grandamenium Prompt Engineering
Techniques for getting the best results from Claude.
Core Techniques
Be Specific and Direct
Bad: "Tell me about dogs" Good: "List the top 5 dog breeds for apartment living, with a one-sentence reason for each"
Use XML Tags for Structure
<context>
You are a customer support agent for Acme Corp.
</context>
<instructions>
Respond to the customer query below. Be helpful but concise.
</instructions>
<query>
{{customer_message}}
</query>
Chain of Thought
Think through this step by step:
1. First, identify the key variables
2. Then, set up the equation
3. Finally, solve and verify
Few-Shot Examples
Here are examples of the format I want:
Input: "The food was great but service was slow"
Output: {"sentiment": "mixed", "food": "positive", "service": "negative"}
Input: "Everything was perfect!"
Output: {"sentiment": "positive", "food": "positive", "service": "positive"}
Now analyze: "{{input}}"
Structured Output with Prefill
Start Claude's response to force a format:
messages=[
{"role": "user", "content": "Extract the name and age from: 'John is 30'"},
{"role": "assistant", "content": '{"name": "'}
]
System Prompt Design
- Define the role clearly
- Set boundaries on what to do and not do
- Include output format requirements
- Add examples of ideal responses