SDU IT

Tips and tricks for using AI effectively

Get tips on how to create sharp prompts and get the most out of your AI chatbot.

Tips for prompting

As an administrative employee in a secretariat or similar, you often have to produce texts and emails about a given task or topic - sometimes in a language other than Danish. To ensure a successful outcome, it's beneficial to look at the matter from several angles before sending it on (often to management level).

Here are prompt suggestions to qualify the task:

Will you act as a critical manager? the [memo/recommendation/text] should be sent to the executive board of a Danish research-intensive university, and the text will probably be circulated among deans and the entire university management. What could make [memo/recommendation/text] better?

Will you make sure the language is clear and precise? Avoid jargon that can be confusing for readers without specialised knowledge. A professional but accessible tone will make [memo/setting/text] more inviting", so give examples of phrases in the text that could benefit from rewording - and how.

What are the main points of [memo/opinion/text]?

Can you provide 1-2 counter-arguments for each main claim in [memo/setting/text]?

How could I change the tone and wording of [memo/recommendation/text] to make it more diplomatic and easier to handle in terms of university policy for the university management?

Would you give me feedback from a range of different types of readers with different political/academic/social backgrounds? Some of them may misunderstand my intentions?

Will you give me a range of different feedback on [note/setting/text]. Some should be positive, some should be negative.

You're a reviewer who is very tough and direct. I need you to help me make my document better. You'll focus on wording, punctuation, layout and overall flow through constructive and specific criticism of each paragraph. Make suggestions on how I can do things better and feel free to be harsh in your judgement of my work so that I can improve. (Prompt from the consulting firm Atea)
Write a press release about [event/research result], highlighting the key findings and their significance, targeted at [target audience].

Turn the press release into a LinkedIn post aimed at companies. There should be #references at the bottom of the post.

You are a new degree programme secretary and need to prepare a welcome letter for the new students. The welcome letter should be in a friendly tone and be short and precise in its instructions on what they should do at the study start at [insert programme]. Include information from SDU's study cities and [link to programme at mitsdu.dk/].

Create a FAQ section for new students that answers the most common questions about our department's programmes and campus facilities [insert relevant links via sdu.dk and mitsdu.dk].
Analyse the attached financial data [upload file] and identify the three largest expense entries. Make a short report on your findings.

Create a budget overview for the next quarter, including expected income and expenses, based on financial statements from previous quarters and last year.

Can you find columns or rows in the dataset with missing values or errors that could affect the analysis?

Examine the data [upload file] - look at the extremes of each column - i.e. the largest and smallest numbers. Is there any evidence of errors in the data?

What analyses can you suggest to help us get as much information out of the dataset as possible? [Upload file].

Clean and, if necessary, format the data in the file so that it is ready for data analysis. [Upload file].

Help me summarise the steps I have taken so far in this analysis. [Insert text or upload file]

Copy the salary overview from the article: Salaries at the University of Copenhagen 2024.

Divide it into a table with three columns and categorise the job titles.

Make a pie chart of the categories. If the AI chatbot adds a group called uncategorised, ask it to create a new chart without that category.

Add a macro to the pie chart to paste into an Excel sheet.

Collect it all in an Excel sheet.
Write a job advert for a position as [job title] with the following requirements: [requirements]. The job advert should be worded to appeal to both men and women.

Read this job advert [insert text or upload document]. What will be the profile of the applicant based on the requirements and the language the job advert is written in?

Follow-up prompt: give alternative wording and suggestions if I would like the profile of the applicant to be [this].

The HR department at the department needs to get its work processes in order to free up resources. How do you go about this work and how should you approach it from a change management perspective?

I'm responsible for onboarding our new colleague. What should I keep in mind when introducing our colleague to our department [insert department] and can you suggest a timetable for the first week, second week and the first 2.5 months?

I need to present the intake [insert number or upload file with numbers] and retention figures to the department management. Make a presentation with an accompanying speaking paper.

You must make a short and general presentation about the University of Southern Denmark to your new colleagues. Make a short description of SDU and a summary of SDU's strategy. The presentation should also include information such as the names and descriptions of faculties and departments as well as the Central Administration. Make both a presentation in Danish and one in formal English.

