videos

Prompt tutorials for conversation designers

A tutorial on three essential prompting techniques to make ChatGPT more conversational and natural. I demonstrate the problem with ChatGPT's default responses, which are too long, impersonal, and unengaging for conversational interfaces. The three tips: use OpenAI Playground instead of ChatGPT for better control over LLM behavior and access to system prompts, define a specific expert role in the system prompt rather than the generic helpful assistant since research shows expert roles result in higher quality answers, and prompt for specific behaviors like conciseness, staying on topic, and ending messages with questions to drive conversation forward. I use structured delimiters to organize prompt sections and demonstrate how each behavioral instruction refines the bot's personality and interaction style. The process is like chipping away at a block of marble: each prompt chips away at behavior, domain, interaction models, and persona until you get the conversational bot you want.