PROMPT

ENGINEERING 101:
ASKING GOOD QUESTIONS
WHAT’S THE PLAN?

• Master the fundamentals of effective prompt design.

• Learn to apply prompts in diverse scenarios, from academic
research to creative content generation.
• Gain hands-on experience with prompt refinement and
iteration.
WHAT IS PROMPT ENGINEERING?

• The process of crafting precise, effective questions or

instructions to achieve specific, high-quality responses from
AI systems.
• Precision in prompts:
• Saves time
• Reduces misunderstandings
• Improves efficiency.

• The quality of AI output directly relies on the clarity and

relevance of the prompts it receives.
 WHY THE “RIGHT” QUESTIONS MATTER

• Ensuring Clarity
• AI tools interpret inputs literally.
• Ambiguous or unclear prompts lead to generalized, less effective responses.
• Clear questions foster direct, helpful answers and make follow-up prompts easier to construct.

• Promoting Relevance and Specificity

• Targeted prompts narrow down the focus, helping AI skip irrelevant information and hone in on what
matters.
• “Summarize three major economic impacts of climate change” is more effective than “Tell me about climate
change.”

• Enhancing Efficiency
• Thoughtful prompts maximize the efficiency of AI tools, saving time and resources.
• Effective prompting is an iterative process that involves refining questions to be as direct as possible.
• A repeated process of making gradual improvements
 KNOWING ITS LIMITS AND ITS STRENGTHS

• Strengths
• Pattern Recognition
• AI is adept at processing vast data sets and identifying patterns, such as spotting trends in literature, summarizing large texts, or
generating visual ideas from text.

• Content Generation
• Can produce new content in various formats—text, images, and code—based on learned data.

• Limitations
• Context Understanding
• AI can lack human nuance and understanding of complex contexts.

• Creativity Constraints
• AI follows given instructions and rarely "thinks outside the box" unless explicitly instructed.

• Implications for Prompt Engineering

• To maximize AI's potential, prompts should be designed to guide the AI in ways that account for its strengths while navigating around
its limitations.
 TYPES OF PROMPTS

• Open Prompts
• Encourage broad exploration (e.g., “Explain how AI is changing education”).
• Suitable for brainstorming or idea generation.

• Closed Prompts
• Aim for specific answers
• Useful for focused, concise responses.
• “List three ways AI impacts education.”

• Descriptive Prompts
• Require the AI to describe or explain
• “Describe the theme of identity in To Kill a Mockingbird.”

• Directive Prompts
• Ask AI to perform an action, like summarizing, comparing, or generating a list.
• “List three ways AI impacts education.”

• Exploratory
• Broaden the conversation, seeking multiple perspectives
• “What are various theories on human intelligence?”

• Conclusive
• Aim for specific, clear conclusions or answers
• “Summarize the main argument of the article.”
 COMPONENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE PROMPT

• Context
• Provide necessary background (e.g., “Based on recent developments in machine learning…”).
• The context helps guide the AI to provide responses that are accurate and relevant.

• Task Clarity
• Specify what the AI should do. Is it summarizing, analyzing, listing, or comparing?
• Instead of “Explain Shakespeare,” specify “Summarize the themes in Hamlet with examples.”

• Constraints
• Set clear parameters, such as word limits, tone, or style.
• “Summarize in 50 words or less” or “Provide a response in an academic tone.”

• “Describe the historical impact of the Renaissance on art and literature in no more than
100 words, focusing on key artists and writers.”
 PROMPTING GUIDELINES

• Use Clear Language

• Avoid jargon, acronyms, and ambiguous terms. Use simple, direct language.
• Replace “Discuss the ontology of AI” with “Explain what AI is and how it works.”
• Be Specific
• Vague prompts lead to general answers.
• Define exactly what you need.
• Instead of “Tell me about AI,” try “Explain three key benefits of using AI in
healthcare.”
• Define the Outcome
• Specify what you want: a summary, list, comparison, argument, etc.
• “List three reasons why AI is beneficial for small businesses and briefly explain
each.”
 COMMON PITFALLS

• Overly Broad Prompts

• Effective prompts communicate SPECIFICALLY what task the AI is to perform
• Rather than asking an AI agent to “Explain history,” you might request that it
“Summarize the impact of WWII on the American economy.”

• Avoiding Assumptions
• Don’t assume AI knows specific contexts;
• Provide clear context about what you are attempting to answer or create
• Rather than asking, “Describe this author’s impact,” specify the author’s name and
field.
KEY CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING PROMPT EFFECTIVENESS

• Clarity
• Is the prompt easily understandable?

• Relevance
• Does it directly address the desired outcome?

• Specificity
• Is it detailed enough for a targeted answer?

• Alignment
• Does it align with the intended goal?
EFFECTIVE OR INEFFECTIVE?

• In a 100-word summary, explain why chickens should be considered valuable

employees in a startup focused on organic pest control.
• Tell me about pineapple pizza.
• List three scientific reasons why a sandwich with extra pickles could
potentially improve someone’s mood. Explain each reason briefly.
• Write about a robot dog.
• Create a 200-word lesson on the physics of spaghetti noodles in space,
explaining how astronauts could cook pasta without gravity.
• What’s the deal with noodles?
• List three reasons a squirrel might be the best choice as a forest tour
guide. Make each reason humorous but believable.
 PROMPT MAKEOVER

• You have been given a simple and flawed prompt

• Using the skills that we have learned today, improve the prompt
• Give it a makeover!
• Give it a glowup!
 GLOW UP EXAMPLES

• Original Prompt: “Tell me about exercise.”