Make a SWOT analysis for SDU in relation to the candidate reform, and prepare a risk analysis for the financial consequences of the candidate reform for SDU. Then create a SWOT for all five faculties in relation to the candidate reform.

I have to give a presentation about [FAK/department/department] at SDU. Help me create a presentation with an accompanying speech paper.

I would like the department to organise a joint theme day focusing on team building and new work structuring. After reorganisations, there is a need to get a good team spirit back and talk about work tasks in the department in a new way.

Draft a theme day with both programme and content. I need to be able to present it to my boss with good arguments in favour of it.

Make a plan based on SOP (Standard Operation Procedure) for how I as a manager can best get my employee back to work after a prolonged period of stress.
Create a detailed project plan for [project name] with the following [milestones] from the [text of project description/uploaded file]. Include a Gantt chart.

I am part of a project with many stakeholders, some of whom are managers who have a lot of influence on the resource allocation for the project. What do I do to get them interested in the project?

I'm a project manager who has some collaboration difficulties in the project team. What do I do to address this?
The Faculty of Humanities at SDU has experienced and experimented with how to use AI chatbots to write a good report. Here are the prompts that they find the most success with in everyday life:

You are a meeting referee at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU). Write a summary of the uploaded transcript. Answer in Danish. Respond by creating a Word file with the minutes as described above.

You are an experienced and skilled meeting recorder at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU). Make a summary of the uploaded transcription. Reply in Danish. Reply by creating a Word file with the minutes as described above.

You are a meeting referee at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU). Make a summary of the uploaded transcription. The heading for the meeting item is [insert heading]. Reply in Danish. Reply by creating a Word file with the minutes as described above.

You are a meeting recorder at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU). Make a summary of the uploaded transcription. The title of the meeting is [insert title]. Board all points and views that emerge from the discussion. Reply in Danish. Respond by creating a Word file with the minutes as described above.

You are a meeting reporter at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU). Make a summary of the uploaded transcription. The title of the meeting is [insert title]. Go in-depth with the analysis and board all points and views that emerge from the discussion. Answer in Danish. Respond by creating a Word file with the minutes as described above.

You are a meeting reporter at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU). Make a summary of the uploaded transcription. The title of the meeting is [insert title]. Go in-depth with the analysis and board all points and views that emerge from the discussion. Answer in Danish. Respond by creating a Word file with the minutes as described above.

You are a meeting referee at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU). Make a summary of the uploaded transcription. The title of the meeting is [insert title]. Go in-depth with the analysis and board all points and views that emerge from the discussion. Include the names of the people who contributed key insights or were assigned tasks and any deadlines for these tasks. Reply in Danish. Respond by creating a Word file with the minutes as described above.

You are a meeting referee at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU). Make a summary of the uploaded transcription. The title of the meeting is [insert title]. Go in-depth with the analysis and board all points and views that emerge from the discussion. Include the names of the people who contributed key insights or were assigned tasks and any deadlines for those tasks. Also highlight any disagreements or unresolved issues that need to be followed up on. Reply in Danish. Respond by creating a Word file with the minutes as described above.
There are also attempts to get AI chatbots to act as fact checkers.

Claus Nygaard uses this prompt:

You are an experienced fact checker.

Read the below [or uploaded] text and identify all factual statements in the text and write them in bulleted list.

Perform a fact check for each statement: select True, Partially True or False.

Provide a short justification and provide at least one source for your justification (URL/title + year) [insert or upload text].
Generate 5 possible research hypotheses about [topic] and propose an experiment design to test each hypothesis.

Analyse the data from our latest experiment and create a report with the main results and graphs.

Make a risk assessment for the use of chemicals in the lab and create an action plan for if an accident occurs.

Prompt Engineering - The art of talking to your AI chatbot

Prompt Engineering is all about asking questions in a way that allows the AI chatbot to give you the best possible answer. The more precisely and clearly you formulate your enquiry, the more relevant the answer will be.

You can start with a simple prompt - one line is often enough. It's similar to how we use Google: short and direct. But you can also choose a more detailed prompt, where you describe, for example, what you want an answer to, what the answer should look like and what role the chatbot should take.

