Chapter 4: Prompt Principles

The Latest Research on Prompt Optimization

Before we get into the research-backed prompts to improve chatbot (LLM) performance, we need to mention the noble source for these principles.

The strategies we'll cover are based on an extensive research paper by AI researchers at VILA Lab.

They conducted comprehensive studies on how different prompting techniques impact chatbot performance.

Key findings from their work:

• Using certain principles and templates in prompts can improve chatbot responsiveness by up to 50%

• Simple changes like being more direct or adding repetition have a significant impact

• Affirmative vs negative phrasing also matters when prompting chatbots

We'll tie their scientific insights into practical examples you can apply right away. Small tweaks to how you prompt can make a big difference in chatbot interactions!

Prompting Principles

The full research paper covers 26 proven principles for optimizing chatbot prompts.

If you applied the prompting frameworks from Chapter 1 (ChatGPT Prompt Frameworks), you're already utilizing many of these best practices.

However, the paper still offers a unique set of rules that you can follow and templates that will help you write your prompts faster.

For this chapter, we'll focus on 10 of the most impactful prompt engineering techniques from the paper:

• Simplifying explanations

• Matching example styles

• Using direct instructions

• Encouraging details

• Checking for bias

• And more

These core principles provide templates and guidelines you can follow to boost chatbot responsiveness.

To clarify or get a deeper understanding of a topic, or any piece of information, use the following prompts:

• Explain [insert specific topic] in simple terms.

• Explain to me like I’m 11 years old.

• Explain to me as if I’m a beginner in [field].

To write any text, such as an essay or paragraph, to replicate a provided sample, use this prompt

• "Please use the same language based on the provided paragraph[/title/text /essay/answer]."

To change text without changing its style:

• “Try to revise every paragraph sent by users. You should only improve the user’s grammar and vocabulary and make sure it sounds natural. You should not change the writing style, such as making a formal paragraph casual”

Incorporate the following phrases within your prompt:

• “Your task is”, “You MUST”, “You will be penalized”, and ”Answer a question given in a natural, human-like manner”

Use leading words like adding “think step by step“ to the end of your prompts.

Repeat a specific word or phrase multiple times within a prompt.

Employ affirmative directives such as ‘do,’ while steering clear of negative language like ‘don’t.’

To write an essay/text/paragraph/article or any type of text that should be detailed:

• “Write a detailed [essay/text/paragraph] for me on [topic] in detail by adding all the information necessary”.

Add the following to the end of your prompt:

• “Ensure that your answer is unbiased and does not rely on stereotypes”

Assign a role to the large language models.

Chapter 4 Recap

In this chapter, you learned:

• Research-backed principles for optimizing chatbot prompts

• How to clarify topics, match examples, assign personas, and more

• Simple templates to improve prompts for any chatbot

Applying these proven techniques can increase chatbot responsiveness by up to 50%!

You now have expert-level skills for prompt engineering. Practicing these principles will make your AI interactions far more effective.

Next, we'll explore expanding your AI skills into 100+ more workflows and capabilities.