It’s easy to ask Chat GPT direct questions and get an answer. However its true power lies in unleashing its iterative conversational powers in a process called exploration driven enquiry.

Chat GPT is a general-purpose technology like the introduction of electric lightbulbs in the late 19th century and the internet in the late 20th century.  It’s a bit scary at first because it challenges what we know and has a big element of the unknown about how it will help reshape our lives. 

But, it’s here to stay, so my view is don’t ignore it, get on board and learn about it and how you can use it. 

This week I dropped into a fantastic online learning workshop led by Dave Talas from Promptmaster about how to use a conversational approach with Chat GPT to get better results from your prompts. 

Dave started by saying if you’re a knowledge worker, research by Wharton University has shown you can be 30% - 40% more efficient using Chat GPT.  Whoa!

So naturally I wanted to know how I could get some of this. 

What I learned is, if you’re using Chat GPT, its your job to guide it to the best outcomes it can provide.  It won’t just serve you up the most appropriate output unless you help it. It remembers what you have asked and its responses, so this is where having a conversational approach, where you build or narrow what you ask of it, is better than just using one-off questions.

You can also use personas to help provide context for Chat GPT to give answers.  For example: “You are an expert digital marketing professional…” then ask your question.  The persona continues until you tell it to change.

An advanced form of questioning I found super helpful was called ‘exploration driven enquiry’.  It’s where you ask Chat GPT to help analyse information and provide a recommendation or conclusion. Exploration prompt design encourages open-ended, curiosity-driven questions that leverage AI’s creativity and adaptability.

The more questions you ask of it the more diverse its ‘thinking’ becomes generating innovative ideas, broader perspectives, and deeper insights, making it ideal for problem-solving, brainstorming, and complex decision-making.

The way you conduct exploration driven enquiry is to ask Chat GPT to provide information from multiple perspectives on a topic. Such as the future, environment, legal, economic, political etc. 

Then you can ask it to provide pros and cons of this information as it relates to your topic. And following this, ask for a recommendation. 

Here’s a three step approach you can use:

1. Start Broad with Open-Ended Questions
   Frame your prompt to encourage exploration, such as "What are some unconventional ways to...?" or "How might we approach this from different perspectives?" This invites diverse ideas and sparks creativity.

1. Iterate and Refine Your Prompts
   Build on initial responses by asking follow-ups, like "Can you elaborate on this idea?" or "What are potential challenges to this approach?" This deepens the exploration and uncovers nuanced insights.

2. Synthesise and Experiment
   Combine the AI's suggestions with your own thoughts. Use prompts like "Help me prioritise these ideas" or "How can I apply this in a practical way?" to transform exploration into actionable outcomes. Ask it for a recommendation if you are considering different options.