Introduction to Prompting: How to Talk to an AI

Introduction

Today, many people rely entirely on AI tools, expecting them to do all the work. But a language model shouldn’t replace our responsibility — it’s better seen as a facilitator: a guide for thinking, analyzing, and iterating ideas.

Good prompting is a two-way conversation. The model and the user both contribute correct and incorrect ideas until clarity is reached. You can also assign the model different “roles” depending on the task. If not guided, the model may take a while to adjust its answers to your expectations.

While prompting is a technique often used by engineers to solve dense or lengthy problems, it’s not just for them. This tutorial is for anyone who uses AI tools in everyday life and wants to communicate better with them.

What is a prompt?

A prompt is anything you write to the model to get a response — a question, a request, a format, or a set of examples.

The way you phrase your prompt determines the quality of the answer. Writing effective prompts is a core skill for interacting with modern AI.

Common Prompting Techniques

1. Clear instructions

Summarize the following text in bullet points…

Be direct. The clearer your intent, the better the results.

2. Role assignment

You are a history teacher. Explain the French Revolution to a middle school student.

This helps the model adjust tone, depth, and focus.

3. Few-shot prompting

Provide examples of input-output pairs to guide the model.

Input: “Dog”
Output: “A domestic animal that barks”

→ Now give the word “Cat”

4. Step-by-step reasoning

Let’s think step by step…

This is useful for logic, analysis, or problem-solving.

5. Structured output

Respond in JSON with keys: “title”, “summary”, “tags”.

This is helpful when AI outputs are used by other tools or scripts.

Common Mistakes

Being too vague
Mixing topics in a single prompt
Not stating the goal
Asking contradictory things
Assuming the AI “gets it” without context

Useful Resources

🎓 Courses and Guides

📚 Prompt Libraries

Final Thoughts

Writing great prompts is a learnable skill. It’s not about coding — it’s about thinking clearly, being precise, and guiding the model toward useful outcomes. We hope this guide and the resources help you use AI with more confidence and creativity.