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."