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You’re Using ChatGPT Wrong — Fix It with These 5 Prompting Secrets

Let’s be honest: ChatGPT is an incredibly powerful tool. It can write code, draft emails, brainstorm ideas, and so much more. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: ChatGPT is only as powerful as your prompt — and most people are using it wrong.

If you’re getting generic, bland, or unhelpful responses, the problem likely isn’t the AI. It’s the instructions you’re giving it. Vague requests lead to vague answers. Treating it like a simple search engine yields search-engine-quality results. But treating it like a highly capable (though sometimes literal-minded) assistant requires a different approach.

The good news? Getting dramatically better results doesn’t require a PhD in AI. It just requires understanding a few key principles of effective prompting. Master these five secrets, and you’ll unlock a level of productivity and creativity you didn’t know was possible.

Secret 1: Lack of Context is Killing Your Results

• The Mistake: Asking generic questions without providing any background, like simply asking, “Write a social media post about productivity.”

• The Fix: Provide detailed context. Think of it like briefing a human assistant. Include background information, the target audience, the desired outcome, constraints, brand voice, and any relevant examples. The more context you give, the more tailored and relevant the output will be.

• The Example:

  • Weak Prompt: Write a social media post about productivity.

  • Strong Prompt: Act as a social media manager for a SaaS company targeting busy entrepreneurs. Our brand voice is encouraging and practical. Write an engaging LinkedIn post (around 150 words) about overcoming procrastination. The goal is to drive traffic to our latest blog post on productivity hacks [link]. Include 2-3 relevant hashtags.

Secret 2: You're Not Telling ChatGPT Who to Be

• The Mistake: Treating ChatGPT like a neutral, omniscient machine spitting out facts.

• The Fix: Assign ChatGPT a specific role or persona. This helps it adopt the appropriate tone, style, and knowledge base for your request. Tell it who it should be before telling it what to do.

• The Example:

  • Weak Prompt: Give me some marketing ideas for my new online course.

  • Strong Prompt: Act as an expert digital marketing strategist specializing in online course launches. My course teaches freelance graphic designers how to find high-paying clients. Give me 5 innovative marketing ideas tailored to this specific audience and course topic, focusing on low-cost, high-impact strategies.

Secret 3: Vague Requests Lead to Vague Answers (Specify the Format!)

• The Mistake: Asking for information or ideas without specifying how you want the output structured.

• The Fix: Clearly define the desired output format. Do you want a bulleted list? A table? A paragraph? A specific number of items? A certain word count? Tell ChatGPT exactly how to structure its response.

• The Example:

  • Weak Prompt: Brainstorm some blog post ideas about remote work.

  • Strong Prompt: Generate 10 compelling blog post titles about the challenges and benefits of remote work for creative professionals. Format the output as a numbered list. Each title should be engaging and clearly indicate the post's main topic.

Secret 4: You're Settling for the First Draft

• The Mistake: Accepting the initial response from ChatGPT as the final product, even if it’s not quite right.

• The Fix: Treat the first output as a starting point, not the end result. Iterate! Ask follow-up questions. Request revisions based on specific criteria (“Make it more concise,” “Change the tone to be more formal,” “Add examples for point #3”). Ask for alternative options. Challenge its assumptions.

• The Example:

  • Initial Prompt: Write a short email introducing my new consulting service.

  • ChatGPT Output: (Provides a generic email)

  • Follow-up Prompt: That's a good start, but make it more focused on the pain points of small business owners struggling with social media marketing. Also, add a clear call to action for a free 15-minute consultation and shorten it to under 200 words.

Secret 5: You're Asking One Question When You Need a Conversation

• The Mistake: Trying to cram a complex task or multi-step process into a single, overloaded prompt.

• The Fix: Break down complex requests into smaller, logical steps. Guide ChatGPT through the process sequentially. Think of it as a conversation or a project plan. Ask it to complete step one, review the output, then ask for step two based on the results.

• The Example:

  • Weak Prompt: Create a complete content marketing plan for my new productivity app.

