don’t worry—there are a few simple tricks that can help you craft stronger prompts and get the most out of our AI tools.

Why Do Strong Prompts Matter?

The better the prompt, the better the final product will be! Plus, you’ll save time by not regenerating over and over again. 

Since AI uses every single word in the prompt box in order to generate a response, and pulls from data all over the internet, being specific will help it know how to tailor it to you. 

What Makes a Strong Prompt?

Specificity: This is the number one key to a great result! The clearer and more detailed you are, the better the response will be.

Weak example: Give me a presentation about my juice company for school.

Strong example: A business plan for a group of potential high-level investors, and are looking to convince them as to why they should invest in their start-up juice company, an analysis of the existing natural juice market, a marketing strategy and target audience

2. Structure and format: If you need a particular format, mention it upfront. 

Examples: bullet points, step-by-step instructions, timeline, q&a format, pros and cons, list of keywords. 

3. Relevant context: Tell AI who “you” are! 

Specify any context that will help tailor the type of language, role, background knowledge, or the audience. 

4. Constraints and Limitations: Set boundaries! 

Examples: word count, what you want them to focus on or exclude. 

5. Tone and Style: If you want a particular tone or style, name it / them clearly 

Other tone examples: 

• Child-Friendly Tone: Explain the water cycle in a fun and engaging way for a 10-year-old, using simple language and examples.
• Persuasive and Convincing: Write a persuasive essay on why electric cars are the future of transportation, including environmental and economic benefits.
• Professional and Formal: Write a formal letter of recommendation for a colleague applying for a senior management position, highlighting their leadership skills and achievements.
• Friendly and Informal: Explain the basics of cooking pasta in a conversational tone, as if you're chatting with a friend.

Tip: You won’t always get the perfect answer on the first try. Trying different formulations or making slight adjustments instead of starting from scratch. Examples: Make the language more formal or Now add a real-world example.

Common Mistakes + Misconceptions:

"AI can replace critical thinking" → AI is a tool, but human judgment is still necessary to evaluate its responses.

AI doesn’t have real-world knowledge or common sense. It only generates responses based on patterns in its training data. Instead: add context to help it understand better what you need.

"AI understands exactly what I want" → No, it only works with probabilities and patterns. 

Clarity in your prompt is essential. Instead of: "Write an article" → About what? How many words? What tone? The more details you provide, the better the result.

"More words in the prompt = better response" → Not necessarily. 

Too much information can confuse the AI and lead to irrelevant answers. Instead: Break it down into steps and later modify it in content review.

Conclusion

Writing a great prompt is the key to unlocking the power of AI - no matter what you’re using it for. A few tips will get you started, and through time and patience, and some great tools like AI Presentation Maker, Lesson Plan Generator, and more which we have at Slidesgo, you can work smarter, faster and better.