Meta-Prompting and Advanced Techniques: AI Improves Your Prompts, Part 1

Power users do this trick: instead of asking AI for an answer, ask AI to ask YOU clarifying questions first. The questions force you to think about what you actually need.

Some examples

• 'Before you write the essay, ask me 5 clarifying questions about what I actually want.'
• 'Before you suggest a project, ask me about my interests, time, and skills.'
• 'Before you give advice, ask me what I have already tried.'
• 'Before you write the email, ask me what tone and outcome I am going for.'

Try it!

Pick something you want help with. Instead of asking AI for the answer, ask: 'What 5 questions should you ask me before you give me good advice on this?' See what AI asks. Notice what you had not thought about.

AI gives you a quick answer. You ask 'why?' Then 'why?' again, four more times. By the fifth 'why,' AI has to reach for the actual root cause instead of the surface explanation.

Some examples

• Ask AI 'why is the sky blue?' then 'why?' x5
• Use it to debug: 'why did this fail?' x5
• Use it on social problems: 'why don't people vote?' x5
• Use it on yourself: 'why am I procrastinating?' x5

Try it!

Pick something confusing in your life. Ask AI 'why?' Then ask 'why?' again about its answer. Do it five times. Notice how the answers get more interesting (or fall apart).

AI is way too agreeable by default. If you only ask 'is this a good idea?' it'll usually say yes. Ask 'argue against this' and you get the holes you missed.

Some examples

• Ask AI to argue against your essay's thesis
• Ask it to find flaws in your business idea
• Ask it to roast your code review
• Ask it to play devil's advocate on your college choice

Try it!

Take a decision you're about to make. Ask AI for the strongest case AGAINST it. Read it twice. See if your decision still holds up.

AI's first answer is rarely its best. Tell it to write the answer, then critique that answer, then rewrite. You get the third draft as your starting point.

Some examples

• Have AI grade its own essay outline 1-10
• Have AI list 3 weaknesses in its code suggestion
• Have AI suggest a stronger version of its own analogy
• Have AI fact-check itself

Try it!

Ask AI a question. When it answers, reply: 'critique your answer, list 3 weaknesses, then rewrite it stronger.' Compare the two versions.

Sometimes your prompt is the bottleneck, not AI. Ask AI: 'I want to know X — write me the best prompt to get a great answer.' Then use AI's prompt to ask AI. Meta, but it works.

Some examples

• 'Write me a prompt to get a study plan'
• 'Write me a prompt to get unbiased feedback'
• 'Write me a prompt that prevents hallucinations'
• 'Write me a prompt to summarize a long PDF'

Try it!

Pick a task you want AI to do. Ask AI to write the perfect prompt for that task first. Then run that prompt. Compare against your original wording.

AI is great at 'what if' thinking. 'Pretend the school day starts at noon — design the new schedule.' AI builds out the full scenario, surfaces consequences, and helps you stress-test ideas.

Some examples

• Prompt: 'Imagine you're an alien archaeologist in 2500 — describe my room.'
• Prompt: 'Pretend electricity costs 100x more — redesign my house.'
• Prompt: 'Imagine school had no grades — how would I prove I learned?'
• Hypothetical mode is amazing for debate prep.

Try it!

Pick a wild 'what if' from your day. Have AI build out the world for 5 minutes. Notice what surprises you.

Half of AI's bad answers come from misreading your question. The fix: 'Before answering, restate what I'm asking in your own words.' If the restatement is wrong, you fix it before AI wastes 500 words.

Some examples

• Prompt: 'Repeat my request back, then answer.'
• Catches when AI misreads the subject of your question.
• Reveals when your prompt was ambiguous all along.
• Saves you from reading a long, perfectly written wrong answer.

Try it!

Ask any complex question and add 'restate first.' Was the restatement right? If not, you found a prompt bug.