Why one example beats five adjectives in a prompt
Words like punchy, friendly and professional mean different things to everyone. A short example tells the model exactly what you mean.
, 2 min read
"Make it punchy, friendly but professional, and not too salesy." Most of us have written a prompt like this. The answer comes back, and it is none of those things, or all of them in the wrong amounts.
The problem is not the model. It is the adjectives.
Adjectives are vague on purpose
"Punchy" to a copywriter means short sentences and strong verbs. To someone else it means exclamation marks and emoji. The model has seen every version of every adjective, so when you use one, it reaches for the most common reading. That is rarely yours.
Examples are specific by nature
Now try this instead:
Write the announcement in the same style as this one:
"We shipped dark mode. It took us four months and two rewrites. It is worth it. Settings, Appearance, Dark."The model can see sentence length, rhythm, tone, how much detail goes in and how the post ends. It copies all of that, without you naming any of it. This is called few-shot prompting, and it is one of the most reliable techniques there is.
How many examples?
One good example usually does most of the work. Two or three help when you want the model to see what stays the same and what changes: for instance, three product descriptions for different products. More than five rarely adds much, and starts to use up space you might need for the actual material.
Pick examples that differ
If all your examples are about the same subject, the model may copy the subject as well as the style. Choose examples that share the style you want but cover different topics. Then the only common thread is the thing you are asking for.
Say what to copy
Add one line telling the model what the examples are for: "Match the tone and length, not the topic." That stops it from borrowing details it should not.
Where to find examples
- Your own best writing. The match my writing style prompt is built around this.
- A competitor or publication whose style you admire, used as a style reference only.
- The answers you liked from earlier chats.
If you have a set of examples you use all the time, put them in a skill. The brand voice skill includes a template for exactly this: your examples, your rules, used every time.
The takeaway
Next time you reach for an adjective, reach for an example instead. Show the model one thing you like, and it will make more of it.