Prompt Engineering: Why the Way You Ask Matters in AI
Have you ever asked a question and gotten a vague answer? Now imagine you’re asking a supercomputer that can do just about anything—but only if you ask it the right way. That’s where prompt engineering comes in.
Prompt engineering is the art of writing clear, structured instructions to get the best possible response from AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and others. It’s not coding. It’s not technical. It’s just smart communication—a conversation with a machine that thinks in words.
So, what exactly is prompt engineering?
In simple terms, a prompt is what you type into the AI tool—the question, command, or context. Prompt engineering is the skill of crafting that input in a way that helps the AI understand your intent and give you useful, accurate, or creative results.
The AI can write an email, summarise a document, draft a policy, act like a recruiter, or pretend it’s your marketing coach—but only if you give it enough information to work with. Think of it like giving directions: “Drive me somewhere” won’t get you far. But “Take me to the café on Main Street, next to the library, before 2 PM” gets you exactly where you need to go.
Why does prompt engineering matter?
Because how you ask is everything. Two people can use the same AI tool and get completely different outcomes just because one of them knew how to prompt properly. In other words, a vague or rushed prompt will give you a vague or messy result. A thoughtful, specific prompt will unlock surprisingly tailored and extremely valuable outputs.
For small business owners, this could be the difference between:
❌ A generic blog post
✅ A blog post tailored to your audience, tone of voice, and SEO keywords
❌ A stiff, awkward email draft
✅ A friendly follow-up that sounds just like you
Real-world examples of good vs bad prompts
Bad Prompt:
"Write a post about marketing."
Better Prompt:
"Write a friendly, 150-word LinkedIn post about why small businesses should invest in short-form video marketing. Include a call to action at the end."
Bad Prompt:
"Summarise this."
Better Prompt:
"Summarise the key points of this 2 page document in bullet points for a time-poor manager. Focus on risks and next steps."
What makes a good prompt?
Good prompt engineering is made up of a few simple elements:
✅ Clarity – Be specific about what you want
✅ Context – Include background info or examples
✅ Format – Ask for a list, table, or paragraph—whatever you prefer
✅ Tone & Audience – Tell the AI who it’s writing for (e.g. formal investor vs casual customer)
✅ Constraints – Add limits (word count, keywords, platform, etc.)
Do’s and Don’ts of Prompt Engineering
✅ DO:
Give the AI a role: “Act like a social media manager”
Be clear about the output: “Write 3 captions for Instagram”
Add detail: “Target audience is women 25–35 who run small businesses”
Refine and follow up: you can always say “make it shorter,” “add stats,” or “change the tone”
❌ DON’T:
Assume the AI knows your brand voice
Use overly vague or one-word prompts
Ask too many things in one go
Expect magic from a single sentence
Final thoughts
Prompt engineering isn’t about being a tech wizard, it’s about being a great communicator. If you can describe what you want clearly, you can get incredible results from AI tools. As AI becomes a bigger part of how we work and create, this skill will only become more valuable.
Want help building prompts tailored to your business or, even better, an AI assistant who already knows how to talk like you do? That’s what we do at TaysMedia AI.
Let’s build smarter tools together.
