Prompting ChatGPT
How to prompt ChatGPT
To prompt ChatGPT well, say the goal, give it the facts and the audience, and say what format and length you want. This page draws on OpenAI's published prompting guides and adds a worked example for everyday work.
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Updated
>_The problem
Why ChatGPT answers come out generic
ChatGPT can only use what is in the box, so a thin prompt gets a thin answer.
ChatGPT answers the line you send. If the line says "make a proposal", you get a proposal for nobody in particular. Put the client, the price and the deadline in the box.
Conflicting lines make it worse. Check for lines that pull in different directions, such as "be brief" next to "cover everything". OpenAI's archived GPT-5 recipe says the model spends effort reconciling instructions that contradict each other.
The prompting hub holds the habits that the big tools share. This page covers ChatGPT alone.
Four moves
Write the prompt in four moves
Four short moves turn "make a proposal" into something ChatGPT can act on.
1. Open with the job. Say what the finished thing is and who it is for. "A one-page proposal for a dental group" beats "a proposal". 2. Paste the facts. Put in the scope, the price, the dates and the names. If a client wrote them in an email, copy that email in. 3. Name the reader. Say who will read it and how they like things. A practice manager wants plain words, not jargon. 4. Set the shape. Give a length and a layout, such as five headings and under 350 words.
Then read the answer and ask for one change at a time. OpenAI's guide also says that for work that must be repeatable, you should build tests that measure how the prompt behaves. That tip is for developers. For one-off work, your own read-through is the test.
This tool
What is different in ChatGPT
OpenAI's guides split a prompt into rules and inputs, and that split is the most useful idea to borrow.
- Rules apart from inputs. In the API, the developer message holds the rules and the user message holds the inputs. OpenAI compares this to a function and its arguments. In the chat box you type in one place, so the practical version is our advice: put your rules first and your material below them.
- A layout to copy. OpenAI describes a prompt that runs identity, then instructions, then examples, then context, with the context near the end.
- Structure the text. Use Markdown headers and lists for sections. Use tags to mark where a pasted piece starts and ends.
- Show a range of examples. OpenAI says to show a range of inputs with the output you want for each.
- Say the length in words. The archived GPT-5 recipe says the API has a setting for how long answers run, and that plain words can override it for one case. In the chat box, plain words are all you have, so name the length.
Every item here comes from OpenAI's developer guides. OpenAI's ChatGPT help article on prompting could not be opened when we checked, so nothing here is taken from it.
Checks
Three checks before you send
A short check catches most of the misses before ChatGPT spends a whole answer on them.
- Conflicts. Cut one of any two lines that contradict each other.
- Missing facts. If the answer needs a number, a date or a name, put it in. If you do not have it, tell ChatGPT to say so and not guess.
- Not sure what you want yet? Some people ask ChatGPT to interview them first, which can help when the idea is still vague. No OpenAI guide we opened says this, so it is community advice.
Worked example
From "make a proposal" to a prompt that works
Faye runs a small web studio, and Dovetail & Finch Dental wants a proposal. She says it the way she thinks it.
In ChatGPT
You say
optionmake a proposal for the Dovetail job, three clinics, same price we talked about, start mid November, keep it to one page and put the deposit in
Scrubbr finds
Gmail · Dovetail & Finch thread
HubSpot · Dovetail & Finch booking setup deal
ChatGPT · Prompt
Goal: Write a one-page proposal for Dovetail & Finch Dental so Carla Brandt can approve the booking project and pay the deposit before the Nov 17 kickoff.
Facts: Carla is the practice manager and signs. Scope from the thread: online booking for 3 clinics (Eastside, Bayview and Fairview), text reminders, and an import of the current patient list. Price from the deal: $9,600 fixed, with a 50% deposit ($4,800) on signing. Kickoff is Nov 17 and launch is Jan 12.
Steps: 1. Open with the problem in Carla's words from the thread: patients phone to book. 2. List what is included. 3. Give the price and the deposit. 4. Give the timeline. 5. End with one next step.
Limits: Plain English for a practice manager, no jargon. Nothing that is not in the thread: no extra features, no discount. Add a note for Faye if anything is missing, rather than guessing.
Format: One page with five headings: Problem, What you get, Price, Timeline, Next step. Under 350 words.
A great answer: Carla can forward it to her partners without edits and sign it.
Demo data. The people, company and facts are invented.
Questions
ChatGPT questions
How do I prompt ChatGPT?
Say the goal, paste the facts it cannot guess, name the reader, and set the length and layout. Then ask for one change at a time. The four moves are on this page. For the common core, see the prompting hub.
Why does ChatGPT give me generic answers?
Your prompt leaves out the facts, so ChatGPT writes the common version of the task. Add the names, numbers and dates. Also delete lines that conflict, because OpenAI's archived GPT-5 recipe says contradictory instructions cost the model effort.
Should my rules go before or after my material?
OpenAI's developer guide describes a layout of identity, instructions and examples first, with the context near the end. In the chat box, the same order works: rules first, material below. OpenAI does not say that; it is our own tip.
Can I ask ChatGPT to question me before it writes?
Yes, you can ask it to question you first. That habit comes from users, not from OpenAI's guides, so treat it as a tip and not a rule.
Where does the OpenAI advice on this page come from?
From OpenAI's prompt engineering guide and its GPT-5 recipe, an archived page. Both are written for developers, so where a tip is about the API, this page says how it carries over to the chat box.
Sources
Where these facts come from
Sources checked on 2026-11-03.
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