If you think ChatGPT isn’t working for you, you might be looking in the wrong place. The real issue isn’t the AI, it’s the prompts we’re feeding it. I just saw this awesome post from a LinkedIn creator who laid out a super simple but powerful guide to fix this for good.
The key idea is that your output quality is a direct reflection of your input quality. The post’s author shared four common mistakes people make and how to correct them with simple tweaks. I was blown away by how much of a difference these small changes make!
Here are the biggest takeaways that will level up your results:
📌 Be Radically Specific.
Vague questions get vague answers. Instead of asking, “How did my LinkedIn content do?”, the expert suggests you get detailed. Try this instead: “Can you provide a breakdown of LinkedIn content performance for March as compared to January?” This forces the AI to give you a concrete, data-driven comparison, not a useless summary.
💡 Speak Plain English.
Trying to sound smart with complex jargon only confuses the AI. The creator shared a hilarious example of an overly academic prompt that was gibberish. The fix? Just ask clearly. Instead of asking about “polycontextual semiotic constructs,” simply ask: “Can you explain the differences in our customer support and customer acquisition process in simple terms?” You’ll get a much better answer.
✅ Focus on Solving Problems.
Don’t just ask what’s wrong with your work. Instead, frame your prompt around the person you’re trying to help. The person who shared it shows the difference between asking, “What’s wrong with my LinkedIn content?” and a user-focused prompt like, “What problems can we solve for an ideal reader, so that they engage more with our LinkedIn content and our email newsletter’s content too?” It’s a mindset shift from “me” to “them.”
This is just a quick look at the fantastic advice this industry pro shared. To see all the before-and-after examples and the full infographic, you have to check out the original post.