  • Strong Prompt Sequence:

    1. Help me define the target audience for a new productivity app focused on freelancers.

    2. Based on that audience, what are 3 key content pillars we should focus on?

    3. For the first content pillar [Pillar 1 Name], generate 5 specific blog post ideas.

    4. Now, draft an outline for the first blog post idea: [Idea 1 Name].

    5. (Continue step-by-step)

Bonus Pro Tip: Ask ChatGPT to Critique Itself

Don't assume the AI's first (or even third) attempt is perfect. A powerful technique is to ask ChatGPT to evaluate its own work. After receiving a response, try prompts like:

• Critique the previous response for clarity, conciseness, and relevance to [your goal]. How could it be improved?

• What are the potential weaknesses or limitations of the advice you just gave me?

• Review the text above. Identify any jargon that might confuse a beginner.

This forces the AI to re-evaluate its output from a different perspective, often leading to significant improvements you might not have spotted yourself.

Stop Prompting, Start Engineering

Getting great results from ChatGPT isn't magic; it's engineering. It requires thoughtful instruction, clear context, and a willingness to iterate. By moving beyond simple questions and adopting these prompting secrets, you shift from being a passive user to an active director of the AI's capabilities.

Start implementing these techniques today. You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes in the quality, relevance, and usefulness of ChatGPT’s responses, turning it from a novelty into a true productivity powerhouse.

TOP AI NEWS THIS WEEK

OpenAI Teases New "Open" Language Model

Following the recent launch of GPT-4o, OpenAI has indicated plans to release a new "open" language model, its first since GPT-2. While details are scarce, this move could significantly impact the open-source AI community and potentially offer a powerful alternative to models from Meta (Llama) and Mistral. The release timeline is anticipated for later in 2025, sparking discussion about OpenAI's strategy in the increasingly competitive LLM landscape. (Source: TechCrunch)

Study Reveals LLMs Can Develop Shared Social Conventions

Researchers from City St George's and IT University of Copenhagen published a surprising study showing that large language models, when interacting repeatedly, can develop their own shared social conventions and communication norms, similar to human groups. This finding raises intriguing questions about the emergent behaviors of complex AI systems and the potential for more nuanced human-AI interaction in the future. (Source: MarketingProfs AI Update)

Universal Prompt Injection Bypass Discovered

Security researchers at HiddenLayer revealed a novel technique that successfully bypassed the safety mechanisms of major LLMs, including GPT-4, Claude 3, and Gemini Pro. This "universal bypass" highlights ongoing vulnerabilities in LLM security and the challenges of preventing malicious prompt injection attacks, emphasizing the need for continued vigilance and development of robust safety protocols by AI providers. (Source: HiddenLayer)

HBR Report Highlights Top Gen AI Use Cases in 2025

A new report from Harvard Business Review analyzed the top 100 generative AI applications currently being used in 2025, rated by usefulness and impact. While content creation remains popular, the report shows significant growth in areas like personalized customer service, code generation and debugging, data analysis and synthesis, and workflow automation, indicating a broadening adoption of Gen AI across diverse business functions. (Source: Harvard Business Review)

Focus Shifts from LLMs to AI Agents

Industry analysis suggests a growing shift in focus within the AI field during 2025, moving from the core capabilities of large language models (LLMs) towards the development and application of AI agents. These agents leverage LLMs but add layers of planning, tool use, and autonomous execution, aiming to handle more complex, multi-step tasks with less human intervention. This trend signals the next wave of AI application, moving beyond generation to action. (Source: IBM Think Insights)

HIGHLIGHTS: 3 Prompting Secrets for Better ChatGPT Results

1. Give Detailed Context (Stop Being Vague!)

The most common mistake? Asking generic questions without background. The Fix: Brief ChatGPT like a human assistant. Provide the goal, target audience, desired tone, constraints, and any relevant background info. More context = More relevant output.

2. Assign a Role (Tell ChatGPT Who to Be)

Don't treat ChatGPT like a neutral machine. The Fix: Tell it to act as a specific expert, persona, or role (e.g., "Act as a marketing strategist," "Act as a skeptical editor"). This shapes its tone, style, and knowledge base, leading to far more tailored responses.

