See what it is and the step by step to create effectively

The analogy is old, but it remains the best way to explain How to Create Prompts: Think of the lamp genius, which offers a universe of opportunities, but what you get completely depends on your ability to place the right orders.

With Artificial Intelligence (IA), it is no different. A well -written prompt can generate useful answers, open creative paths, organize tasks, help with studies and work, and so on. Already a poorly formulated command tends to result in generic responses, failures or distant from the user’s goal.

In other words, AI’s potential is not just what she knows, but how you talk to her. As in the history of genius, the secret to dealing with technology is to say exactly what you need.

In this guide, we will explore the main aspects about prompts: what are, importance, most used types, examples and common errors that should be avoided. The idea is that at the end of reading you know how to turn your requests to the most effective answers.

What is an AI prompt?

A prompt is nothing more than the instruction that occurs to a model of language or other general.

It can be a very simple command that you give to – how “explain in a sentence what an atom is” – or more elaborate, as “explain the difference between acids and bases for high school students as if you were a chemistry teacher, using everyday examples and limiting the response to 400 words”.

Thinking about a prompt is like talking to someone when we need help on something. If we explain anyway, the chances that the person interprets us badly are great; But if we define a context and elaborate clear and complete questions, it is much easier for the other side to understand and help us.

Types of Prompts

Not every situation asks for the same type of prompt. There are several ways to structure requests, and, depending on the context, the best result can come from a combination between them.

The first step is to objectively define what you want – Summary, list, detailed explanation of some theme, content extension, among other specificities. And the classification of commands is not rigid, as some authors list more categories, others less, and others evaluate under different criteria.

Here, we have gathered six types of practical and widely used prompts that help you understand the various ways to talk to artificial intelligence.

Zero-shot prompting

Zero-shot is the most straightforward type of prompt: the user simply asks the question without giving any clue how I would like the answer.

This format works well for simple tasks, such as short definitions, summary or text translation. But certain subjects ask for more information so that AI can be assertive, such as language, target audience, text extension, among others.

For example, a request like “for lay readers in up to 150 words” is much more efficient than simply saying “explain what are interest.”

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One-shot / Few-shot prompting

In this type of prompt, you need to show one or more examples (short and of quality) to understand how you should perform the task. Here, it is important that the format and style of the answer call attention, as in the case of articles and social networking titles.

Example: “Direct title and objective: How to travel around Brazil by spending little”. Now create three titles in the same style for a guide on how to travel with little money, with up to 65 characters each. ”

Chain-of-thought prompting

When the task is more complex, the model chain-of-thought (or step -by -step reasoning) may be ideal.

In this case, the user asks the AI ​​to explain reasoning before giving the final response, which helps organize ideas or compare alternatives. This format usually works well on topics related to math, planning or decision analysis.

In the example “Compare three models of electric cars under the criteria of autonomy and cost-effectiveness and recharge, and only then conclude which one is best for those looking for practicality in everyday life”, it is clear that the explanation has to be structured, not just the final response.

Role / Persona prompting

Another powerful resource is to assign a role to the AI, a persona (as a teacher, artist, financial consultant, etc.) to guide not only the content, but the tone used in the answer.

For example, “you are an expert in couples for couples. In accessible language, make an initial step by step to help avoid financial conflicts in marriage.” Or: “You are a teacher of high school chemistry. Explain to your students the difference between acids and bases using two everyday examples.”

Depending on the theme, the persona makes the AI ​​make a style closer than the user needs.

Prompt with specific format

In some situations, the form of presentation is as important as the content, and both need the same visual prominence. This is the case of lists, tables, topics or even a box ready to paste on WordPress.

Examples of AI requests: “Set up a table comparing three models of electric cars with columns of autonomy, cost-effective, recharge infrastructure and ideal consumer profile”, or “List in topics three benefits of physical exercise, with sentences of up to 12 words”.

The more specific the command, the more direct the answer will be.

