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✉️ Prompting 101: How to Talk to AI (Without Being a Programmer)

✉️ Prompting 101: How to Talk to AI (Without Being a Programmer)

— Issue #2 of The Artificial Newsletter

Sankalp Srivastava
April 25, 2025

🤖 “I Tried ChatGPT… But It Gave Me Junk.”

You’re not alone.

Most people open ChatGPT, type something like “Write me a business plan” and get… a vague wall of text. Not wrong. Just… unusable.

What they don’t realize is this:

How you prompt determines what you get.
Garbage in → garbage out.
Gold in → magic out.

This issue is your introduction to the art of prompting—a simple skill that unlocks the real power of AI tools like ChatGPT.

And don’t worry: you don’t need to be technical to get it right.

🎯 The 5-Part Prompting Framework (T-C-R-E-I)

Here’s the structure that separates AI rookies from AI power users.
You can copy this. Use it everywhere. Adjust it to your style.

Part	What It Means	Example in Action
T: Task	What you want the AI to do	“Summarize this meeting in 3 bullet points.”
C: Context	Who you are / what you need it for	“I’m a project manager who missed the call.”
R: Reference	Give it examples or style guides	“Here’s a previous summary I liked…”
E: Evaluate	Ask AI to check or revise its response	“Did you miss any key takeaways?”
I: Iterate	Build on the previous reply	“Now turn this into a LinkedIn post.”

🧠 Pro Tip: Write prompts like you’re giving instructions to an intern.
Clear, structured, and with enough background to avoid rework.

✍️ Real Prompt Example (Before vs After)

❌ The Usual Way

“Write a farewell email.”

Result: A generic email that could’ve been written by a fridge.

✅ The Better Way (Using T-C-R-E-I)

<task> Write a farewell email </task>  
<context> I’m leaving after 5 years at a startup, want it warm but not dramatic </context>  
<reference> Here’s one I liked before </reference>  
<evaluate> Add a positive tone and a funny memory </evaluate>  
<iterate> Now rewrite it for my LinkedIn audience </iterate>

💡 Save this format for future use

<task> Write a two-sentence intro for my business pitch </task>  
<context> I’m pitching a time-saving AI tool to local real estate agents who are not tech-savvy </context>  
<reference> I want it to sound like this: “Imagine saving 5 hours every week, just by automating your paperwork.” </reference>  
<evaluate> Is it punchy enough for a live demo? </evaluate>  
<iterate> Make it more engaging using a relatable story instead of numbers. </iterate>

Copy, paste, and run this in ChatGPT. You’ll immediately feel the difference.

🔁 Prompting is a Habit, Not a Hack

Like any skill, prompting improves with practice.
You don’t need perfect syntax—you need structure.

Start treating AI like a teammate, not a genie.

👋 Coming up next : “Can I build my own GPT? ”