Episode 34: How to Talk to Generative AI — A Gentle Guide to Prompts and How to Use Them Effectively

What’s the Relationship Between Generative AI and Prompts?

Imagine you’re at a café and say, “I’d like a hot coffee.” The staff then considers things like the type of beans or whether you want milk, and prepares a cup for you. This kind of exchange is quite similar to how we interact with generative AI.

When you want to ask something from an AI, you need to express what you’d like it to do using words. That request itself is what we call a “prompt.”

What Is a Prompt? Understanding the Basics

A prompt is a piece of input or question that tells generative AI what kind of answer you’re looking for. For example, asking ChatGPT “What’s the weather today?” is already considered a prompt.

A more detailed example might be: “Can you suggest three family-friendly travel destinations near Tokyo for summer vacation?” By including specific conditions like who will go or what kind of experience you’re looking for, the response becomes much more tailored to your needs.

In this way, prompts are the starting point for communication with AI. And depending on how you craft that starting point, the quality of information or suggestions you receive can vary greatly. Even if an AI is highly advanced, it can’t show its full capabilities if your instructions are vague or unclear.

Tips for Using Prompts Effectively—and What to Watch Out For

Let’s say you simply ask, “Give me an easy dinner recipe.” That might work—but if instead you say, “Please suggest a Japanese-style dinner recipe suitable for one person that takes less than 10 minutes to make and requires minimal cleanup,” you’re much more likely to get an answer that fits your situation perfectly.

In this sense, a well-crafted prompt can be thought of as a “good question.” But there are also some things to be careful about. If your prompt is too detailed or too long, it may actually confuse the AI. Also, even when asking the same thing, different AIs might give different answers. This happens because each AI has been trained on different data and built using different systems.

Behind all this lies a technology called LLM—or Large Language Model. These are AIs trained on massive amounts of text data so they can understand and generate human-like language. We’ll take a closer look at LLMs in another article.

Recently, there’s been growing interest in something called “prompt engineering.” This refers to the skill of crafting effective prompts that draw out better responses from generative AIs. Acting as a bridge between humans and machines, this skill will likely become increasingly valuable in many areas of life and work.

How Word Choice Can Shape Smooth Interactions With AI

At its core, a prompt isn’t just about giving commands—it’s about expressing what you want and how you’d like it delivered in a thoughtful way.

It’s not so different from talking with people. If you want someone to respond positively or helpfully, it helps to be clear but also considerate in how you speak. The same goes for communicating with generative AI—some thoughtfulness and creativity in your wording can make all the difference.

At first, crafting good prompts might feel tricky. But as you try things out and gain experience, you’ll start noticing patterns—like “Oh! If I ask it this way, I get better results.” Those little discoveries can be surprisingly satisfying—and they’re signs that you’re learning how to work well with AI.