How do I use ChatGPT to help me engineer better prompts?
Answer
You can use ChatGPT itself to help you engineer better prompts—this is known as prompt chaining or meta-prompting. Essentially, you're asking ChatGPT to help you ask better questions so you get more accurate, useful, or creative answers.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to using ChatGPT for prompt engineering:
🧠 Step 1: Tell ChatGPT Your Goal
Start by clearly stating what you're trying to do. Include:
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The topic or task
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The desired format (e.g., a summary, a code snippet, a list)
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Any constraints (e.g., word limit, style, audience)
Example:
"I want to generate better prompts for writing business case summaries using ChatGPT. They should be brief (150 words), focused on strategic decisions, and suitable for MBA students."
🛠 Step 2: Ask for Help Refining a Prompt
Now ask ChatGPT to help you refine or improve a rough draft of a prompt.
Example:
"Here’s a rough prompt I wrote: ‘Summarize this business case.’ Can you improve it to make it more specific and useful?"
ChatGPT might return:
“Rewrite this business case summary in under 150 words, focusing on the company’s key strategic decision and the reasoning behind it. Use clear, professional language for an MBA audience.”
🧪 Step 3: Test and Iterate
Run both your original and ChatGPT’s revised prompt to compare results. Then:
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Ask ChatGPT which version is better and why
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Ask for further refinements based on your preferred tone or audience
🧰 Step 4: Ask for Prompt Templates
You can ask:
“Can you give me 5 prompt templates I can reuse for writing, brainstorming, and summarizing?”
ChatGPT might return:
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“Write a 100-word summary of [topic] highlighting [angle].”
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“List the pros and cons of [idea] from the perspective of [audience].”
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“Brainstorm 3 creative solutions to [problem] with brief justifications.”
🔁 Step 5: Make a Prompt Toolkit
Ask ChatGPT to generate a personalized toolkit:
“Based on how I write and research, can you help me build a prompt cheat sheet I can reuse across tasks?”
🧩 Bonus: Ask for a Prompt Diagnostic
You can also say:
“Here’s a prompt I used. It didn’t work well. Can you tell me why and how to improve it?”
Would you like a downloadable Prompt Engineering Toolkit or Cheat Sheet? I can create one customized for your work.