Introduction to Reasoning › Practical Tips for Reasoning Prompts

As you incorporate reasoning into your agent, keep these guidelines in mind:

Be explicit about wanting reasoning: Phrases like "Let's think step by step," "Show your work," or "Explain your reasoning" clearly signal what you want.

Use examples for complex reasoning patterns: If you want a specific type of reasoning, show an example or two so the agent understands the format.

Break very complex problems into stages: For multi-part questions, you might prompt for reasoning on each part separately rather than trying to solve everything at once.

Verify when accuracy matters: For important decisions or calculations, use the self-verification technique or check the reasoning yourself.

Balance reasoning with efficiency: Not every question needs full reasoning. Save it for cases where accuracy and transparency matter.