What is an LLM? The No-BS Guide to Getting Better Results from AI

You've tried ChatGPT. You typed something in. It gave you back... garbage.

So you think, "This AI stuff doesn't work for me," and you give up.

Here's the truth: The AI isn't broken. Your prompts are.

Think about it like this: If you walked up to a new employee and said "Do marketing stuff," they'd stare at you confused. But if you said "Write a 300-word email to our customers about our new product launch, keep it friendly, and include a 20% discount code," they'd know exactly what to do.

AI is the same way.

The quality of your output depends on the quality of your input. Garbage in, garbage out.

This guide will teach you how to communicate with AI so you actually get what you want—every single time.

First: What the Hell is an LLM?

LLM = Large Language Model

It's the technology behind ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other AI tools. Think of it as a really smart assistant that can read, write, analyze, and help you solve problems—but only if you tell it what you actually need.

The main LLMs you should know:

• ChatGPT (by OpenAI) - Best for general tasks, content creation, and the Custom GPT feature

• Claude (by Anthropic) - Best for complex analysis, long documents, and coding

• Gemini (by Google) - Great for research and integrating with Google tools

• Perplexity - Best for research that requires web searching

Cost: $12-20/month for the premium versions. (Yes, you need to pay. The free versions are like test-driving a Ferrari in a parking lot.)

The 5 Principles That Transform Your AI Results

Principle 1: Be Clear and Specific

Vague prompts get vague results. Specific prompts get specific results.

Bad Prompt: "Write something about marketing."

Good Prompt: "Write a 300-word blog post introduction about email marketing best practices for small business owners. Use a friendly, professional tone and include a statistic about email ROI."

See the difference?

The good prompt includes:

• Format: Blog post introduction

• Length: 300 words

• Topic: Email marketing best practices

• Audience: Small business owners

• Tone: Friendly, professional

• Specific requirement: Include ROI statistic

Quick Checklist - Ask Yourself:

• What do I want?

• Who is this for?

• How long should it be?

• What style or tone?

Pro Tip: If you don't know what questions to ask, literally type this into the LLM:

"I need help with [topic]. What questions should I answer to give you the context you need to help me?"

The AI will ask you the right questions.

Principle 2: Provide Context

Give the LLM background information so it understands your situation.

Bad Prompt: "Help me write an email to my team."

Good Prompt: "I'm a project manager at a tech startup. We just missed our Q4 deadline due to unexpected technical challenges. Help me write an email to my team of eight developers acknowledging the setback, keeping morale high, and outlining next steps."

See how much more powerful that is?

The AI now knows:

• Your role (project manager)

• Your industry (tech startup)

• The situation (missed deadline, technical issues)

• Your audience (8 developers)

• Your goals (acknowledge, maintain morale, provide direction)

How to Provide Better Context:

Upload your internal documents to the LLM:

• Your business plan

• Your ideal customer profile

• Your brand voice guidelines

• Past emails or content that worked well

Then say: "This is my business. These are the people I serve. Use this context when helping me."

Pro Tip: Include your role, the situation, any constraints, and what success looks like.

Principle 3: Use Examples

Show the LLM what you want by providing examples.

Examples are incredibly powerful for demonstrating style, format, or the type of output you're looking for.

Example Prompt:

"I need product descriptions that sound exciting and benefit-focused. Here are two examples of what I like:

Example 1: Cloud Comfort Pillow - Drift into dreamland with our memory foam pillow that cradles your head like a gentle cloud. Wake up refreshed. Never stiff.

Example 2: Power Blend 3000 - This isn't just a blender, it's a culinary revolution in your kitchen. From smoothies to soups in seconds.

Now create one for an ergonomic office chair in the same style."

Why This Works:

The AI now understands:

• The length you want

• The tone (exciting, benefit-focused)

• The structure (product name, emotional hook, benefit)

• The style (energetic, not corporate)

Two Types of Examples:

1. Positive Examples - "This is what I want"

2. Negative Examples - "This is what I DON'T want"

We call these guidelines (stay in this area) and guardrails (don't go outside this area).

Pro Tip: The more examples you give, the more accurate the output. Three examples is the sweet spot.

Principle 4: Break Down Complex Tasks

For complex requests, ask the LLM to work step-by-step.

Bad Prompt: "Analyze this business problem and tell me what to do."

Good Prompt: "Analyze this business problem step-by-step:

1. First, identify the root causes

2. Then, list potential solutions

3. Evaluate the pros and cons of each

4. Finally, recommend the best approach with reasoning"

Why This Works:

When you force the AI to think step-by-step, it doesn't skip crucial analysis. It shows its work, just like a good consultant would.

Use This for:

• Complex business decisions

• Understanding a competitor's business model

• Debugging code or processes

• Creating detailed plans or strategies

Magic Phrases That Trigger Better Responses:

• "Think step-by-step"

• "First... then... finally..."

• "Explain your reasoning"

• "Walk me through your thought process"

• "Break this down into phases"

Real Example:

"I'm trying to understand how [business] makes money. Break down their business model step-by-step:

1. First, explain what they sell 2. Then, identify their target customers 3. Next, describe their revenue streams 4. Finally, analyze their competitive advantages"

Principle 5: Iterate and Refine

Treat prompting as a conversation, not a one-shot deal.

Most people give up after the first response. That's like asking someone a question once and never following up.

The Iteration Process:

First Prompt: "Write a job description for a software engineer."

After seeing results: "Make it more concise—under 400 words. Add a bullet about our remote-first culture and emphasize work-life balance."

Further refinement: "Perfect. Now adjust the tone to be less formal and more startup-friendly."

