Gemini is easier to direct when you give it a job and the material it should use. In this guide, you will turn a short set of workshop notes into a useful preparation checklist. You can paste the practice notes directly, so the main exercise does not depend on a paid feature or a file upload. Optional examples show how to work with an attached document or image when your account supports it.
Tell Gemini the task, give it relevant context and specify the output format. Identify exactly which notes or files to use, ask it to mark missing information, and check the result against the original. Reuse a tested instruction set in a Gem if that feature is available to you.
Go straight to the stepsBefore you begin
Use the Gemini app or website rather than assuming that every Google product has the same controls. For files, Google documents an Add files option in the web composer; account and organization settings can affect available sources. Only provide material you have permission to share.
What you’ll need
- Access to Gemini Apps
- A small set of practice notes
- Optional: a non-sensitive supported file or image
Let’s do this
Step by step
- 01
Name the job and the intended reader
Start with a concrete action: ‘Turn these workshop notes into a preparation checklist for a first-time volunteer.’ That gives the reply an audience and a purpose. You do not need to assign a grand title or claim that Gemini is an expert to make the request useful.
- 02
Supply the reference material
Paste the notes under a clear label, or use Add files and Upload Files for a supported local attachment. Check that the intended file appears before sending. Refer to it by name when there is more than one. A file mentioned in a prompt is not necessarily a file Gemini has received.
- 03
Set a visible output format
For the workshop exercise, request a table with Task, Person and Deadline columns. Tell Gemini to use ‘not specified’ for missing owners or dates. This makes gaps visible instead of allowing a tidy-looking table to hide decisions nobody has made.
- 04
Keep observations separate from suggestions
Ask for the table based only on the notes, then a separate list of optional improvements. Read those lists differently: one is supposed to reflect your material, while the other contains proposals you can accept or reject. Check every assigned task against the notes.
- 05
Refine the reply with the missing facts
If an owner is missing, provide the owner. If a sentence is too technical, name the reader’s experience level and request a simpler version. Work on the same small example until it produces a checklist you could actually use. A follow-up should add information or make a precise correction.
- 06
Reuse the instructions only after they work
Save a plain-text template first. If you use Gems, Google’s web instructions describe Explore Gems, New Gem, an instruction field and a preview. Try a fresh example in that preview and explicitly save the Gem; previewing alone does not save it. Keep changing event details in each task rather than baking one event’s date into permanent instructions.
Put it into practice
Prompts you can copy and try
Replace bracketed placeholders with your own details. The examples are starting points; check the replies against your actual task.
Build a checklist from workshop notes
This fictional example works as pasted text without an upload.
Turn the workshop notes below into a preparation checklist for a first-time volunteer. Notes: The repair workshop is on May 9 from 2 to 4 p.m. in Room B. Jo will bring name labels. We need six tables. Table setup must be complete by 1:30 p.m. No one has been assigned to set up the tables. Use only these notes for a table with Task, Person and Deadline columns. Put ‘not specified’ where a detail is missing. Below the table, list questions we need to resolve. Keep optional suggestions separate from confirmed arrangements.
Then try this follow-up
Sam will set up the tables. Update that row only, then list any unresolved details that remain.
Read a file with a clear boundary
Attach the document first and replace the filename placeholder.
Use the attached [filename] to answer this question: [question]. Start by identifying the document title and the sections relevant to my question. Summarize the answer in five bullets. For each bullet, give a section heading or page reference when available. If the document does not contain the answer, say what is missing. Separate anything inferred from what the document explicitly says.
Then try this follow-up
Check the third bullet against the original document. Point to the supporting passage, or remove the claim if it is unsupported.
Get useful feedback on a photo
Attach a photo you own, such as an untidy bookshelf. Remove private information first.
Look at the attached photo of my bookshelf. I want it to be easier to use without buying furniture. First list what you can clearly see. Then suggest three rearrangements using the visible shelves and objects. Do not guess dimensions or identify objects you cannot read clearly. If a suggestion depends on a measurement, tell me which measurement to take.
Then try this follow-up
The top shelf is difficult for me to reach. Revise the suggestions so frequently used items stay on the middle shelves.
A reusable workshop-checklist instruction
Save this as a template, or as Gem instructions after testing it on a few examples.
Help me turn workshop notes into a preparation checklist. Use only the supplied notes for confirmed arrangements. Return a table with Task, Person and Deadline columns. Mark missing information as ‘not specified’. List unresolved questions after the table. Put your optional suggestions in a separate section. Keep the writing straightforward for first-time volunteers. Preserve dates, quantities and names exactly unless I explicitly correct them.
Then try this follow-up
Test these instructions against a new set of notes that has no named organizer. Check that you mark the organizer as missing instead of inventing one.
What is different about prompting with an attachment?
An attached file changes the source material, not the need for a clear task. ‘Look at this’ could mean summarize, find a date, compare sections or rewrite a paragraph. Put the actual question in the message and specify the file you mean. For a scan or photo, check that the important text is readable before relying on the answer.
In the workshop exercise, compare every table cell with the original notes. If a response says that Jo will set up tables, it has combined two different facts. Correct that exact error. A polished layout does not prove that the document was understood correctly.
Use a Gem for a repeated job, not a one-time fact
Google describes Gems as a way to reuse instructions for recurring needs. A checklist format, writing preference or rule for missing information is a sensible reusable instruction. This week’s room assignment belongs with this week’s notes. Keeping these separate makes the next task easier to review.
Test your template with a complete set of notes and an incomplete set. Then try one with a changed date. Check that the date changes only where it should and that missing details stay visible. Save the template because it performed well on those cases, not simply because the first answer looked tidy.
Choose the input that fits the task
| Your material | Include in the prompt | Check afterward |
|---|---|---|
| Pasted notes | The task and the boundary between facts and suggestions | Every name, date and quantity |
| A document | Filename, precise question and relevant section if known | The cited passage in the original |
| A photo | The goal and what Gemini should inspect | Whether the objects and text were read correctly |
| A repeated workflow | Stable format and rules for missing information | A new example with different details |
A quick final check
- Gemini received the notes or file I intended.
- Confirmed facts and suggestions are visibly separated.
- Missing information is marked instead of invented.
- Any reusable instructions work on more than one example.
Common questions & sticking points
What should I include in a Gemini prompt?
Include the job, the relevant background and the form of the answer. Google’s prompting advice also suggests a role when useful. Use the parts that clarify your task rather than filling a rigid template unnecessarily.
Why can’t Gemini see the file I mention?
Check that you attached the file or selected an available connected source. Typing a filename does not upload it. Work or school settings may restrict access to some sources, and file limits can vary.
What is a Gem in Gemini?
A Gem lets you reuse a set of instructions for a recurring task. Refine the instructions on a normal example first, then test and save the Gem if it is available in your account.
Can the same prompt work in Gemini and ChatGPT?
A plain-language task can often be tried in both. Adjust file references and feature-specific instructions to the app you are using, and compare the results against the same checklist rather than expecting identical replies.
Sources & further reading Optional
References used to check this guide. Follow your product’s own safety instructions where its design differs.
- Google: Prompt structure and custom Gem instructions
- Google: Upload and analyze files in Gemini Apps
- Google: How Gems work