Five prompts to try this week

The inference

The best prompts do not ask AI to “be smarter.” They give it a job, useful context, and a way to show its work.

You do not need a complicated prompt library to get more from an AI assistant. Start with the tasks that already take time, such as making a decision, giving feedback, finding the gap in a plan, or preparing for a conversation.

Replace the bracketed details, then ask a follow-up question. Treat the output as a draft for your judgment, not a substitute for it.

Turn a fuzzy decision into a brief

Use this when you have a choice to make and keep circling the same considerations.

I need to decide whether to [decision].

Context:
- Goal: [what success looks like]
- Options: [option A], [option B], [option C]
- Constraints: [budget, time, people, risk]
- Deadline: [date]

Build a one-page decision brief with:
1. The decision in one sentence
2. The 3 criteria that matter most
3. A comparison table
4. The strongest argument for each option
5. What information would change the recommendation
6. A recommendation, with assumptions clearly labeled

Make it better: Add the constraint you are most tempted to ignore. That is often where the useful analysis starts.

Get a sharper review of your work

Ask for an adversarial review before you share a proposal, memo, or plan.

Act as a thoughtful, skeptical reviewer of the draft below.

Audience: [who will read it]
Desired outcome: [what I want them to do or understand]

Review the draft for:
- The main claim and whether the evidence supports it
- Missing context or unstated assumptions
- Places where the reader may get confused
- Claims that need a source, number, or caveat
- Unnecessary words and vague language

Return:
1. The 3 highest-impact issues
2. Specific suggested changes
3. One question the draft must answer before publication

Draft:
[paste draft]

Make it better: Name the audience. Advice for a busy executive should not sound like advice for a technical peer.

Find the next action in a messy meeting

Give your notes a structure that makes ownership and follow-through visible.

Turn these meeting notes into an action register.

For each action, identify:
- The action, written as a verb
- One accountable owner, or “unassigned”
- The due date, or “not specified”
- The dependency or decision needed
- The exact sentence in the notes that supports it

Separate the output into:
A. Confirmed actions
B. Open decisions
C. Questions that need an answer
D. Topics mentioned but not assigned a next step

Do not invent owners, deadlines, or commitments.

Notes:
[paste notes]

Make it better: The “do not invent” instruction matters. It separates a useful record from a confident-looking rewrite.

Stress-test a plan before launch

Use a pre-mortem to find failure modes while there is still time to address them.

Run a practical pre-mortem on this plan.

Plan:
[paste plan]

Assume it is [time period] later and the plan did not achieve its goal.
List 7 plausible failure modes. For each one, give:
- Early warning signal
- Likely root cause
- Impact if ignored
- A low-cost mitigation I can add now
- An owner or role that should monitor it

Rank the failure modes by expected impact and likelihood.
End with the 3 checks I should complete before launch.

Make it better: Set the time horizon. A plan can fail differently in 30 days than it can in 2 years.

Prepare for a high-stakes conversation

Rehearse the substance and the likely pushback, without outsourcing your judgment or voice.

Help me prepare for a conversation about [topic].

My goal: [desired outcome]
What I know: [facts and context]
What I am concerned about: [concerns]
Relationship and power dynamics: [context]

First, separate my facts, interpretations, and requests.
Then provide:
1. A direct opening in my natural, professional tone
2. 3 likely objections and calm responses
3. 3 questions that invite useful information
4. A boundary I may need to state
5. A concise close with the next step

Do not make the language overly formal, dramatic, or passive-aggressive.

Make it better: Include the relationship context. The right wording depends on whether you are speaking to a peer, customer, manager, or direct report.

One last check

Prompting is the start of the workflow. Before you act on an answer, check the facts, review the assumptions, and make sure the recommendation fits your real constraints. The point is not to produce more text. It is to make a better decision with less friction.