Think of it like a funnel:

• Start general

• Get more specific

• Refine the details

• Polish the final output

Phrases to Use When Refining:

• "Make it shorter"

• "Add more detail about [specific thing]"

• "Change the tone to be more [professional/casual/urgent]"

• "Try a different approach"

• "That's close, but adjust [specific element]"

• "Keep everything but change [one specific thing]"

Pro Tip: Don't say "make it better." That's vague. Say exactly what you want changed.

The One Question That Changes Everything

Here's a hack that will immediately improve your results:

After your first prompt, add this:

"What questions do you have that would help you give me a better answer?"

The AI will ask clarifying questions. Answer them. Now you'll get exactly what you need.

Example:

You: "Help me create a marketing plan for my business."

Add this: "What questions do you have that would help you give me a better answer?"

AI will ask:

• What's your business?

• Who's your target customer?

• What's your budget?

• What channels do you currently use?

• What's worked before?

You answer those questions. Now the AI can give you a real plan, not generic advice.

Quick Reference: The 5 Principles

Master these and you'll get better results every single time:

1. Be Clear and Specific

• Include format, length, audience, and requirements

2. Provide Context

• Share background info and your situation

3. Use Examples

• Show what good output looks like (and what bad output looks like)

4. Break Down Complex Tasks

• Request step-by-step reasoning

5. Iterate and Refine

• Have a conversation, adjust as needed

Practical Templates You Can Use Today

Template 1: Content Creation

"Write a [type of content] about [topic] for [audience].

Length: [word count] Tone: [professional/casual/urgent/friendly] Include: [specific elements you need] Avoid: [things you don't want]

Here's an example of the style I like: [paste example]"

Template 2: Problem Solving

"I'm facing [problem]. Here's the context: [background info].

Help me solve this step-by-step:

1. First, identify what's causing this

2. Then, give me 3-5 potential solutions

3. Evaluate the pros and cons of each

4. Recommend the best approach and why"

Template 3: Analysis

"Analyze [document/data/situation].

Specifically, I need you to:

1. [First thing to analyze]

2. [Second thing]

3. [Third thing]

Format your response as [bullets/paragraphs/report] and keep it under [word count]."

Template 4: Learning/Explanation

"Explain [concept] like I'm [your level of knowledge].

Break it down step-by-step. Use analogies and examples. Make it practical, not theoretical.

My goal is to [what you want to do with this knowledge]."

Common Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)

Mistake 1: Being Too Vague

Bad: "Help me with my business."

Fix: "I run a plumbing business with 5 employees. We're struggling with lead generation. Help me create a plan to get 20 qualified leads per month using social media."

Mistake 2: Not Providing Enough Context

Bad: "Write me a proposal."

Fix: "I'm pitching a $50K project to a mid-size manufacturing company. They need help automating their inventory system. Write a 2-page proposal that: 1) Identifies their pain points, 2) Explains our solution, 3) Provides a timeline and pricing breakdown. Use a professional but approachable tone."

Mistake 3: Accepting the First Output

Bad: Getting the first response and using it as-is.

Fix: Review the output. Identify what's good and what needs work. Then refine: "This is good, but make it 30% shorter and add a specific example of how this helped another client."

Mistake 4: Not Using Examples

Bad: "Write social media posts for my business."

Fix: "Write 5 Instagram captions for my coffee shop. Here's an example of a caption I liked from a competitor: [paste example]. Match that style but make it unique to our brand."

Mistake 5: Treating AI Like Google

Bad: Asking one-off questions with no follow-up.

Fix: Have a conversation. Build on previous responses. Ask follow-up questions. Refine until you get exactly what you need.

Advanced Tip: Teaching the AI Your Voice

Want the AI to write in YOUR voice?

Do this:

1. Copy 3-5 pieces of content you've written (emails, blog posts, social media)

2. Paste them into the LLM

3. Say: "Analyze my writing style. What patterns do you notice in tone, structure, word choice, and personality?"

4. The AI will break down your style

5. Then say: "From now on, when I ask you to write something, use this style"

Boom. Now everything the AI writes sounds like you.

Your Week 1 Action Plan

Don't try to become a prompt expert overnight. Just practice these basics:

Day 1-2: Practice Being Specific

• Take something you'd normally ask AI

• Rewrite it using Principle 1 (clear and specific)

• Compare the results

Day 3-4: Add Context

• Upload key business documents to your LLM

• Use Principle 2 to provide better context

• See how much better the responses get

Day 5-6: Use Examples

• Find 2-3 examples of content you like

• Use Principle 3 to show the AI what you want

• Generate something in that style

Day 7: Put It All Together

• Pick one task from your business

• Use all 5 principles

• Iterate until you get exactly what you need

Track your progress: Keep a doc of your best prompts so you can reuse them.

The Bottom Line

Good prompting is a skill that improves with practice. This isn't going to happen overnight.

But with these five principles, you'll get better results immediately:

1. Be clear and specific

2. Provide context

3. Use examples

4. Break down complex tasks

5. Iterate and refine

Remember: You're talking to an LLM like you're talking to a person. If you don't get back what you want immediately, ask for revisions. Ask for specific revisions.

Don't say "make it better." Say "I want 300 words, a friendly tone, and include a customer testimonial."

The more specific you are, the better your results.

Now stop reading and go practice. Open ChatGPT or Claude right now and try one of these principles.

Want to see how we use AI to run our entire podcast? Subscribe to The Hey Chat Podcast where we document everything—the tools, the workflows, the wins, and the failures.

Still have questions? Drop them in the comments on our YouTube channel. We answer every single one.

P.S. - If you made it this far, you're already ahead of 90% of people trying to use AI. Now go implement something.