Prompt engineering is just good communication
The skill that matters most when working with LLMs isn't technical. It's learning to be clear about what you want.
There’s a lot of mystique around prompt engineering. Secret techniques. Magic words. Optimal token arrangements.
Most of it overcomplicates something simple: prompt engineering is just clear communication.
Say what you actually want
“Write me some code” is vague. “Write a Python function that takes a list of integers and returns the sum of all even numbers” is specific. The second prompt gets better results because it’s clearer, not because of any special technique.
Provide context
LLMs don’t know your situation. Tell them. “I’m building a React app” or “This is for a beginner audience” or “I need this to run in Node.js 16” helps the model give relevant answers.
Show examples
If you want output in a specific format, show that format. One or two examples communicate more than paragraphs of description.
Ask for what you need
“Explain your reasoning” gets you explanations. “Be concise” gets you shorter answers. “List the tradeoffs” gets you balanced analysis. Just ask.
The meta-skill
Getting good at prompting makes you better at communicating with humans too. Clarity, context, examples, specific asks—these help everywhere.
The skill isn’t about LLMs. It’s about learning to say what you mean.