• Todd Moses
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  • Prompt Engineering is Super Communication

Prompt Engineering is Super Communication

Because being impactful is more critical than being impressive.

We enhance our communication skills by reading more, because words are not just tools for expressing ideas; they also provide our perspective on the world.

Why it matters: Effective communication involves understanding the feedback we receive from others.

  • Those who excel in fields such as business, sales, law, education, and entrepreneurship have mastered the skill of reading people's reactions as they speak.

  • They notice subtle responses and adjust their message accordingly to enhance its effectiveness for their audience.

Yes, but: Challenges arise for these expert communicators when they engage with machines that lack immediate feedback.

  • The responses from AI come more slowly and rely on a process of trial and error.

Between the lines: In his book "Supercommunicators," Charles Duhigg outlines three types of communication: practical, emotional, and social.

  • Yet, mostly practical communication—focused on decisions, plans, facts, and tasks—is applicable when interacting with AI.

The big picture: Effective human communicators express empathy and understand how people perceive themselves and others.

  • They use simple language to convey complex ideas because Supercommunicators recognize that being impactful is more critical than being impressive.

Context: The primary aim of Supercommunicators is to engage in a "learning conversation" where both individuals are open to understanding each other's perspectives, even when disagreements arise.

  • It's not about winning an argument; instead, the emphasis is on seeking comprehension.

What's next: Effectively communicating with AI requires crafting writing prompts that make a meaningful impact.

  • To create the best prompts, it's essential to consider the AI's perspective.

  • For example, if you request without providing enough context, the AI may respond in a way that does not match your intentions.

Zoom in: To formulate a strong prompt, define a practical goal with a clear outcome.

  • For instance, you might say, "Summarize the key findings of the latest XYZ report on the economic impact of the T1 Ad Campaign for an executive brief, focusing on actionable recommendations."

Catch up quick: Effective communicators recognize both the strengths and limitations of a given AI model.

  • It is essential to align your prompts with the AI's language capabilities and the training data it has been exposed to.

  • For AI, "deep questions" entail providing adequate context, constraints, and examples to guide it in generating the most relevant and sound output, rather than asking superficial questions.

Reality check: Even though you aren't expressing your emotions to the AI, you need to make your intent and satisfaction or dissatisfaction with its output clear.

  • This feedback loop is essential for the AI to learn from your interactions.

  • Clearly stating phrases like "This is perfect!" or "This is not what I was looking for because of X, Y, and Z" helps the AI's reinforcement learning mechanisms understand what constitutes good and bad outputs.

Pro tip: Supercommunicators consistently strive to learn from every interaction.

  • In prompt engineering, it's essential to experiment, analyze AI outputs, and refine your approach.

  • Incorporating Supercommunication principles elevates AI prompt engineering from a technical task to a strong form of communication.

  • It transforms the process from simply typing words to thoughtfully crafting inputs that guide the AI toward the desired outcome.