Interactive or Refined Prompt

Finally, prompt refinement is nothing more than the adjustment the user makes with each answer, until it reaches the ideal result

Basically, it is a test cycle and improvement: each assessment, the person tells AI what they should keep and what they need to modify. For example: “Keep the introduction, but rewrite the most accessible language examples.”

This approach helps refine the answers, and prevents the AI ​​from starting from scratch to each request for change in content.

Common errors when creating prompts

Even with all the examples available, it is easy to fall into traps that can compromise the quality of answers. With that in mind, we have selected the five most common mistakes when creating prompts-and tips to avoid them.

1 – Make vague requests

Imagine the situation: your vacation is coming, you want to travel but you still don’t know where and can’t spend much.

If you ask AI to simply talk about travel, it can bring anything related to the theme: Destinations, bag tips or any other fact that may not interest you. But if you ask something like, “List five destinations in South America for those who want to travel by 2025 by spending up to $ 5,000,” will have a useful answer.

To avoid generic prompts, think about how to explain your goal clearly.

2 – Mix many tasks in the same request

Gathering various demands in the same prompt confuses the AI ​​and increases the chance of incomplete or out of context answers.

A request like “Explain what the Selic rate is, make a table showing how it impacts the economy and then translates into English,” can result in something poorly formatted. For a good answer, ask the explanation first, then the table, and only at the end the translation.

3-Do not define a tone or audience

You can get the same AI response in different ways, and this can make all the difference in a given context.

If you just say, “Explain what fraction is,” the answer can come too technical or generic. But if you include details such as “explanation is for 10 -year -olds and should bring visual examples such as pizza charts,” the result will be much more effective.

4 – Ignore size or shape limitation

Another frequent mistake in creating prompts is not to indicate how the answer should be delivered.

If there are no parameters, artificial intelligence may not understand how to create prompts and deliver different content from what the user needs. For example, instead of simply asking a summary of the Dom Casmurro book, specify that the text “must contain up to 1000 words, subtitles with lists and narrative language.” This improves AI assertiveness and helps to avoid rework.

5 – Do not refine the prompt

In search of the ideal answer, many people end up redoing the prompt and give up AI in the middle of the way. But in fact, just adjust the command with each return, until you reach the result you want.

For example, those who want to organize studies for Enem can first ask for a 10 -day schedule suggestion; Then distribute the stories in 4 hours a day with their simulations, and refine until you reach the right script.

Summary of tips on how to create prompts

Throughout this guide, we have seen that prompts are much more than simple questions: they have the power to access the full potential of AI – but as long as they are properly elaborated.

To have good results and optimize time with technology, follows a summary of the essential points on how to create efficient prompts:

Tip	Explanation	Example
1. Be specific	Prompt Vagos create generic responses. Include details in the request to optimize the result.	“List five destinations in South America for those traveling in 2025 with a budget of up to $ 5,000.”
2. Define public and tone	Indicate to who is the answer (experts, lay people, children, young people or older) and what tone you want (formal, relaxed, didactic). Thinking about the target audience makes all the difference when creating the prompt.	“Explain what is fraction for 10 -year students, using visual examples such as pizza or chocolate.”
3. Choose the reply format	To optimize time, say exactly how you want delivery: text, list, table, topics or busy text.	“Make a table comparing three models of electric cars, with columns of autonomy, cost-benefit, recharge and ideal consumer.”
4. Use examples when necessary	If so, show the AI ​​any ready model of what you want: a title, a paragraph, or any other reference.	“Based on the title ‘how to travel around Brazil, create three titles in the same style for a guide on economic travel.
5. Refine until you get the result you want	Adjust the prompt with each return, as if you were explaining to someone what you want. Hardly the best answer will come in the first command.	“Keep the introduction, but rewrite the examples more simply and summarized.”

Observing all these items, the user gains confidence over time and can communicate with the AI ​​increasingly productive.