How To Write Good Prompts

Be Clear and Concise

Goal: State your request directly and avoid ambiguous language.

Instead of: "Tell me some stuff about the future of work."

Try: "Summarize the main challenges of hybrid work models in 3 concise bullet points."

Provide Context

Goal: Give background information (the why) or specific data points for Gemini to work with.

Instead of: "Write an email about the project delay."

Try: "Write a formal email to the client explaining the software launch is delayed by one week because of a critical bug found during QA."

Specify a Persona or Role

Goal: Instruct Gemini to "Act as a..." to tailor the tone, expertise, and vocabulary of the response.

Instead of: "Explain how stocks work."

Try: "You are a financial advisor. Explain the basics of investing in the stock market to a complete beginner."

Define the Format

Goal: Clearly tell Gemini how you want the output structured.

Instead of: "List pros and cons of remote work."

Try: "Create a two-column table comparing the pros and cons of a 4-day work week, with 'Benefit' and 'Drawback' as the column headers."

Set Constraints and Limits

Goal: Include requirements like word count, timeframes, or keywords to include/avoid.

Instead of: "Write a social media post for our new product."

Try: "Write a friendly Instagram caption about the new eco-friendly water bottle. Limit it to 3 sentences and include the emojis 🌎 and 💧."

Break Down Complex Tasks

Goal: For multi-step projects, separate them into individual, sequential prompts.

Initial Prompt: "Generate 5 creative ideas for a virtual team-building event for a remote company."

Next Prompt (After choosing an idea): "Draft an invitation email for a virtual escape room event on October 25th at 3 PM EST."

Use Natural Language

Goal: Write as if you were talking to a human, using complete thoughts rather than just search-style keywords.

Instead of: "python code, sort list, reverse."

Try: "Write a simple Python function that takes a list of names and returns a new list sorted in reverse alphabetical order."

Identify Your Goal/Task

Goal: Start with a strong command verb that defines the desired action.

Instead of: "I need something about the history of jazz."

Try: "Compare the Dixieland style of jazz to the Bebop style, focusing on instrumentation and tempo."

Iterate and Refine

Goal: Use follow-up prompts to adjust the previous response without rewriting the whole thing.

Initial Prompt: "Write a short bio about a software engineer."

Follow-up Prompt: "Make this bio more humorous and change the length to exactly two sentences."

Be Specific with Style/Tone

Goal: Define the mood or aesthetic, especially for creative or image generation tasks.

Instead of: "Generate a picture of a cat."

Try: "Generate a photorealistic image of a fluffy calico cat wearing a tiny wizard hat, sitting in a cluttered alchemist's library with soft, golden hour lighting."