4.2. How to talk to AI tools.
This is a skill where you write clear and detailed instructions to tell AI what to create or how to answer. These instructions are called prompts.
Let us understand with the help of an example:
Base Prompt or Prompt: “Write a poem about the rainy season.”
A base prompt, also called a prompt, is the first instruction you give to the AI, telling it what you want. But sometimes, the result might not be exactly what you want—for example, it could be too long or not easy to understand. To make it better, you can give follow-up prompts.
Follow-up Prompt: “Make the poem 10 lines long, add rhymes, and make it easy for kids aged 8-14 years”.
A follow-up prompt is an extra instruction or question you give to AI after the base prompt. It helps the AI understand more about what you want and how to improve its answer. You can keep giving follow-up prompts until the result matches what you need, improving what you create.
You can try these prompts in AI tools and see the result.
Base prompt: How can I learn to speak English?
Follow-up Prompt: I have a smartphone. Can you suggest an online app or website to learn English?
Follow-up Prompt: What are some daily practices that can help someone improve their English-speaking skills?
Good vs. Bad Prompts:
A good prompt tells the AI exactly what to do and gives all the important details. On the other hand, bad prompts are unclear or contain information that does not make sense for the task. This confusion can cause the AI to give wrong answers.
Now that you have learned about the prompt,
let’s test your understanding with the following activity.
Choose the correct option for each of the following examples.
- (good prompt /bad prompt)
- What’s the capital? (good prompt /bad prompt)
- Do something? (good prompt /bad prompt)
- Can you suggest ways to manage stress while studying for exams?
(good prompt /bad prompt)