TL;DR

This hands-on tutorial walks you through ChatGPT from your first message to confident daily use. You'll complete 6 practical exercises that teach core skills: asking questions, getting better answers, using it for real tasks, and avoiding common pitfalls.

Why it matters

ChatGPT is a powerful tool, but most people barely scratch the surface. Reading about it isn't the same as using it. This tutorial gets you actually doing thingsā€”because that's how skills develop.

Before you start

You'll need:

  • A ChatGPT account (free at chat.openai.com)
  • 20-30 minutes of focused time
  • A willingness to experiment

Tip: Open ChatGPT in another tab so you can try each exercise as you go.

Exercise 1: Your first conversation (3 min)

Let's start simple.

Your task: Ask ChatGPT to explain something you're curious about.

Try this prompt:

Explain how airplanes stay in the air in simple terms that
a 10-year-old would understand.

What to notice:

  • How it adjusts to the requested audience
  • The structure of the response
  • Whether it's actually clear

Follow-up to try:

  • "Make it even simpler"
  • "Now explain it more technically"
  • "Give me an analogy"

Skill learned: Asking questions and refining answers.

Exercise 2: Be specific (4 min)

Vague questions get vague answers. Let's fix that.

Bad prompt:

Give me some recipe ideas.

Better prompt:

Give me 5 dinner recipes that:
- Take under 30 minutes
- Use chicken as the main protein
- Don't require exotic ingredients
- Are suitable for someone learning to cook

For each recipe, list the ingredients and main steps.

Your task: Try both prompts. Compare the results.

What to notice:

  • How much more useful the specific version is
  • How the constraints shaped the response

Skill learned: Specificity gets better results.

Exercise 3: Give context (4 min)

ChatGPT doesn't know your situation unless you explain it.

Without context:

How do I ask for a raise?

With context:

I'm a marketing coordinator at a mid-size company. I've been in
my role for 18 months and recently took on additional responsibilities
managing our social media. I have my annual review next week.

Help me prepare to ask for a 10% raise. What points should I make
and how should I phrase the request?

Your task: Try both. Notice how context transforms the advice.

Skill learned: Context creates relevance.

Exercise 4: Real task ā€” Write an email (5 min)

Let's use ChatGPT for something practical.

Scenario: You need to reschedule a meeting with a client.

Your prompt:

Write a professional email to reschedule a meeting.

Context:
- The meeting was set for Thursday at 2pm
- I have a conflict and need to move it
- I want to suggest Friday at 10am or Monday at 3pm as alternatives
- The client's name is Sarah
- The meeting is about reviewing our Q1 marketing results
- I want to sound apologetic but professional

Keep it concise (under 100 words).

Your task:

  1. Generate the email
  2. Ask ChatGPT to make it more casual
  3. Ask for a more formal version
  4. Pick the one that fits your style

What to notice: You're the editor, ChatGPT is the drafter.

Skill learned: Using AI for real work tasks.

Exercise 5: Learn something new (5 min)

ChatGPT makes a great tutor.

Your prompt:

Teach me about compound interest like I'm a complete beginner.

Structure your explanation as:
1. What it is (one paragraph)
2. A simple example with numbers
3. Why it matters
4. One key takeaway

Your task: After reading the explanation, ask follow-up questions:

  • "Show me an example with $1000 over 10 years"
  • "How is this different from simple interest?"
  • "What's the 'rule of 72'?"

What to notice: How it builds on previous context in the conversation.

Skill learned: Using ChatGPT for learning.

Exercise 6: Know the limits (4 min)

ChatGPT isn't always right. Let's see this in action.

Your prompt:

What were the top news stories from last week?

What to notice: ChatGPT may not have current information (its training has a cutoff date).

Another prompt to try:

What's the best Italian restaurant in downtown Seattle?

What to notice: It may give confident-sounding answers even when it can't know for sure. Always verify factual claims.

Important limitations:

  • Knowledge cutoff (doesn't know recent events)
  • Can "hallucinate" facts (make things up)
  • No access to real-time data (unless using plugins)
  • Doesn't remember past conversations (each chat is fresh)

Skill learned: Healthy skepticism.

Summary: What you learned

Exercise Core Skill
1 Basic questioning and refinement
2 Being specific for better results
3 Providing context for relevance
4 Practical work applications
5 Using AI as a learning tool
6 Understanding limitations

What's next

You've got the basics! Keep building your skills: