Prompt Types
Prompt Building Basics
IMPORTANT: This topic isn't complete without a dive into the topic of drift, hallucinations and the mirror effect. The LLM can and does get things wrong. It's important to check output.
With prompts, the more specific you are, the better the results. Creating a context rich prompt is challenging. Your best prompt building buddy is the LLM itself; treat it like a co-author. Context rich prompts give you context rich results. Missing context will net random results, since the LLM will fill in the gaps. Vague prompts give you vague answers.
You can absolutely go with simple prompts. Asking who the actress is in the movie you are watching isn't complex. But, ask for “a well-reviewed repair shop near me” and you might get one—with five stars but no mention they closed two months ago. (DOH!)
All the prompts on this page {asking for prompt help} and the pages to the left {specific context rich prompts} have a copy button, so you can easily change the details to suit your situation. Be creative. You can use it like a Mad Libs game to experiment.
Sales Analysis
I’m interested in learning about electric car sales in the last 25 years. Help me build a prompt that will return a context-rich analysis. Include the important components of this type of request. Use industry standards when determining what to include. Suggest meaningful categories to include in the final prompt.Research
I want to know what the top 10 books of all time are. Help me build a prompt. I need leading questions since I'm not sure what objective criteria can be used to determine this.Impact on your life
I've been growing my own vegetables in zone 6 for 25 years. I am moving to zone 9a, Houston. Help me build a comprehensive prompt that gives me detailed analysis of my changes. It should ask what I can no longer grow, new things I can grow, timeline changes and any other component of gardening that changes with the zones. Also include anything specific to Houston, like soil or water.Create an image
I want to create a consistent look/feel set of images of a world where aliens are visiting cities, going quietly about their business, not worried at all that they look completely out of place. Help me build a master prompt that I can edit each time to get consistency. Ask me leading questions before prompt building to help me get the style.Create a story
I’m writing a children’s story where all the household appliances have personalities and help teach life lessons. The audience is kids ages 4–8.
Help me create a master prompt I can reuse to generate character ideas. The master prompt should include all the important components I’ll want to define (like name, personality, lesson, etc.), even if I don’t know what they are yet.
The goal is to build a consistent story world with fun, lovable appliance characters.Reviews
I want to buy a new set of pans but have no idea all the different things I should consider. Help me build a prompt that will give me a side-by-side comparison that accounts for all the factors that chefs consider when buying cookware. I want to use as many reputable sources as possible.Trip planning
I want to plan a trip to Japan but I’m not sure how to ask the LLM in a way that gives me useful, detailed results. Help me build a prompt that will return the kind of travel planning help people normally get from a good travel agent. Suggest what I should include. I want to search local laws/customs I should be aware of. Which review sites are helpful, types of places to avoid, must sees. What sort of hotel am I looking for? Do I stick with worldwide brands or is it safe to go local? These types of questions.Delve into the absurd
How do I find out what happens if I cross a peach, a piece of granite and the tax code? Is there a prompt for that? What are different ways to explore that?