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HR Party of One is brought to you by BerniePortal.

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Artificial Intelligence is a tool. It can save you hundreds of hours

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of time and effort while still advancing your workplace and making your role more strategic.

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In this episode of HR Party of One, we’ll cover: What ChatGPT Is, and Why It’s So Popular,

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Why You Should Use ChatGPT, and How to Use ChatGPT

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I’ll walk you through examples that show you the basics of using this AI tool,

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plus tips and tricks to get the most out of. Let’s dive in!

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What Is ChatGPT, and Why Is It So Popular? ChatGPT is an AI writing tool developed in

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the early 2020s and debuting in 2022. As part of OpenAI's language learning models,

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or LLMs, it builds on foundational language tools to produce a chatbot

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capable of understanding humor, context, and even the nuances of

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human communication. I have a blog linked for you that covers ChatGPT in more depth.

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The chatbot quickly went viral as people posted about how it responded to prompts. It

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exploded seemingly overnight as it learned and implemented more complex human communications,

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enabling it to take on essays, fiction novels, legal briefs… and even breakup letters.

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Many people use this tool to get a headstart on trickier writing or to save time writing

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an email that needs to go out today. ChatGPT’s strengths lie in how you use it.

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Why Use ChatGPT? The reason you should

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use it is simple: it saves you time and energy to focus on other projects.

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Have you ever heard of “analysis paralysis”? It’s that sinking feeling in your stomach where you’re

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so torn up deciding WHAT to do, and how to do it, that you never get around to actually doing it.

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Like making a phone call to an executive that their highest performer put in their notice,

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or writing an email to your boss about a tough topic. You pick at the little details and worry.

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But what if you could draft clear, communicative emails in seconds?

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Or develop a template for follow-ups to all your external vendors? Or craft out a strong,

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airtight workplace policy? These tasks may usually take anywhere from 20 minutes to

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several weeks. What if it took only minutes? With a little learning and practice, you could have

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results in a fraction of the time. Then, you add in all the personal touches to make it more human.

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The goal of ChatGPT is to minimize analysis paralysis by giving you a

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strong foundation on what to write or say. It’s an excellent brainstorming and outlining tool,

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and in some cases, it’s highly effective to do the majority of your writing work—if you learn

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to use it effectively. How to Use ChatGPT.

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The utility of ChatGPT is endless, but many people make mistakes in believing it’s easy

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to use. Not to say it’s HARD, but it isn’t as straightforward as it seems. For example,

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did you know ChatGPT has been reported to produce better results if you say, “Hello,

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how are you doing today?” first? Maybe it’s a little bit of the human touch from its makers,

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the same instinct we have to apologize to inanimate objects without thinking.

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That’s only one of ChatGPT’s many quirks. I'll point out more as we move through this

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episode. If you have any questions, please leave a comment down below,

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and subscribe to see the answer with more tips and tricks. I’ll be sure to answer it!

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The way you use ChatGPT will have the same foundational basics each time.

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Greet your new robot overlord politely, and then introduce your query. The ‘query’

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is how you prompt the tool to respond with a desired result. As the AI produces a response,

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you can read along and add additional requests to shape the content to your exact specifications.

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So let’s start this lesson by teaching you how to frame your introductory query. I’ll use an

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example about writing an email to an executive team about an upcoming leadership retreat.

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Step 1: To begin, consider what you want this email to do at a basic level. Your goals,

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audience, and tone are the key factors. Also consider your particular company

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culture. Don’t worry too much about particular details yet. We just want

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ChatGPT to produce an outline that we can flesh out with personal touches.

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Step 2: Craft an intro sentence that opens with a request. Something like, “Can you…”

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or “Will you…” or “Please…” if you’re feeling extra polite. Here’s an intro sentence example:

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Can you please draft an email for an executive-level leadership team?

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Don’t click enter yet—let’s flesh this request a little more before

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letting the AI take a crack at it. Step 3: Next, add in the important

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key words that inform ChatGPT on how to begin framing the email. Think about:

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Your subject, the leadership retreat;

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Your intended audience, the executive team; Your goal, to invite them to the retreat;

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The author, you, or HR. Here’s an example of how

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you can include this information: This email is from human resources,

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and its goal is to invite the executive team to a leadership retreat.

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If you’re satisfied by that prompt, click enter and see what ChatGPT produces. Or,

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we can add a little more detail.

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Step 4: Adding details is important, but you can begin doing that after ChatGPT spits out

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the first attempt. I prefer to add a little more detail before hitting enter. Consider

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contextual information that ChatGPT needs to know in order to give the best response. For example:

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This email is being sent by HR, and its goal is to invite the

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executive team to a leadership retreat hosted by the company to

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promote stronger collaboration across all departments in the organization.

