5 min read
Your first ten minutes with AI
No setup headaches, no jargon. This is the shortest path from curious to actually useful, minute by minute. Keep this page open beside the other window.
Start here
- Go to chatgpt.com — no app or install needed.
- Type in full sentences, like you are asking a helpful colleague.
- Say 'shorter', 'warmer' or 'give me three options' to improve any answer.
Minutes 1–2: open it
Go to chatgpt.com in your normal web browser. It is free to use. Creating an account keeps your history, which is genuinely handy once you find a reply you liked.
You will see a single box at the bottom of the screen. That is the whole interface. There is nothing else to learn.
Minutes 3–5: your first message
Do not start with 'hello'. Start with something that shows you what it is for.
Paste this first
You are helping someone who has never used AI before. Ask me three questions about my typical week, then suggest one specific task you could take off my hands and show me exactly what you would produce.
Minutes 6–8: the three magic phrases
You never have to write the perfect request. You steer it afterwards, in ordinary words.
- 'Shorter.' — cuts the waffle instantly.
- 'Give me three versions.' — turns one guess into a choice.
- 'That is not quite it — more like this: …' — the single most useful sentence there is.
Minutes 9–10: the ingredients of a good request
Every strong prompt has four parts. You can say them in one sentence.
- Who it is for: 'for a nervous first-time customer'.
- What you want: 'a three-sentence reply'.
- The tone: 'friendly but professional'.
- The facts: names, dates, numbers, and what to avoid saying.
The template
Write [what you want] for [who it is for], in a [tone] tone. Here are the facts you must use: [facts]. Do not mention [anything to avoid]. Keep it under [X] words.
Common mistakes
- Typing two or three words and judging it on the vague answer you get back.
- Starting a brand new chat when you could have just said 'try again, shorter'.
- Assuming it remembers a conversation you had last week unless you remind it.
Questions people ask us
Can I break it?
No. There is nothing to break and nobody is watching. Being blunt with it gets better results.
Do I need the paid version?
Not to start. Try the free one for a fortnight first.
Open it, paste the first prompt, then practise the three magic phrases. That is the whole skill.