🎯 Want to craft better GenAI prompts? Use the PILLARS framework.

📊 Prompting is the most important skill of the future.

Good prompts get good outputs, and if you’re not working on your prompting skills (promptly!) then you are falling behind.

You know what they say, ‘Garbage in, garbage out.’ If your prompts are garbage, your results will be, too.

But if you use a framework like PILLARS, you will clearly scope what you want a GPT model to produce for you.

💡 This structure will transform your outputs.

Let’s break it down. 🧵👇

1/ Persona

Who is “speaking”?

Set the tone by defining the AI’s role.

Example: “You’re a fitness coach creating a meal plan for a beginner.”

Clear roles = Clear responses.

2/ Intent

What’s the goal?

Tell the AI exactly what you want it to do.

Example: “Design a 7-day meal plan that balances protein, carbs, and fat for muscle gain.”

Focus leads to precision.

3/ Layout

How should the response look?

Format matters. Tell the AI how to organize the information.

Example: “Organize the meal plan as a daily table with meal times and descriptions.”

Structure turns ideas into action.

4/ Limits

What are the constraints?

Specify boundaries like word count, tone, or scope.

Example: “Keep each meal description under 50 words and avoid using exotic ingredients.”

Constraints create creativity.

5/ Audience

Who is this for?

Tailor the content to match your audience’s needs.

Example: “The audience is young professionals with limited cooking skills.”

Speaking to someone creates impact.

6/ Requirements

What must be included?

List the essentials the output can’t miss.

Example: “Include daily calorie counts and adjust meals for a 2,500-calorie diet.”

Non-negotiables sharpen results.

7/ Style

What’s the vibe?

Define the tone and energy of the response.

Example: “Make the tone encouraging and beginner-friendly.”

Style adds personality to the content.

Combine the PILLARS into a single prompt:

“You’re a fitness coach creating a meal plan for a beginner. Design a 7-day meal plan that balances protein, carbs, and fat for muscle gain. Organize the meal plan as a daily table with meal times and descriptions. Keep each meal description under 50 words and avoid exotic ingredients. The audience is young professionals with limited cooking skills. Include daily calorie counts and adjust meals for a 2,500-calorie diet. Make the tone encouraging and beginner-friendly.”

You don’t need ALL the PILLARS in every prompt, but you should have at least 3. Think about a stool, or a table – with 3 legs, it is stable and sturdy. More is better, but 3 is the minimum.

Try this structure for your next prompt and see the difference.

🎭 Persona – “You are a…”

🧭 Intent – “You will…”

🗂️ Layout – “Give this to me as….”

🚧 Limits – “Do not…”

👥 Audience – “This is for….

✅ Requirements – “You must…”

👗 Style – “Make the tone…”

🔍 How does this work for you?

I’d be very interested to hear your stories about using this prompt framework.

Take 5 minutes, and give it a try, right now!