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Adding in that the retreat is hosted by the company is important, because it provides ChatGPT

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with context that can help inform a better response. Also, we’ve now included what the

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goal of the retreat is—we know the goal of the email itself, but adding in the extra layer of

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intention is critical. Let’s see the difference between the original draft and this draft:

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Draft #1:

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Subject: Invitation to

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Executive Leadership Retreat – (Date) Dear (Executive Team Member's Name),

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I hope this message finds you well. We are excited to invite you to our

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upcoming Executive Leadership Retreat, scheduled to take place on (Dates) at (Location). This

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retreat will serve as an invaluable opportunity for us to come together, reflect on our collective

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progress, and strategize for the future. We believe that your presence and active

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participation will be crucial to the success of this retreat. Your insights

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and leadership are vital as we navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

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Please RSVP by [RSVP Deadline] to confirm your attendance. Should you have any questions or

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need further information, feel free to contact me directly.

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Thank you for your commitment and dedication to our organization.

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We look forward to your participation in what promises to be a productive and inspiring retreat.

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Warm regards, (Your name)

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I would say that’s pretty good! But it’s missing some of the important details I prefer to have

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in my emails. You know that the trick to emailing executives is to put everything in there that they

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need, but keep it as short and sweet as possible. But what if you only provide a couple key details?

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Can ChatGPT stand up to the test? Let’s find out how it responds when the prompt is less thorough.

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Try this prompt: tell company leaders about a retreat.

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Draft #2

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Subject: Announcing Our Upcoming Company Retreat Dear [Company Leaders],

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I hope this message finds you well. I am excited to announce that we have planned

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our annual company retreat, which will take place from [date] to [date] at [location].

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This retreat provides a valuable opportunity for us to step away from our daily routines,

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engage in team-building activities, and collaborate on our strategic vision for

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the future. It will also serve as a chance to reflect on our accomplishments, discuss

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challenges, and align our goals. Highlights of the Retreat:

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Team Building Activities: Designed to strengthen collaboration and communication.

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Workshops and Breakout Sessions: Focused on professional development and strategic planning.

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Guest Speakers: Insights from industry leaders and experts.

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Relaxation and Recreation: Opportunities to unwind and connect with colleagues in

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a relaxed setting. Preliminary Agenda:

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Day 1: Arrival and Welcome Dinner Day 2: Workshops, Team Activities,

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and Evening Networking Event Day 3: Strategic Planning

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Sessions and Recreational Activities Day 4: Closing Remarks and Departure

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We believe this retreat will be a valuable experience for everyone and an excellent

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opportunity to foster stronger relationships within our leadership team. Your participation

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is crucial to the success of this event, and we look forward to your contributions.

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Please mark your calendars and let us know if you have any questions or specific needs.

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Detailed itineraries and additional information will be shared as we get closer to the date.

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Thank you for your continued leadership and commitment. We are looking forward to a productive

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and enjoyable retreat. Best regards,

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These drafts may have a sentence or two that are absolute gems;

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they may have a line that makes you go, “Yeah, I don’t think so.” Look at draft

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two—notice that it at no point indicates the retreat is for upper leadership only. It does

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not define your audience at all, in fact. Also, who said the conference is annual?

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While this draft is not a bad result, it’s pretty long and says a lot of things that

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just aren’t needed. Like I said, you want short and sweet! But short and

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sweet shouldn’t be plain—it should convey the message you need it to.

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Now, let’s get into the real details.

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Step 5: While these drafts are solid, your organization is staffed by people. So,

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let’s add the humanity back in. It’s time to think about your company culture.

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My company is smaller, a mix of casual and semi-corporate. I can wear leggings and a comfy

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sweater, and some people wear heels—it depends on how you feel that morning. We do have expectations

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for how people send cross-department emails, so the tone of a draft I like would be more

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formal. But, this is a retreat—so, instead of a formal tone, I think a nice relaxed,

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friendly approach would be better received. So, let’s add those details to my prompt.

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Notice how the new draft is almost TOO enthusiastic? That’s a drawback of this

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tool—while we can add as much context as we want,

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ChatGPT operates in more extremes than a real person would. So let’s tweak this

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to our own voice a little, and pull back on some of the peppy language.

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After you complete these steps, you can adjust the drafts as much as you want. You can go back

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to the beginning of your prompt and change the wording around to see if it gives you

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something you like better, like changing “draft” to “craft” or “executive level” to “c-suite.” The

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specific word you use matters, even if they sound similar. Also, add in the location,

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times, a fun tagline you use often, or whatever appeals to your particular writing style and your

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organization’s culture. ChatGPT is just a tool,

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but it’s most effective when you give it a human touch—your human resources touch.

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If you want specific guidance on using ChatGPT for your HR role, please leave a comment below. Or,

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head over to the HR Party of One Community, and we will respond with a video to help you out! The

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membership link is included in the resources. Remember—your role is as strategic as you make it!