Unlock AI Potential With Better Prompting Techniques

“Can you work effectively with AI?”

As generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot become standard in the workplace, a growing number of companies are seeking employees who can confidently say “yes.” The ability to prompt an AI, think alongside it, and leverage it to improve productivity is becoming a crucial skill. In many roles, this “AI fluency” is now as fundamental as proficiency with office software once was.

We've all experienced it: you ask a chatbot a question and get a generic, unhelpful answer. The issue isn't a failing of the AI, but a lack of specific instruction. The AI has been trained on a vast amount of internet data and, without guidance, it defaults to the most statistically probable—and often most common—response. It's like walking into a restaurant and simply asking for “something good” and predictably being served the chicken.

The key is to provide the AI with the necessary context it needs to adapt. But how can you do this effectively?

The CATS Framework for Effective Prompting

The term “prompt engineering” might sound overly technical, but modern AI chatbots are designed for natural, human-like conversation. The content of your prompt matters far more than its format. To get a high-quality response, you need to convey the basics of what you want by following the CATS acronym: Context, Angle, Task, and Style.

• Context: Give the AI the background information it needs to understand your request. Instead of asking, “How do I write a proposal?” try something more specific: “I am a nonprofit director writing a grant proposal for a foundation that funds environmental education programs in urban schools.” You can also upload relevant documents or explain your constraints to provide a richer setting.

• Angle (or Attitude): Leverage the AI's ability to adopt different personas. Instead of a neutral reply, ask it to take a specific stance. For example: “Act as a critical peer reviewer and point out the weaknesses in my argument,” or “Take on the role of a supportive mentor to help me improve this draft.”

• Task: Be explicit about what you want the AI to do. “Help with my presentation” is too vague. A much better prompt is: “Give me three different ways to make my opening slide more engaging for an audience of small business owners.”

• Style: Tell the AI how to format its response and what tone to use. Specify if you need a formal report, a casual email, executive-level bullet points, or an explanation simple enough for a teenager. You can also define the voice, whether it's academic, technical, engaging, or conversational.

In many roles, AI proficiency is becoming as essential as office software skills. Image source: Shutterstock

Beyond the Prompt: Mastering Context Engineering

Beyond crafting a single, clear prompt, you can also manage the information surrounding your request, a practice sometimes called “context engineering.” This includes everything the AI can access, such as its memory function, your prior conversation history, uploaded documents, and examples of high-quality output.

Treat your interaction with AI as an ongoing conversation. If the initial response isn't quite right, push back, ask for revisions, or provide more clarifying details. Don’t expect a perfect, ready-to-use answer on the first try. Instead, use the AI's output as a catalyst for your own thinking. If you find some good ideas mixed with irrelevant ones, copy the best parts into a new session and ask the AI to summarize and build from there.

A Crucial Warning: Stay Critical of AI

It's important to exercise caution. Don't get fooled by the human-like conversational abilities of these chatbots. Always maintain your professional judgment and remember that you are the one doing the critical thinking in the partnership.

Crucially, always verify the accuracy of any information the AI provides. Errors and “hallucinations” are a known issue with these systems.

AI tools are incredibly powerful, but they depend on your human intelligence to connect their vast, generic knowledge to your specific needs. When you provide them with enough context to work with, you'll be surprised at how helpful they can truly be.