P-T-C-F-E — say it like "P-Tee-Cafe
P — Persona
T — Task
C — Context
F — Format
E — Examples (optional)
Persona: P-Tee-Café
What it is: The persona is the role you assign to the AI (e.g., teacher, doctor, farmer, film critic), shaping tone, style, and expertise. Example: “You are a film studies professor” prompts an academic analysis.
Why use it: Gives the AI context, making responses more credible and domain-specific. A doctor may give clinical insights, while an organic farmer offers practical field tips.
Best practices: Choose a persona relevant to your topic—expert (“You are a world-renowned botanist…”), style/profession (“Act as a friendly tutor…”), or creative (“You are Shakespeare writing a sonnet…”). Match persona to task for consistent results.
Example Prompt: “You are my environmental science professor. Explain three ways cities can reduce air pollution for my upcoming class discussion.”
Task: P-Tee-Café
What it is: The main instruction for the AI, stated clearly and specifically, starting with a strong verb (list, explain, summarize, design).
Why use it: A well-defined task keeps the AI focused, reducing vague or off-topic answers. Broad prompts like “Tell me about Ayurveda” may get generic results, while “List three Ayurvedic herbs for digestion and describe their benefits” guides the model to deliver targeted content.
Best practices: State exactly what you want, including scope or quantity if relevant. Place the task after any context so the AI processes the background before acting.
Example Prompt: “List three organic farming techniques to improve clay-rich soil health.” The AI now knows to produce exactly three relevant techniques.
Context: P-Tee-Cafe
What it is: Background information that helps the AI tailor its answer to your situation—location, audience, constraints, or specific conditions.
Why use it: Context avoids generic responses and ensures relevance. “Give me tips for growing tomatoes” is broad; adding “in an indoor hydroponic setup” yields advice on lighting, nutrient solutions, and space use.
Best practices: Include only details that help the AI focus on your needs—too much irrelevant info can dilute the answer. Context works best when paired with a clear task.
Example Prompt: “You are an Ayurvedic wellness coach. Recommend three daily routines for someone with a Pitta imbalance living in a hot climate.” The AI will tailor advice for the dosha type and environment.
Format: P-Tee-Café
What it is: Instructions on how you want the answer presented—bullet points, numbered steps, tables, short paragraphs, or other structures.
Why use it: Even if the content is accurate, poor formatting can make it harder to use. Specifying format ensures the output is organized and fits your needs.
Best practices: Be explicit—state the style, length, or structure you prefer. You can also request a particular tone (formal, casual, story-like).
Example Prompt: “Create a 90-minute soccer practice for undergraduate players. Present it in a table with columns for activity, time, and purpose.” Without the format instruction, the AI might produce a long essay about soccer practice instead of a ready-to-use session plan.
Example (Shot) (optional): P-Tee-Cafe
A method for guiding ChatGPT’s answers by providing examples called shots.
Zero-shot: No examples → ChatGPT answers based only on its general knowledge.
One-shot: One example → ChatGPT copies the tone, style, or structure from that single example.
Few-shot: Two or more examples → ChatGPT combines elements from multiple examples for a very specific result.
Zero-shot: “Explain organic agriculture.” → Produces a plain answer, e.g., “Organic agriculture is farming without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.”
One-shot: Give ChatGPT one example from any topic (e.g., a friendly, story-like article on sustainable fishing). Even though the example is about fishing, ChatGPT studies the way it’s written — the friendly tone, the storytelling, the pacing — and then rewrites your requested topic (organic agriculture) in that same style. This works because ChatGPT can separate “what to write about” from “how to write it.”
Few-shot: Provide two or more examples, each showing something you want in the final answer (e.g., a research paper on organic farming for detailed facts + a magazine article for engaging tone). ChatGPT blends both to create a well-researched yet friendly explanation.
Key idea: More examples give ChatGPT a clearer blueprint for both the content and style you want.
Prompt:
“You are a friendly environmental science professor (Persona). Explain three ways cities can reduce air pollution (Task). I’m a first-year college student preparing a short class presentation (Context). Present the answer in bullet points with clear, simple language (Format). Here’s an example of the style I like: short, direct sentences with one idea per bullet (Example).”