Master Your AI Prompts: Insider Techniques for Transformative Results

Hey, it’s Mal, the Misfit Master of AI, and you’re listening to “I am GPTed” – the show where we turn buzzwords into things you can actually use before your next coffee gets cold.Let’s get straight into it.---Today we’re doing five things:1. One prompting technique 2. One sneaky everyday use case 3. One very common beginner mistake 4. A quick practice exercise 5. A tip to judge whether the AI just helped you… or confidently wasted your time### 1. One prompting technique: “Role + Result + Rules”If you remember nothing else, remember this: **Role, Result, Rules.**Bad prompt:> “Write an email to my boss about a project delay.”You’ll get something like:> “Dear Sir/Madam, unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances…” Corporate beige. Useless.Better prompt:> “You are a **project manager** who is calm but direct. > **Result:** Write a short email to my boss about a project delay of 3 days. > **Rules:** > - Take responsibility, but don’t overshare blame > - Suggest a plan to get back on track > - Keep it under 150 words > - No buzzwords, plain language.”Same AI, totally different brain. You gave it:- A **role** (how to think) - A **result** (what to produce) - **Rules** (how to shape it)Use this format with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, whoever. They all understand “Role + Result + Rules” better than your last manager understood you.---### 2. Practical use case you probably haven’t triedUse AI as your **“meeting de-bloater.”**Paste in your messy meeting notes or a transcript and say:> “You are a **concise chief of staff**. > Turn these notes into: > - 5 bullet-point decisions > - 5 bullet-point action items by person > - 3 risks I should flag to my manager in one paragraph. > If anything is ambiguous, list it in a separate ‘Questions’ section.”Suddenly, instead of staring at 7 pages of “random talking,” you’ve got a one-page brief and a to-do list. That’s not futuristic AI magic; that’s just useful.---### 3. Common beginner mistake (that I made too)Beginner mistake: **One-shot, vague prompts.** “I tried AI, it wasn’t good.” Yeah, you typed one sentence and expected it to read your mind. I did this too.I used to type: > “Make me a content plan for my podcast.”Then I’d complain it was generic.Fix: **treat it like a draft partner, not a vending machine.**Start with:> “Draft a simple content plan for a weekly beginner-friendly AI podcast. > Then ask me 5 clarifying questions before finalizing it.”When it asks questions, answer them, then say:> “Now rewrite the plan using those answers.”You’re not “bad at prompts.” You’re just stopping after the first try. So did I. Don’t.---### 4. Simple practice exerciseDo this once a day for a week:1. Pick a small task: email, caption, explanation, plan. 2. Write your **best guess** prompt. 3. After the answer, say: > “Critique my prompt. Rewrite it to get a better result next time.” 4. Use that improved prompt on a similar task tomorrow.You’re basically turning the AI into your **prompt coach**. In 7 days, you’ll be miles ahead of people still typing “make it better.”---### 5. How to evaluate and improve AI outputUse my lazy three-question test:1. **Is anything obviously wrong or made up?** If yes, fix your prompt to add constraints: > “Only use information from the text I provided. If you’re unsure, say you’re unsure.”2. **Is this usable in the real world as-is?** If not, say: > “Make this 50% shorter and more concrete. Replace vague advice with numbered steps.”3. **Does it sound like *me*?** If not: > “Rewrite this in my voice: casual, clear, slightly sarcastic, no buzzwords.”Never accept the first draft as final. Think of AI as the intern who works fast but needs editing.---Alright, that’s it for today’s episode of “I am GPTed” with me, Mal, your Misfit Master of AI who is just barely more organized than your browser tabs.If this helped, **subscribe to the podcast** so your future self doesn’t have to rediscover all this the hard way.**Thanks for listening.**This has been a **Quiet Please** production. You can learn more at **quietplease dot ai**.For more check out https://www.quietperiodplease.com/and for some great deals go to https://amzn.to/4nidg0PThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI