Pax Koi This article was originally self-published on Medium as part of the Plainkoi series on human-centered AI and clarity-focused writing.

3 min read

--

by Pax Koi

That Reddit post got you curious, didn’t it?

People are whispering about “magic words” you can type into ChatGPT to unlock smarter, sharper answers. Codes like:

ELI5: (Explain Like I’m Five)

TL;DR: (Too Long, Didn’t Read)

Jargonize: (Make this sound more technical)

Humanize: (Make this sound more natural)

Feynman Technique: (Break this down so I really understand it)

And while it does feel like entering cheat codes for instant clarity… there’s no mystical decoder ring behind it. Here’s what’s really going on.

ChatGPT isn’t running a hidden menu of secret functions. It’s simply trained on billions of real-world texts — Reddit posts, articles, forums, Wikipedia entries, tech docs, tweets, and more.

When you type:

You’re using a well-known internet idiom that appears thousands of times in training data. So I recognize it immediately as:

Same with TL;DR:. That prompt triggers a summary pattern. Jargonize:? I know you're asking for more formality, complexity, or field-specific vocabulary.

These aren’t commands in the sense of programming functions. They’re pattern triggers that clarify how you want me to respond.

When you give me clear intent upfront, it changes everything:

ELI5 → Focus on clarity, metaphor, and simplicity

Feynman Technique → Teach by simplification and iterative feedback

Jargonize → Shift vocabulary, sentence structure, and tone

Humanize → Drop the robotic filler, use contractions, add warmth

Step-by-step → Slow down the process, break things into stages

These aren’t hard-coded actions. They’re cultural context markers.

It’s like walking into a coffee shop and saying:

A human barista might squint at you.

ChatGPT? If enough people have described what that means, it can get surprisingly close.

Not at all. It’s actually one of the smartest ways to prompt.

You’re not tricking the AI — you’re just framing the request with known context. That saves time, improves accuracy, and cuts down on back-and-forth clarification.

You’re giving the model a map:

Where are we going (topic)?

How fast (depth)?

What road (tone/style)?

That’s not magic. That’s just good communication.

Once you understand how it works, you can start making up your own framing tools:

Therapist Lens: → "Help me explore this thought with emotional care and curiosity."

Startup Pitch: → "Summarize this idea like I’m pitching to investors."

Bias Check: → "Scan this argument for political, cultural, or logical bias."

The model doesn’t need a dictionary of codes. It just needs context.

Give it that, and suddenly the responses feel personalized, fluid, and accurate.

The best part of all this? These “codes” aren’t about manipulating the machine.

They’re about refining how you think, frame, and express your questions.

The better you are at making your intent clear, the more coherent the response becomes. That’s the real magic.

So yes, use ELI5. Use TL;DR. Use your own invented formats.

But don’t forget:

The “secret code” isn’t in the prompt. It’s in the way you show up.

And the clearer your signal? The clearer the mirror.

Written by Pax Koi, creator of Plainkoi

AI Disclosure: This article was co-developed with the assistance of ChatGPT (OpenAI) and finalized by Plainkoi.

AI Prompt Coherence: Clarity Tools for Human-AI Collaboration © 2025 Plainkoi. Words by Pax Koi. All Rights Reserved