• How might we improve this prompt?
• “Describe the benefits of running as a form of exercise, focusing
on cardiovascular health and mood improvement, in 75 words or
less.”
• Original Prompt: “Explain what animals do.”
• “List three unique survival strategies animals use in the wild,
with examples, in 100 words.”
ADVANCED TECHNIQUES

• Chain of Density Prompting

• Step-by-step approach where AI follows a logical chain of reasoning.
• Example: “Describe the pros and cons of social media, then evaluate its
impact on mental health.”
• Essay Compression Prompting
• This technique is useful for condensing longer, more detailed information
into a shorter, easy-to-read summary.
• Role-Playing Prompts
• Using persona-based prompts like “As an economist, analyze…” to improve
contextual relevance.
CHAIN OF DENSITY PROMPTING

• Guide the AI to produce responses that are:

• Dense with relevant information
• Structured, and in-depth, making it easier to achieve high-quality outputs in
complex topics.

• Why COD Prompting Works:

• Each layer (or “density step”) helps the AI focus on specific aspects,
preventing overly broad responses and encouraging well-rounded answers.
• The final prompt includes multiple layers that guide the AI to provide a
detailed, organized response, using examples, comparisons, and structured
content.
HOW-TO COD PROMPT
• Start with a Basic Question
• Begin with a simple question or task, keeping it broad and easy to understand.
• “How does a penguin becoming mayor help the town?”

• Add Detail in Small Steps

• Take the fundamental question and add more information to make it specific.
• This is like “zooming in” on one part of the topic.
• Explain how a penguin mayor helps reduce littering and keeps the streets icy (in a good way).

• Break the Question into Parts

• Add another step to focus on specific areas or comparisons, so the AI knows to give a complete answer.
• Compare how a penguin mayor’s approach to town cleanup is different from a human mayor’s approach.

• Ask for Examples to Make It Real

• Including examples helps the AI give a more concrete answer that feels real and relatable.
• Give one funny example of a penguin mayor cleaning up the town or getting penguins to recycle fish wrappers.

• Organize the Answer by Sections

• Request the answer in parts or sections to keep it well-organized and easy to read.
• “Summarize in two sections: one about how a penguin mayor improves the town, and one comparing their methods to a
human mayor’s.
FINISHED COD PROMPT

• Explain how a penguin mayor helps reduce littering and keeps the
streets icy (in a good way). Compare these benefits to what a
human mayor would do, and give a funny example of a penguin mayor
helping penguins recycle fish wrappers. Summarize in two sections:
one about the penguin mayor’s improvements and one comparing them
to a human mayor.
 CHAIN OF DENSITY RACE

• The next slide contains simple prompts that need to be expanded using
the Chain of Density prompting method
• A prompt will be revealed then we will take two minutes to add ONE
DETAIL OR ONE CONSTRAINT to make the prompt more effective
• We will repeat this process three times.
• After each round, we will share the prompts that we created.
• The prompt that the group selects will be the new prompt that is to be
expanded or constrained
 C.O.D. RACING

1.“Explain how a library works.”

2.“Describe the importance of sleep.”
3.“Talk about the benefits of cooking at home.”
4.“Explain what makes a story interesting.”
5.“Describe what a good friend is.”
ESSAY-COMPRESSION PROMPTING

• Useful for condensing longer, complex information into clear, focused

summaries, ideal for generating concise responses.
• Rather than asking,“Summarize this text,” this technique preserves more of
the original language of the provided text, ensuring great clarity,
preciseness, and specificity

• Setting a word limit, key points, and a clear structure makes it

simpler for the AI to produce a focused summary without overwhelming
information.
 HOW TO ESSAY-COMPRESS
• Start with the Big Question or Topic
• Begin by stating the main idea or question you want summarized.
• Think of it as the “big picture” that you want to compress.
• “Summarize the benefits of hiring a llama as an office manager.”

• Set a Clear Word or Sentence Limit

• Specify a length for the response to keep it concise and focused.
• “Summarize in 30 words or less.”

• Identify Key Areas or Points to Cover

• Pick 2-3 main points or ideas that you want included.
• This helps the AI focus on the most important aspects of the topic.
• “Include benefits like boosting team morale, handling paperwork with ease, and being eco-friendly.”

• Add Structure to Guide the Summary

• Ask for an organized answer, like a bullet-point list or short paragraphs, to make the summary easy to read.
• “Summarize in 2-3 bullet points.”

• Ask for Clear Language

• Specify that you want a simple or beginner-friendly answer, especially for complex topics.
• “Explain in a fun and simple way that anyone could understand.”
 SUCCESSFUL ESSAY-COMPRESSION PROMPT

• Summarize the benefits of hiring a llama as an office manager in

30 words or less. Include benefits like boosting team morale,
handling paperwork, and being eco-friendly. Use 2-3 bullet
points, in simple, fun language.
WRAP UP

• Key Takeaways
• Emphasize the importance of clarity, specificity, and
purposeful prompting in generating effective AI responses.
• Prompt engineering is a skill that grows with practice and
iterative refinement.
• Final Thought
• Encourage attendees to experiment with prompts, using the
principles learned today to maximize the usefulness of AI tools
in their personal and professional lives.