Emily, it's less about a specific prompt and more about a habit. I write what I think first, then ask AI to challenge it in any one of a multitude of 'in the moment' ways.
The Premium Thinking 'sharpening' happens because I have to defend or revise my own reasoning, judgment, and creation. AI and I are in a cognitive partnership where I remain the engine, trying my best not to use it as a vending machine.
Here are a few of my 'Go To' challenge prompts. Like Zoolander, I give them names:
Sgt Rock
"Here's my argument: (my thinking). Build the strongest possible counterargument. Don't be polite about it."
Blind Melon Chitlin'
"I'm claiming (X). What am I probably not seeing? What assumption am I treating as obvious that isn't?"
The Stress Test
"I'm writing this for (specific audience). Where will they stop trusting me? Where will they check out?"
The "So What" Press
"I just wrote this: (passage). A skeptical executive reads it and says 'so what?'...what's my answer in one sentence?"
The "one honest week" exercise is the perfect forcing function. When you ask AI to sort your work into two piles, you're not just finding out what's repeatable but getting permission to finally trust the weird thing you've been noticing all along. Thank you for writing this, Rich.
Thank you, Anna. I did the exercise before I posted it, and had others do it as well. It can be sobering, but as you said, liberating as well. Regardless of feeling, it's accurate, personal, and immediately actionable.
It also reminds me of something that happened to me this week. Someone did the 'Gamma Pass' on my LinkedIn profile and shared it as 'optimized services.' I flipped it: run your story through AI to see what sounds 'market-ready,' then sit in the gap between what the tool says you are and what you refuse to give up. Same principle as your 'one honest week': use the tool to find what you're NOT.
I would love to know, how have you used AI to allow you to be more human?
I use AI to see my thinking so I can sharpen it, and it elevates me.
Are there any particular prompts that you've found to be the most helpful in that regard?
Emily, it's less about a specific prompt and more about a habit. I write what I think first, then ask AI to challenge it in any one of a multitude of 'in the moment' ways.
The Premium Thinking 'sharpening' happens because I have to defend or revise my own reasoning, judgment, and creation. AI and I are in a cognitive partnership where I remain the engine, trying my best not to use it as a vending machine.
Here are a few of my 'Go To' challenge prompts. Like Zoolander, I give them names:
Sgt Rock
"Here's my argument: (my thinking). Build the strongest possible counterargument. Don't be polite about it."
Blind Melon Chitlin'
"I'm claiming (X). What am I probably not seeing? What assumption am I treating as obvious that isn't?"
The Stress Test
"I'm writing this for (specific audience). Where will they stop trusting me? Where will they check out?"
The "So What" Press
"I just wrote this: (passage). A skeptical executive reads it and says 'so what?'...what's my answer in one sentence?"
The CYA
"Make this unassailable."
These are absolutely fantastic. It forces me to start asking, "how will others interpret my writing?"
The "one honest week" exercise is the perfect forcing function. When you ask AI to sort your work into two piles, you're not just finding out what's repeatable but getting permission to finally trust the weird thing you've been noticing all along. Thank you for writing this, Rich.
Thank you, Anna. I did the exercise before I posted it, and had others do it as well. It can be sobering, but as you said, liberating as well. Regardless of feeling, it's accurate, personal, and immediately actionable.
It also reminds me of something that happened to me this week. Someone did the 'Gamma Pass' on my LinkedIn profile and shared it as 'optimized services.' I flipped it: run your story through AI to see what sounds 'market-ready,' then sit in the gap between what the tool says you are and what you refuse to give up. Same principle as your 'one honest week': use the tool to find what you're NOT.
I look at it the same way I do a good friend who tells me there's spinach in my teeth versus not saying anything at all