You might be spending way too much time trying to write the perfect, paragraph-long prompt for ChatGPT. I know I’ve been guilty of over-engineering my requests, thinking more detail always equals better results. Then I stumbled upon a post from this talented creator that completely shifted my perspective. This innovator shared a series of dead-simple “codes” that act as powerful shortcuts to get exactly what you need from the AI, and they work brilliantly.
The key idea is that you don’t need to write a novel to steer the AI. Instead, the post’s author shows how you can use short, universally understood acronyms and commands as prefixes to your prompt. It’s like having a set of quick-dials for the AI’s tone, complexity, and output style. These little tweaks are incredibly efficient and have made my daily workflow so much smoother.
Here’s a breakdown of the most useful techniques the expert shared:
📌 Instantly Adjust for Simplicity or Brevity
Sometimes you’re facing a wall of text or a concept that’s just not clicking. The creator highlights two codes that are perfect for this. The first is ELI5, which stands for “Explain Like I’m 5.” It forces the AI to strip away all the jargon and complex vocabulary to give you the core concept in the simplest terms possible. It’s perfect for getting your head around scientific theories, technical documentation, or any dense subject matter. The second is TL;DR, or “Too Long; Didn’t Read.” You can paste an entire article, email thread, or report after this command, and ChatGPT will give you a concise summary. I’ve started using this to get through my morning newsletters and it saves me at least 20 minutes a day.
* How to use ELI5: Just type ELI5: followed by your topic. For example: ELI5: How do interest rates affect inflation? You’ll get a clear, analogy-rich explanation that’s easy to digest.
* How to use TL;DR: Simply type TLDR: and then paste the text you want summarized right after it. It’s a fantastic way to quickly assess if a long document is worth a full read.
✅ Effortlessly Master Your Tone
This is where things get really interesting for anyone who writes for a living. The original poster shared two commands that let you toggle between a professional and a conversational tone. The first is Jargonize. When you use this, the AI takes your simple text and polishes it into something more technical, formal, or corporate-sounding. This is incredibly useful for drafting professional emails, creating content for a pitch deck, or making your LinkedIn posts sound more authoritative. It’s like having a professional editor on standby.
On the flip side, there’s Humanize. This command does the exact opposite. It takes robotic or overly formal text and makes it sound more natural, conversational, and relatable. The creator points out a fantastic bonus: it automatically avoids those cringe-worthy AI clichés like “in today’s fast-paced world” or “revolutionary.” This is my go-to for drafting social media content, blog posts, or any communication where I want to sound like an actual person.
* Jargonize Use Case: Take a simple sentence like, “We need to sell more stuff to make more money.” A prompt of Jargonize: We need to sell more stuff to make more money might produce: “To enhance profitability, we must scale our sales volume and optimize revenue generation strategies.”
* Humanize Use Case: Take a generic AI sentence like, “It is imperative to leverage our core competencies to achieve our objectives.” A prompt of Humanize: It is imperative to leverage our core competencies to achieve our objectives could turn it into: “Basically, we need to focus on what we’re good at to hit our goals.”
💡 Go from Surface-Level to Deep Understanding
This last one is less of a quick command and more of a complete system for learning that the expert outlined. It’s based on the Feynman Technique, a method used to truly understand a topic, not just memorize it. The mind behind it brilliantly shows how you can use ChatGPT as a partner in this process.
The steps are simple but powerful:
1. Teach it to a child: Start by using the ELI5 command on your topic. This gives you the foundational, simplified version of the information.
2. Identify knowledge gaps: Read the simple explanation. What parts are still fuzzy? Where do you get lost? Now, you ask the AI targeted questions about those specific areas. For example, “You mentioned ‘data packets’ in your explanation of the internet. Can you explain what a data packet is using a mail analogy?” This targeted questioning is crucial.
3. Simplify and organize: Now, try to write your own simple explanation of the topic. Once you have a draft, feed it back to ChatGPT. You can use a prompt like, “I’m trying to explain [topic] to a colleague. Here’s my draft: [your text]. Can you review it for clarity and point out any confusing parts?”
4. Review and repeat: The AI will give you feedback on your explanation. Use that feedback to refine your text, then do it again. Each cycle of explaining and getting feedback deepens your understanding until the concept is locked in your mind. This iterative process is what makes the technique so effective.
This is a fantastic method for anyone studying for an exam, preparing for a presentation, or just trying to master a new skill for their career.
These shortcuts are unbelievably practical. I was amazed at how much better and faster my AI interactions became just by using these simple prefixes.
Check out the full post from this industry pro for the complete guide and more examples!
5 dead simple ways to improve your ChatGPT experience
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