3. Iterate and Refine (Don't Settle for the First Draft!)

Accepting the first answer is a rookie mistake. The Fix: Treat the initial output as a starting point. Ask for revisions, clarifications, or alternative options. Challenge its assumptions. Use follow-up prompts like "Make this more concise," "Explain point #2 further," or "Critique this response for potential weaknesses."

AI TUTORIAL: Build Your Reusable ChatGPT Prompt Library

Goal:

Stop reinventing the wheel! Create a simple system in Notion or Google Docs to store, categorize, and reuse your most effective ChatGPT prompts.

Tools You'll Need:

• ChatGPT

• Notion or Google Docs account

Step 1: Choose Your Platform (Notion vs. Google Docs) (5 minutes)

• Notion: Better for databases, tagging, and complex organization. Ideal if you plan a large library.

• Google Docs: Simpler, familiar interface. Good for starting small or if you prefer a linear document.

(This tutorial uses Notion examples, but principles apply to Google Docs using headings and tables.)

Step 2: Create Your Prompt Library Database (Notion) (10 minutes)

1. Create a new Page in Notion. Title it "My ChatGPT Prompt Library."

2. Choose the "Table" database option.

3. Set Up Properties (Columns):

   • Prompt Name (Title Property): A short, descriptive name (e.g., "Blog Post Outline Generator").

   • Category (Select Property): Define categories like "Marketing," "Writing," "Coding," "Brainstorming," "Admin."

   • Use Case (Text Property): Briefly describe when to use this prompt.

   • Prompt Template (Text Property): This is where your actual prompt goes.

   • Variables (Text Property): List the placeholders you need to fill in (e.g., [Topic], [Audience], [Tone]).

   • Example Output (Text Property, Optional): Paste a sample good result.

   • Last Used (Date Property, Optional).

(In Google Docs, create a main document with Level 1 Headings for Categories and use tables or bullet points for each prompt within those sections.)

Step 3: Identify Your Core Tasks & Create Initial Templates (30 minutes)

1. List Recurring Tasks: What do you frequently ask ChatGPT to do? (e.g., summarize text, write social posts, brainstorm ideas, draft emails, explain concepts).

2. Find Your Best Prompts: Look back through your ChatGPT history. Identify prompts that gave you great results for these tasks.

3. Turn Them into Templates: Copy those successful prompts into your library. Replace specific details with bracketed placeholders (e.g., [Topic], [Audience]).

   • Example Template (Blog Post Outline):

     Act as an expert content strategist.
     Generate a detailed blog post outline for the topic: [Topic].
     The target audience is [Audience].
     The desired tone is [Tone].
     Include sections for: Introduction, [Number] main points with sub-bullets, Conclusion, and a Call to Action related to [Goal].
     Format as a nested bulleted list.
     

4. Fill in Properties: Add the Prompt Name, Category, Use Case, and Variables for each template.

Step 4: Refine and Add New Prompts Iteratively (Ongoing)

1. Use Your Library: When you need ChatGPT, check your library first. Copy a template, fill in the variables, and paste it into ChatGPT.

2. Save Successful New Prompts: If you craft a new prompt that works exceptionally well, immediately add it to your library as a template.

3. Refine Existing Templates: If a template consistently needs tweaking, update it in your library with the improvements.

4. Categorize Consistently: Keep your categories organized.

Step 5: Organize and Access Your Library (Ongoing)

• Notion Views: Create different database views in Notion (e.g., filter by Category, sort by Last Used).

• Browser Bookmark: Bookmark your Notion page or Google Doc for quick access.

• Regular Review: Periodically review your library to remove outdated prompts or consolidate similar ones.

Outcome:

You now have a centralized, organized system for your best ChatGPT prompts. This saves time, ensures consistency, and helps you leverage proven techniques instead of starting from scratch every time. Your AI interactions just got way more efficient!

Until then, practice those prompting secrets and start building your library!

John | Founder, Tech4SSD

Disclaimer: AI models like ChatGPT are powerful tools, but their outputs require careful review. Always verify factual information, ensure content aligns with your brand voice, and exercise critical judgment. Tech4SSD is not responsible for outcomes resulting from the use of AI tools or techniques discussed.