Chapter 2 · Part 1

Context is everything

If you learn one thing from this course, make it this: ChatGPT can't read your mind, so tell it what it needs to know. A vague request gets a vague, generic answer. The same request with context gets something you can actually use. This one habit outperforms every clever "prompt trick" you'll ever read.

Watch a request go from bland to useful

Say you want a LinkedIn post. The lazy version:

❌ Vague — generic result
Write a LinkedIn post about our new feature.

ChatGPT has nothing to work with, so it writes bland filler full of "excited to announce" and emojis. Now give it context:

✅ With context — genuinely usable
You're helping me, the founder of a small tool that does automated invoicing
for freelancers. Write a LinkedIn post announcing a new feature: recurring
invoices that send themselves every month.

Audience: freelancers who hate bookkeeping.
Tone: friendly and plain-spoken, not corporate. No hashtag spam.
Length: about 100 words.
Include one concrete benefit and end with a soft question to invite replies.

Same model, completely different result — because the second version answers the questions the first one left open.

The five things worth including

You rarely need all five, but scan this list and add whatever's missing:

💡A quick recipe
  • Who you are — "I'm a nurse", "I'm a beginner", "I run a small shop."
  • Your goal — what the output is really for.
  • The audience — who will read or use it.
  • The format — length, structure, bullet points, a table, an email.
  • Constraints — tone, what to avoid, must-includes, reading level.

Show, don't just tell

The fastest way to get your desired style is to give an example of it. Pasting one is worth a paragraph of description:

Example-driven
Rewrite this rejection email to sound like the example below.

Example of our voice:
"Hey! Thanks so much for sending this over. It's not quite right for us this
time, but I really appreciated the effort — please keep us in mind down the road."

Email to rewrite:
[paste your draft]
⚠️Don't over-stuff

More context helps — up to a point. Pasting three pages of unrelated background just buries the part that matters. Include what's relevant to this task, not everything you know.

Context is the foundation. The next three chapters put it to work on the things people actually use ChatGPT for every day — starting with writing.