How to Have a Conversation with ChatGPT And Actually Get Results Worth Using

Ever felt like you’re only scratching the surface of what ChatGPT can do? You’re not alone. While most people settle for basic responses, power users have discovered how to unlock its hidden potential and transform their workflows in the process.

On the surface, GPT-5 might seem like just another AI upgrade — a slightly smarter version of its predecessor. But here’s the thing: it’s fundamentally different in how it processes and responds to our queries. 

While many users are still typing simple prompts and getting generic answers, those who understand how to truly converse with GPT-5 are unlocking its real power.

As Peter Swain, an O.G. in the digital space, notes, “ChatGPT feels slow – when I say slow, I mean it can do what you can in eight hours in ten seconds, not two.” This “slowness” isn’t a bug; it’s a feature. It’s the AI taking time to process more thoroughly and to deliver more nuanced responses. But tapping into this power requires speaking to it with the structure and clarity it needs.

Let me show you how to transform your interactions with GPT-5 from simple Q&A sessions into meaningful, productive conversations that can revolutionize how you work with AI.

The Art of the Setup

Think of ChatGPT like a brilliant but literal-minded colleague who needs clear context before diving into any task. To get the best results, you must master what Peter Swain calls “tops and tails.”

Define ChatGPT’s Role

The first step in crafting a productive conversation is telling ChatGPT who you want it to be. Setting a clear identity helps it narrow down its vast knowledge base and respond more accurately. For example, instead of simply asking a generic question, try first assigning a role:

“You are a senior financial analyst with 20 years of experience specializing in small business investments.”

This directive transforms ChatGPT from a generalist into a specialist, giving it the clarity it needs to provide relevant and insightful responses.

Tailor for Your Audience

Once you’ve defined ChatGPT’s role, the next step is specifying the intended audience. This ensures that its responses are framed in a way that resonates with the people you’re addressing. For instance:

“This explanation is for small business owners who are new to investing.”

By tailoring its output to a specific audience, ChatGPT can adjust its tone, language, and level of detail, ensuring that the response hits the mark.

“Tops and Tails” in Action

Here’s how these elements come together:

Prompt Example: “You are a marketing strategist with 15 years of experience in digital campaigns. Your task is to create a three-paragraph explanation for small business owners who are struggling to increase website traffic. Use simple, actionable advice and avoid technical jargon.”

Result: ChatGPT generates an answer that reflects the expertise of a seasoned marketer while aligning perfectly with the audience’s needs. It avoids overly complex language and delivers actionable insights tailored to small business owners.

By taking a few extra seconds to set up your conversation with “tops and tails,” you’ll save time and achieve results that are not only more accurate but also more impactful. This small upfront effort transforms your interaction with ChatGPT from a basic Q&A session into a productive, nuanced exchange.

Crafting Better Conversations

Start with Quality Questions

Once you’ve set the stage with proper context, it’s time to master the art of the conversation itself. 

The quality of GPT-5’s responses directly mirrors the quality of your questions. Bruce Clay notes, AI is a tool, not a solution, and like any sophisticated tool, its effectiveness depends entirely on how you use it. The more thoughtful and precise your questions, the more valuable your results will be.

Teach It Your Voice

One of the most powerful techniques is feeding ChatGPT examples of your own writing style. Start by telling it, “The following is a sample of my writing style. Please use this to mimic my voice in your responses.” This simple step can transform generic AI-generated text into content that sounds authentically like you. 

When done correctly, even close colleagues can’t tell the difference between AI-generated content and your own writing.

Be Specific with Requirements

Being specific with your requirements isn’t just helpful, it’s essential. Instead of asking “Write me a marketing email,” try “Write a marketing email about our new project management software, emphasizing its automation features. The email should be no longer than three paragraphs and include a clear call to action.” 

The more specific you are, the more targeted and useful the response will be.

Build a Real Conversation

Perhaps most importantly, treat your interaction with GPT-5 as a genuine conversation rather than a series of disconnected queries. Build on previous responses by referencing them:

“Based on the marketing email you just wrote, can you create three social media posts that highlight the same key features?”

This approach helps maintain consistency and allows the AI to leverage context from your entire conversation, not just your latest prompt.

Advanced Techniques for Better Results

Verify Every Response

Even with perfect prompting, AI isn’t infallible. One powerful technique shared by Peter Swain is the trust rating system. After getting any factual response, simply ask: “On a scale of 1-10, how much do you trust the answer you just gave me?” ChatGPT will often surprise you with its honesty, sometimes rating its own responses as low as 2 or 3 out of 10 when it’s uncertain about information. 

With GPT-5’s improved reasoning, these trust ratings tend to be higher on average, but uncertainty is still worth checking.

Course-Correct in Real Time

When responses go off track (and they will), don’t start over; simply redirect.

For example, if you’re discussing a marketing strategy for your SaaS product and ChatGPT starts delving into general software development practices, you might say: “Let’s focus specifically on customer acquisition strategies and ignore the technical development aspects for now.” This keeps your conversation focused while preserving the valuable context built up in your discussion.

Another effective redirection technique is to acknowledge the tangent but firmly guide the conversation back: “The point about software architecture is interesting, but let’s return to our core discussion about marketing tactics for reaching enterprise clients.” By maintaining this conversational flow while gently correcting course, you’ll get more focused, relevant responses without losing the benefits of the context you’ve built.

Use Strategic Follow-ups

Remember that GPT-5 excels at building upon previous responses. When you get a good answer, use follow-up prompts to expand or refine it. For example, if you get a solid marketing strategy, you might ask: “Can you now break this down into specific, actionable steps?” or “What potential challenges should I watch out for when implementing this strategy?”

Go Pro!

No, OpenAI is not cutting me in on their profits! But I have to say, the difference between the free version of ChatGPT and the pro version is night and day. You get faster responses, deeper reasoning, and access to GPT‑5’s most powerful features like larger context windows, multimodal inputs, and custom GPT creation.

How Custom GPTs Work 

A Custom GPT is simply a tailored version of ChatGPT, designed to handle specific tasks with precision. By training it on your own data and giving it clear instructions, you create an AI assistant that speaks your language, answers your customers’ questions, or generates content exactly the way you need. 

Unlike the base model, a Custom GPT keeps your context, adapts to your style, and can integrate with your workflows, making it far more powerful for business and personal use.

From Master Prompt to System Prompt

Here’s a powerful trick I picked up from Dan Martell: once you’ve refined ChatGPT’s output to exactly what you want, request it to: “Please write the system prompt that would have generated this output.”

This simple step saves you hours of trial and error by reverse‑engineering the perfect instructions. You can then reuse that system prompt in future sessions, or even embed it in a Custom GPT for consistent, high‑quality results every time.

Looking Ahead

The art of conversing with GPT-5 represents a significant shift in how we interact with AI. While earlier versions encouraged rapid-fire prompting, the current version rewards those who take the time to frame their queries thoughtfully and build context over time. 

Success comes not from treating ChatGPT as a magic answer machine, but from approaching it as a sophisticated collaboration tool that requires skill and understanding to use effectively.

GPT-5 isn’t just another iteration; it’s a fundamentally different way of interacting with AI. The principles we’ve discussed — thoughtful setup, clear context, and strategic verification — remain essential for getting the most out of these increasingly powerful conversations.

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