ChatGPT Onboarding Guide – Zendesk

Welcome to ChatGPT and the ability to achieve more in your position, department, campus, and most importantly, with students!

As part of our commitment to innovation and efficiency, we are integrating ChatGPT into our daily workflows. This guide provides a brief overview of what ChatGPT is, how it can help you, and best practices to make the most of it.

Important Note

Smith Chason College specific training is currently being created and will be implemented in 2026. Use this guide freely to assist yourself and your colleagues in working within ChatGPT as we wait for that training to be released.

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is an AI-powered language model developed by OpenAI. It can understand and generate human-like text, making it a powerful tool for but not limited to the items listed below.

Drafting and editing communications
Summarizing documents
Brainstorming ideas
Generating outlines and presentations
Answering questions or providing quick research support
Automating repetitive writing tasks

How ChatGPT Can Help You

Below are some ways ChatGPT may assist with your current and future tasks:

Efficiency: Save time drafting emails, reports, or meeting summaries
Clarity: Refine tone and style for professional communications
Creativity: Use ChatGPT for brainstorming, outlining, or exploring new approaches.
Support: Quickly gather background information or clarify complex concepts

Tips & Tricks for Using ChatGPT

Below are some quick and easy tips and tricks you can use with ChatGPT as you get started.

Be Specific: Provide clear instructions (e.g., Draft a professional thank-you email for a client who attended our workshop")
Set the Tone: Specify formal, casual, concise, or detailed
Break It Down: Split complex tasks into smaller steps
Iterate: Ask ChatGPT to refine or rephrase until it fits your needs
Use Examples: Paste in sample text and ask ChatGPT to follow the style

How to Write Effective Prompts

Think of prompts as instructions. The clearer your instructions, the better the response. Below is a simple framework to keep in mind.

Framework to remember:

Context: Provide background (“I am preparing a presentation for leadership on next quarter’s goals”)
Task: State what you want (“Create a 3-slide outline with key talking points”)
Format: Specify the format (“List in bullet points” or “Write as a formal email”)
Tone: Identify tone (“Professional but warm” or “Concise and direct”)

Example Prompts

Below are some example prompts that you can use as templates to get started with general prompting.

“Write a professional email to a student reminding them about an upcoming deadline for tuition payment. Keep it polite, clear, and under 150 words.”
“Summarize these meeting notes into 3 bullet points with action items for the admissions team:" (then paste in notes)
"Explain how to use the VLOOKUP function in Excel with a simple example I can copy and try."

Additional Learning Resources (Videos)

Below are five reputable video resources to help you maximize your use of ChatGPT.

IT Support for ChatGPT

For any related issues, questions, or requests regarding ChatGPT, please email: support@smithchason.edu

Final Note

ChatGPT is a tool to enhance your work, not replace your judgment. Always review and refine outputs to ensure accuracy and alignment with our standards. The more you practice writing good prompts, the more valuable ChatGPT will become in your day-to-day tasks.

Let’s innovate together and see how ChatGPT can make our work smarter, faster, and more creative!