Beyond the prompt: Question your way to better prompting

Welcome back to Beyond the prompt, our blog series focused on actionable tips to get the most out of Gemini for Google Workspace. In this post, customer engineer Pooja Jain shares how to:  

• Create prompts for Gemini Advanced that produce highly tailored responses 

• Produce richer, more relevant outputs by emulating human inquiry 

Imagine conversing with Gemini as if you were engaging with a highly knowledgeable friend. In a conversation with a friend, you would ask questions and follow up with additional thoughts and oftentimes, more questions. This is the general idea of question-based prompting (QBP), a technique you can use to make your interactions with Gemini more personalized, dynamic, and contextually aware. Using a series of carefully constructed questions helps Gemini produce more sophisticated responses when researching or problem solving. 

How to use questions with Gemini for better results

Taking a general or broad approach to a prompt can lead to vague answers. To avoid this, you can break prompts down into smaller, more manageable questions. 

For example, asking, “What can you tell me about global economics?” generates a broad overview.

A more focused question like, “What factors drove the U.S. economy in Q2 of 2024?” leads to a more refined and specific response.

Refining questions can help focus Gemini on particular dimensions of a topic, so you can explore data or ideas more precisely.

Benefits of asking targeted questions as prompts:

1. Clarity: A well-phrased question provides clear direction, making it easier for Gemini to produce relevant content.

2. Focus: Specific questions guide Gemini to focus on particular aspects of a topic, so you don’t get vague or overly broad responses.

3. Contextual understanding: Questions help Gemini understand the context of your inquiry better, especially when dealing with complex or nuanced subjects.

4. Creativity and problem-solving: Targeted questions can stimulate more creative or innovative responses, especially in areas like brainstorming, storytelling, and critical thinking.

Put it into practice:

You can practice writing detailed questions on your own, but you can also take advantage of Gemini’s capability to self-generate questions that you can use as prompts. For example, I asked Gemini: What important questions should I ask to refine my business plan for a new company I am starting?

Here are the responses and questions it offered up (your own results may vary):

To refine your business plan, consider asking yourself these critical questions:

Market Analysis and Strategy

• Market Validation:

• Have I thoroughly validated my target market's needs and pain points?

• Is my value proposition clear and compelling to my target audience?

• How will I differentiate my product or service from competitors?
  

• Competitive Analysis:

• Who are my direct and indirect competitors?

• What are their strengths and weaknesses?

• How will I position my business to gain a competitive edge?
  

• Sales and Marketing Strategy:

• What is my go-to-market strategy?

• How will I acquire and retain customers?

• What marketing channels will be most effective for my target audience?

• What is my pricing strategy, and is it aligned with my value proposition?

Financial Projections

• Revenue Streams:

• What are my primary and secondary revenue streams?

• How realistic are my revenue projections?

• What are the potential risks to my revenue forecasts?
  

• Cost Structure:

• Have I identified all potential costs, including fixed and variable expenses?

• Are my cost projections accurate and conservative?

• How can I optimize my cost structure to improve profitability?
  

• Funding Needs:

• How much funding do I need to launch and operate my business?

• What are my funding sources, and what are the terms of each source?

• How will I use the funds to achieve my business goals?

Operational Plan

• Team and Talent:

• Do I have the right team in place to execute my business plan?

• What are the skills and experience gaps on my team?

• How will I recruit, hire, and retain top talent?
  

• Operations and Processes:

• Are my operational processes efficient and scalable?

• How will I manage inventory, supply chain, and logistics?

• What is my plan for quality control and customer service?
  

• Risk Management:

• What are the potential risks to my business, and how will I mitigate them?

• Do I have a contingency plan in place for unforeseen challenges?

Legal and Regulatory Considerations

• Legal Structure:

• What is the best legal structure for my business (sole proprietorship, LLC, corporation, etc.)?

• What are the tax implications of my chosen legal structure?
  

• Permits and Licenses:

• What permits and licenses do I need to operate my business?

• How will I comply with industry regulations and standards?
  

• Intellectual Property:

• Do I need to protect my intellectual property (patents, trademarks, copyrights)?

• How will I enforce my intellectual property rights?

Now that Gemini has identified specific and meaningful questions, you can ask Gemini to answer the most relevant ones — or all of them. 

The natural back-and-forth with Gemini using questions as prompts can help identify gaps in information or points that need further exploration. In this process, Gemini “asks” itself sub-questions that guide its reasoning process and continuously refines its responses based on the complexity of the questions. By mimicking human inquiry, QBP can help Gemini to produce outputs that are richer and more relevant.