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When working with Gemini AI for Sheets, mastering the art of writing prompts is crucial.
Why Prompting Matters for Google Gemini
Prompt engineering is the key to unlocking the full potential of Google Gemini. Whether you’re automating tasks, generating content, or analyzing data, how you craft your prompt directly impacts the quality of the AI’s response.
What Is Prompt Engineering?
Prompt engineering is the practice of designing clear, structured input for large language models (LLMs) like Gemini. A well-crafted prompt helps the model understand intent, follow instructions, and deliver accurate, useful output. Effective prompting bridges human ideas with AI-generated results—and it’s becoming a must-have skill for professionals and creators alike.
The PTCF Framework: Four Key Components of a Prompt
Use this four-part formula for writing powerful prompts:
- Persona – Assign a role
Example: “Act as a senior data analyst.” - Task – Be clear on what to do
“Summarize the trends in this dataset.” - Context – Provide background
“Based on Q1 2025 sales data from @SalesSheet.” - Format – Specify output structure
“Present in bullet points with percentages.”
Tip: Google research suggests effective prompts average 21 words.
Best Practices for Prompting Gemini
- Use natural language, not just keywords
- Be specific with actions and expected outputs
- Iterate: adjust and refine prompts based on responses
- Break large tasks into smaller, step-by-step prompts
- For coding, use prefixes like
Input:/Output:to guide structure
Advanced Gemini Prompting Tips
- Few-shot prompting: Provide input-output examples
- Chain-of-thought: Ask Gemini to “explain step by step”
- Partial completions: Start a sentence or JSON and ask it to finish
- Multimodal prompting: Combine text + image in one prompt
e.g., “Analyze the chart in this image and summarize Q3 sales trends.”
Examples of Effective Prompts
Example 1: Email Drafting
“You are a analytics team manager. Draft an executive summary email to [persona] based on [details about relevant program docs]. Limit to bullet points.”
Example 2: Customer Service Scenario
“Help me craft an empathetic email response. I am a customer service representative, and I need to create a response to a customer complaint. The customer ordered a pair of headphones that arrived damaged. They’ve already contacted us via email and provided pictures of the damage. I’ve offered a replacement, but they’re requesting an expedited shipping option that isn’t typically included with their order. Include a paragraph that acknowledges their frustration and three bullet points with potential resolutions.”
Example 3: Team Communication
“Suggest 10 alternative options in place of expedited shipping to resolve the customer’s frustration about receiving the damaged package.”
Example 4: Content Creation
“Draft templates for three different types of customer communication. Create a template for apology emails, order confirmation messages, and thank you notes for loyal customers. Keep each template to one paragraph and use a friendly tone.”
Example 5: Strategic Email
“Draft an email to my colleagues proposing a meeting to discuss customer experience improvement initiatives. Request that marketing, sales, and product stakeholders meet in the next week to get a clear sense of roles and responsibilities.”
Example 6: Project Management
“Create a table to track the progress and impact of different customer experience improvement tactics using relevant metrics including support ticket volume and priority level (high, medium, low).”
Example 7: Executive Communication
“Draft an email confirming that I will be at the board meeting. Ask if we can adjust the agenda to give 15 minutes to [urgent topics].”
Example 8: Marketing Strategy
“Generate a list of four relevant and engaging thought leadership blog post ideas for [company] based on trending topics, target audience analysis, and brand keywords.”
Example 9: Sales Strategy
“Write an email to [name], the new [title] at [company]. Congratulate them on their new role. Introduce me as their contact point at [company name]. Invite them to lunch next week and check if they prefer Monday or Tuesday.”
These examples demonstrate how using the four key components of effective prompts—Persona, Task, Context, and Format—can significantly enhance clarity and effectiveness in your communications with AI.