Be patient with your AI prompts

"Hey ChatGPT, write a blog post about climate change"

That's how many people use AI. They throw in a short question, with little to no context, and expect a magical end result bursting with creativity and originality.

And when that result doesn't come, they blame AI. That's not entirely fair.

A prompt is not a search query

A search engine like Google is primarily fast. Type a few words and you get a list of results. AI works differently. It wants to know more about you. It asks questions back. Why are you looking for this? What do you want to do with it?

With AI, it's about entering into a dialogue where you and the language model arrive at insights together. AI wants to understand you as well as possible. It learns from what you say and constantly builds on that.

Treat AI like a new colleague

Imagine you have a new colleague. You ask for a report on a project. Would the instruction "just make a report about that project from last week" be enough?

No. You'd give context. You'd explain the goal, who's going to read it, which details matter. With AI it's exactly the same.

Instead of giving direct commands, take the time to explain what you need, what the background is, and above all: what matters most in the final result.

Clarify what you don't want

It can help to clarify what you don't want:

• "Preferably no jargon" -- if you want to keep it simple
• "Avoid long sentences" -- for an active writing style
• "No technical details" -- if it needs to be accessible

By pointing out what you don't like, you help AI find the right direction faster. Think of it as drawing a map, including places to avoid.

Reverse the roles

Usually you ask AI something. But turn it around. Let AI question you.

Try: "Play the role of my critical manager. What five things are still missing from my proposal?"

• You see your plan through a different lens
• Gaps in your story become visible
• You discover new angles

Perfection in one go? Forget it.

Every AI "mistake" is an opportunity to refine. Say: "This part is good, but can you adjust that next section?"

That way, you and your AI tool get to know each other better over time. If you invest a bit more time in this at the start, the output will increasingly match your expectations.

The bottom line

Quality output with AI doesn't just come to you. It needs time to grow. Step by step. Just like with real people.

With every interaction, you learn the possibilities and limitations of AI better. At the same time, AI gets to know your personal preferences and style better.

Sometimes you have to take a step back to take two steps forward.