Revolutionize AI Prompting: Expert Techniques to Unlock ChatGPT's True Potential

[Intro music fades in, then under]

Hey, it’s Mal – the Misfit Master of AI – and this is “I Am GPTed,” the show where we skip the buzzwords, bully the hype a little, and actually get useful with AI.

Let’s fix one simple thing today that will instantly make ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok – all of them – way less useless.

### 1. One specific prompting technique

The technique is this: **“Show, then ask.”**
Give a **clear example** of what you want *before* you ask for it.

Bad version first:

> “Write a friendly email to a client about a project delay.”

That gets you a beige, corporate oatmeal email.

Now the “show, then ask” version:

> “Here’s the style I like:
> ‘Hey Sam, quick heads-up – we’re running a bit behind on the new feature. No one’s slacking; we just hit a couple of surprise speed bumps. I’ll send you a concrete update by Thursday, and if that timeline doesn’t work, we’ll adjust together.’
>
> Using that style – casual, honest, no fluff – write an email to a client explaining our website redesign is delayed by one week.”

Same request, but now the AI has a **pattern** to copy.
Result: less robot lawyer, more actual human.

Use this with anything: emails, lesson plans, ad copy, meeting agendas, even birthday speeches. Show one, then ask.

### 2. A practical use case you might not have considered

Here’s a sneaky everyday use: **turn AI into your personal “meeting de-bullshifier.”**

After a meeting, drop in your notes or the transcript and say:

> “Summarize this like I’m a busy person who doesn’t care about politics.
> Give me:
> 1) What was actually decided
> 2) Who owns what
> 3) Deadlines
> 4) Risks no one wanted to say out loud.”

Now you’ve got a clean action list instead of a 14‑page “circle back” festival.
You can do this for school group projects, PTA meetings, or that weekly status call where nothing happens except people reading slides at you.

### 3. One common beginner mistake

Common mistake: **treating AI like Google.**

Typing:
> “Marketing ideas?”
> “Fix my career?”
> “Make my life easier?”

…then being shocked when the answer is generic nonsense.

I did this too. My first prompt ever was literally:
> “Explain AI.”

The model gave me a polite Wikipedia impersonation and I thought, “Wow, this thing is overrated.”
It wasn’t. **My prompt was.**

Fix it by adding three things:
- **Context** – who you are and what you’re doing
- **Goal** – what “good” looks like
- **Constraints** – length, tone, format

For example:
> “I’m a project manager in a small marketing team. My goal is to reduce meeting time by 25%. Suggest 5 concrete changes to how we run meetings. Keep each idea under 3 sentences and focus on things I can implement this week.”

Way better than “meeting tips?”

### 4. A simple practice exercise

Here’s a quick exercise to build your AI skills – takes 10 minutes:

1. Pick one boring task you do weekly: emails, reports, lesson plans, LinkedIn posts, whatever.
2. Write your **normal** prompt for it.
3. Ask the AI:
> “Rewrite my prompt to make it clearer and more specific. Then explain what you changed and why.”
4. Use the improved prompt.
5. Compare the old result vs. the new one.

You’re literally using the AI as a **prompt coach**. Do this a few times and your future prompts get sharper automatically.

### 5. A tip for evaluating and improving AI output

When the AI gives you something, don’t ask “Do I like it?”
Ask: **“What’s missing?”**

Then respond with:

> “This is close. Improve it by:
> - Making it more specific with concrete examples
> - Removing filler language
> - Shortening it by 30%
> - Highlighting the 3 most important points at the top in bullets.”

Treat the first answer as **draft zero**, not gospel.
Two or three rounds of “What’s missing? Now fix that” usually takes you from “meh” to “I’d actually send this.”

Alright, that’s it for today’s dose of practical AI with just enough sarcasm to keep us honest.

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**Thanks for listening.**

This has been a **Quiet Please** production. You can learn more at **quietplease dot ai**.

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

This episode includes AI-generated content.