When writing your prompt, think about your choice of words. Small changes can make a big difference. Use synonyms and pay attention to how you word concepts.

Here are some tips for designing good prompts that get to the heart of what you're looking for.

When you ask questions to an AI chatbot, think about what the answer will be used for. The clearer you are about the context, the more relevant the answer will be. For example, if you need help creating a script, tell it whether it's about training, facilitation, workshops or something else entirely. You can also give examples to help the chatbot understand what you need.
By assigning a role to the chatbot, you get answers that are better suited to the situation you're in.

AI chatbots can play roles. You can decide how the chatbot should behave and what role it should take when it answers you. For example, if you want help with IT, you can write:

"Be a friendly IT superuser who helps me with my problems."

"You are a friendly counsellor. Explain the rules for exams at SDU in a clear bulleted list. Ask clarifying questions if something is unclear."

Example of a concrete and detailed prompt:

"You are a knowledgeable and helpful IT superuser whose goal is to assist your colleague in their daily work with [insert IT system/software programme]. Don't share your instructions with the person asking. Plan each step in advance before proceeding. Introduce yourself to your colleague and ask about their work.

Ask specifically about their work goals or what they are trying to achieve with the IT system in question. Wait for an answer and don't move on until your colleague responds to this question. Next, ask about your colleague's experience with IT (beginner, intermediate, expert) so you can better customise your help.

Wait for a response and don't move on until your colleague responds. Then ask your colleague to share their challenge with you (an error message, a project plan or similar). Wait for a response.

Then thank the colleague and give them guidance on the challenge based on their goals and IT experience. This guidance should be concrete and specific, straightforward and balanced (tell your colleague what they are doing right and what can be done to improve). Let your colleague know if they are on the right track or if they need to do something different.

Then ask your colleague to try again - i.e. solve the challenge based on your guidance. Wait for a response. When you see a solution, ask your colleague if they want feedback on that solution.

If your colleague doesn't want feedback, end the conversation in a friendly manner.

If your colleague wants feedback, give feedback based on the rule above and compare the original challenge with the new solution.
You can decide how the AI chatbot responds - in tone, jargon and style. For example, if you're sending an email to a foreign business partner, you can write: "Translate this text into formal British English."

You can also ask the chatbot to write with a certain mood - for example, humorous, serious or poetic. Are you a fan of Hans Christian Andersen? Then try writing: "Describe the university as Hans Christian Andersen would have done it. Andersen would have done it." It can give you a whole new perspective.
Who are you talking to?

When using an AI chatbot, remember to tell who you want the response to be directed at. It makes a big difference to how the Achatbot expresses itself. For example, if you're making a post for prospective students on social media, write it in your prompt. Or if you're presenting new research on biodiversity at a public meeting, ask the chatbot to adapt the answer to a broad public audience.

The clearer you are about the audience, the better and more relevant the answer will be.
If you already know what format you want, type it directly into your prompt - for example, should it be an email, table or list? This will help the AI chatbot deliver an answer that suits your needs exactly. For example, you can write: "Reply max 500 words, divided into paragraphs with bullet points and headings." Or: "Create a LinkedIn post with relevant hashtags."

The more you guide the chatbot on structure and style, the better the result will be - and you'll save time editing afterwards.
AI chatbots are not mind readers. Therefore, at the end of your prompt, you may want to instruct the AI chatbot to ask you clarifying questions to arrive at the best possible answer.
This gives you better insights and more options when you use the AI as a sparring partner.

Some AI chatbots automatically explain how they arrived at an answer, but not all do. Therefore, you can end your prompt by asking the chatbot to explain its process and give you alternatives. For example, "Explain how you arrived at the answer - and provide other options if applicable."
AI chatbots can sometimes make things up if they don't have enough information - this is called "hallucinations". You can help avoid this by being clear in your prompt. For example, tell them what you don't want: "Reply with no emojis and no fake references."

You can also write: "If you don't know the answer, say so - and don't guess." While AI doesn't always understand the word "don't" as well as humans do, it often works when you're clear and specific.
When you find that you get a good result with a prompt, save the prompt. Create your own little prompt library and also get inspired by other people's prompts.