How to Write Better AI Prompts
Works with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and any other LLM
Most people write prompts the way they send text messages — casual, short, and vague. That works for humans who can ask follow-up questions. AI can't. These 7 techniques will immediately make your prompts more effective across any AI tool.
1. Assign a role first
Before
“Explain neural networks”
After
“Act as a computer science professor teaching first-year students. Explain how neural networks learn using a simple analogy, then give one real-world application.”
Role assignment activates relevant knowledge and sets the right expertise level. Without it, the AI uses a default, generic voice.
2. Specify the format
Before
“List the pros and cons of remote work”
After
“List the top 5 pros and top 5 cons of remote work in a markdown table. Each point should be one sentence. Target audience: HR managers.”
Without format instructions, AI decides for you — and its choice rarely matches your actual use case.
3. Define your audience
Before
“Explain blockchain”
After
“Explain blockchain to a 60-year-old small business owner with no technical background. Use simple language, one real analogy, and avoid all jargon.”
The same topic needs to be explained differently to different audiences. Specifying it eliminates the AI's most common failure: wrong level of complexity.
4. Give an example of what you want
Before
“Write a product description for my software”
After
“Write a product description for my project management software. Example of the style I want: "Notion brings your notes, tasks, and docs into one connected workspace — so your team always knows what's happening." Match that tone and length.”
One well-chosen example is worth a paragraph of instructions. It shows rather than tells.
5. Add explicit constraints
Before
“Write a tweet about our product launch”
After
“Write 3 tweet options for our product launch. Max 240 characters each. No hashtags. Tone: confident but not salesy. Focus on the time-saving benefit, not features.”
Constraints prevent the most common failure modes: too long, wrong tone, wrong focus, or inappropriate style.
6. State what NOT to do
Before
“Give me advice on investing”
After
“Give me 5 evidence-based personal finance principles for someone in their 30s. Do not recommend specific stocks or funds. Do not give legal or tax advice. Do not use financial jargon without explaining it.”
Negative constraints are often more powerful than positive ones — they rule out the most common wrong answers.
7. Break complex tasks into steps
Before
“Write a marketing strategy for my app”
After
“Step 1: Identify the top 3 target user segments for a productivity app targeting remote workers. Step 2: For each segment, suggest one acquisition channel and one message angle. Step 3: Recommend the single highest-priority channel to start with and explain why.”
Multi-step tasks overwhelm a single prompt. Breaking them into steps keeps each output focused and useful.
The fastest way to improve: get scored
Reading about prompt techniques is useful. Applying them to your actual prompts is better. Deepclario scores your prompt against all 5 quality dimensions and rewrites it for you — so you can see exactly what changed and why.
Try it on any prompt you're currently using. Free, no account required.
Test these techniques on your own prompt
Paste any prompt and see exactly how to improve it. Free.
Analyze my prompt →Related reading