Directional Stimulus Prompting

Sections: Idea • Best Practices • Example • When to Use • Effectiveness • Example Snippet • Simple Explanation

Idea Provide a “stimulus” (an image, chart, code snippet) plus a clear directive to guide the model’s focus.

Best Practices

• Supply high-quality stimuli (clear images, well-formatted code)
• Frame the direction in active voice (“Describe,” “Analyze”)
• Limit scope to avoid broad or vague instructions

Example

Stimulus: Customer feedback bar chart (see image) Prompt: “Summarize the top three trends shown in this chart in two sentences.”

When to Use

• Tasks with visual or code inputs needing focused analysis
• Surveys and reports where stimuli clarify context

Effectiveness

• Directs model attention to key elements
• Improves relevance and precision

Example Snippet

"Stimulus: A bar chart of monthly sales.\nPrompt: 'Identify the top two sales months and explain why briefly.'"

Simple Explanation

Directional stimulus prompting gives the model something to look at plus clear instructions on what to do.