Stop getting mediocre AI output. Learn the prompt engineering techniques top AI users rely on, with 20 templates.
Why most prompts fail
People write prompts like search queries. AI does not work like search. It works like a very fast, very literal junior colleague.
The CRTF framework
Every great prompt has four parts.
- Context — who you are, who the audience is
- Role — what persona AI should take
- Task — the exact action
- Format — how output should be structured
Examples
Weak: "Write a blog post about coffee." Strong: "You are a specialty coffee roaster writing for home enthusiasts. Write a 400-word blog post explaining why light roasts need hotter water. Use short paragraphs. End with one actionable tip."
Advanced techniques
Chain-of-thought, few-shot examples, and refusal scaffolding all dramatically improve output quality.