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Tips & Tricks for Prompting
A
Written by Alexander
Updated over a month ago

Introduction

In this guide, we'll cover the basics of AI Prompt Templates, providing a solid foundation for designing and using them. These templates help guide AI-generated text by shaping and setting the context for responses. They control the output, affecting the tone, style, and content to get the results you want. After this course, you'll be able to:

  • Avoid common challenges and pitfalls when templating

  • Design and use AI Prompt Templates effectively

Components of AI prompt templates

  1. Prompt Text: The main input provided to the AI model. It sets the context and provides instructions for generating the desired response. It should be clear, concise, and specific to ensure accurate and relevant outputs.

  2. User Instructions: Additional guidelines or constraints given to the AI model to guide its response generation. These instructions can include specific formatting requirements, desired tone or style, or any other specifications that help tailor the output to meet specific needs.

  3. Examples: Including examples within the prompt template can be highly beneficial. These examples showcase the desired output or provide a reference for the AI model to understand the expected response format. Examples help the model learn and generalize patterns, leading to more accurate and coherent responses.

  4. Variables: Placeholders within the prompt text that can be dynamically replaced with specific values during runtime. They allow for dynamic and personalized responses by incorporating user-specific information or context. Variables enhance the flexibility and adaptability of AI prompt templates.

  5. Contextual Information: Providing relevant contextual information within the prompt template can significantly improve the quality of generated responses. This information can include background details, previous interactions, or any other relevant context that helps the AI model better understand the desired output.

  6. Constraints: Limitations or restrictions imposed on the AI model's response generation. These constraints can be used to ensure ethical, legal, or policy compliance. By defining constraints, AI prompt templates can guide the model to generate responses that align with specific guidelines or requirements.

Adding information to one's 'profile' will give the LLM further context of the person asking questions. This can be done by going to the bottom left corner and pressing 'Settings', followed by 'Profile settings'.

Structuring the AI prompt template

Design an effective AI prompt template by focusing on its structure to guide the AI model in generating accurate responses:

  • Break down information into clear sections, each addressing a specific topic.

  • Use headings and subheadings for logical flow and readability.

  • Incorporate bullet points or numbered lists to present information concisely.

  • Ensure the template is concise and properly formatted to improve the AI model's response quality.

Examples from Sana AI

USE CASE: Personalized messaging for outreach

Prompt template:

I want to craft a personalized message to a prospect. Please provide me with four examples according to the following:
1) Two options for LinkedIn connection request of max 300 characters
2) One LinkedIn message of max 90 words
3) One email of around 100 words
4) One email of 120 words with an alternative intro.

Use what you know about Sana's Learning Platform to craft a tailored message to this person. The main goal is to make the message feel highly targeted to the recipient and to make them want to explore Sana's Learning Platform. Below, you'll find the info on the recipient, their company, and guidelines you should follow. The goal of this message is to get them interested enough in Sana to want to book a meeting, while still keeping the message short, to-the-point, and humble.

Info to use on recipient and their company:
1. Info on recipient: {{PASTE LINKEDIN}}
2. Info on company: {{PASTE COMPANY LINKEDIN}}

Guidelines:
1. If you mention one of Sana's partners, only do so with the ones listed publicly on our website: Novartis, Swile, Alan, Electrolux, Foodora, Albert, Hinge Health, Amgen.
2. Do not invite to any events.
3. It is important that the first sentence triggers interest. This means do not mention something obvious like their role. Instead, please either:
a) Ask a question that might be relevant given what they're working on
b) Pick up on something worth mentioning like a recent promotion, a LinkedIn post that clearly ties to why I'm reaching out, or similar.
4. Never write something even remotely similar to "I'm impressed by" or "I noticed" or "I hope this message finds you well", "I'm truly inspired by.", "your work caught my eye".
5. For the intro, find a specific example of the recipient's work or their company's achievements. Use online sources to find this info.
6. Hone in on a pain point they might face and hint at how Sana could solve it.
7. The message should sound like it's coming from c-suite. This means that it should be quite laid back while still keeping it professional. It should come across as likeable and humble.
8. Don't come across as overly excited.
9. Please finish the messages with a soft call to action. Think of things along the lines of "Let me know if this sounds interesting."

USE CASE: BANCT -> Salesforce

Prompt template:

Based on the content of the meeting titled [[SELECT MEETING]], please update the BANCT fields for the corresponding Salesforce opportunity via the "update opportunity BANCT" action.

Context: BANCT is a significant part of the sales process because it helps sales reps qualify leads during the discovery call. Rather than waiting days or weeks to qualify leads using a score derived from the prospect's behavior and engagement with marketing and sales materials, the sales team can get detailed information from the prospect about their budget, stakeholders, need, and timeframe.

Please keep these specific instructions in mind:
1. If you don't know the exact opportunity name, assume that the opportunity is named after the prospect company.
2. All BANCT information must be written in or translated to English to be compatible with our Salesforce practices.
3. Write at most two sentences per field, and stay within the 250 character limit.
4. Always include why you believe each of your statements to be true.

Lastly, here are specific details on each field for your reference:
- **Budget**: A concise summary of the prospect's budget, number of employees or licenses needed, and any additional pricing considerations.
- **Authority**: The name(s) of the decision maker(s), who has the authority to make the purchasing decision.
- **Need**: A concise summary of the challenges/pain points/needs of the prospect.
- **Competitors**: A concise summary of the competitors (other vendors) that the prospect is evaluating, and why they are evaluating these competitors to Sana.
- **Timeline**: The expected date for when the contract can be signed and/or when the prospect is looking to make the purchase and go-live. (If the information for a particular field is not available from the meeting, please write TBC)

USE CASE: Cleaned meeting notes

Prompt template:

Based on the [[meeting]] (and with help from my notes pasted below), please provide me with short but informative bullet points on:
1) The company and their current set-up for learning (including current technologies used)
2) Current pain points with learning and why they're looking for a platform
3) Vision for learning and why they were interested in Sana
4) Timeline and process
5) Next steps and what to show in demo

{{PASTE NOTES}}

Summary

By following these tips and using these templates, you can effectively guide AI models to generate accurate, relevant, and high-quality responses tailored to your specific needs.

For further information about Sana AI, please contact [email protected] via email.

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