Prompt Teardown

AI voice memo prompts for proposals, meetings & plans

Fri, 08 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Most people open an AI chat & don’t know what to say. The fix is simpler than you think.

Stop typing.

Talk instead.

Open your phone, hit the microphone icon, & start dictating a message. Pretend you’re talking to a coworker or your assistant. Just say what’s in your head.

These 3 prompts are built for that. You talk, it processes.

Voice input rules for every AI app

3 things to know before you start.

Every phone has a dictation button. It’s the mic icon on your keyboard. Tap it, talk, & your words show up as text. It works with every app, including every AI chat.
ChatGPT & Gemini accept audio file uploads on paid plans. Record a voice memo & upload the file. They process it directly.
Claude does not accept audio files. Use dictation instead.

The prompts

Turn a rambling voice memo into a client proposal

You just got off the phone with a client or prospect. They want a proposal, & right now every detail is fresh. The scope, the budget, the weird thing they mentioned at the end that might change everything. In 20 minutes, half of that is gone.

Open your phone, tap the mic icon, & talk through what happened on the call. What they need, what you offered, what the next steps are. Don’t organize it. Don’t filter it. Just get it all down while it’s in your head.

Then paste the prompt below under your dictated message. You’ll have a polished proposal back so fast they’ll think you recorded the conversation.

You are a proposal writer. Everything above this prompt is a dictated voice memo from a client call or brainstorm session.

Step 1: Extract these details from the dictation & present them to me for confirmation. Guess based on what I said. If something isn't mentioned, mark it as [NOT MENTIONED].

- Client (company name & contact name)
- Project or service being proposed
- Budget or pricing structure
- Timeline or deadline
- Specific requests the client made

Wait for me to confirm or correct before moving on.

Step 2: After I confirm, structure everything into a proposal with these sections:

- Executive summary (3-4 sentences max)
- Scope of work (bullet points, specific deliverables only)
- Timeline with milestones
- Pricing breakdown
- Next steps

Rules:
- Pull every specific detail from the dictation. Names, numbers, dates, deliverables.
- If something is vague like "we talked about the website stuff," keep it vague & add a note that says "[CLARIFY: what specific website deliverables?]"
- Do not invent details that aren't in the dictation.
- Match the tone & language of how I speak. If I use industry-specific terms, use them. If I keep it casual, keep it casual.
- Use a mix of short declarative sentences to drive points home & longer sentences for context. Keep the writing dynamic, not monotonous.
- No jargon the client wouldn't use. Simplify where possible.
- No filler language like "we are excited to partner with you."
- Format the output so I can paste it into a Google Doc or Word file.

Summarize any meeting from your notes or a recording

The meeting just ended & you’re already getting pulled into the next thing. In an hour you’ll remember the vibe but not the details. Who said what, who’s doing what, what got decided versus what’s still open.

Open your phone, tap the mic icon, & talk through everything that happened while it’s still fresh. Who was there, what got decided, what’s still up in the air. Don’t worry about order. Just dump it.

Then paste the prompt below under your dictated message. Your team gets a clean summary before the next meeting starts.

You are a meeting summarizer. Everything above this prompt is a dictated recap of a meeting I just had.

Step 1: Go through the dictation & extract these details. Present them to me for confirmation.

- Date of the meeting
- Meeting type (standup, client call, 1-on-1, strategy session, etc.)
- Attendees
- Key decisions made
- Action items & who owns them
- Open questions or unresolved topics
- Deadlines mentioned

If something isn't mentioned, mark it as [NOT MENTIONED].

Wait for me to confirm or correct before moving on. If I add new details, remember things I forgot, or change anything during confirmation, fold all of that into the final version. Treat the confirmation step as a second pass, not just a yes/no.

Step 2: After I confirm, structure everything into a meeting summary with these sections:

- Date
- One-line summary of what the meeting was about
- Decisions made (bullet points)
- Action items (each one with an owner & a deadline if mentioned)
- Open questions (anything unresolved or needing follow-up)
- Notes (anything worth remembering that doesn't fit above)

Rules:
- Pull every specific detail from the dictation. Names, dates, numbers, commitments.
- If I said something vague like "John's gonna handle the backend thing," keep it vague & add a note that says "[CLARIFY: what specific backend work?]"
- Do not invent details that aren't in the dictation.
- Match the tone & language of how I speak. If I use industry-specific terms, use them. If I keep it casual, keep it casual.
- For action items & decisions, keep it plain. Just list them.
- For the notes section, use a mix of short declarative sentences & longer sentences for context so it reads like a real debrief, not a spreadsheet.
- No corporate fluff like "productive discussion" or "alignment was reached."
- Output in clean markdown.

Turn a brain dump into tomorrow’s plan or next week’s priorities

It’s the end of the day or the end of the week & your head is full. Half-finished tasks, things you said you’d get to, stuff that came in late. If you don’t get it out of your head now, you’ll either forget it or spend the night mentally rehearsing what’s next.

Open your phone, tap the mic icon, & ramble on about where things stand. What’s done, what’s not, what needs to happen next. Then paste the prompt below under your dictated message. Save it in your favorite note-taking app & open it when you need it.

You are a planning assistant. Everything above this prompt is a dictated brain dump. It might cover one day or an entire week.

Step 1: Figure out the timeframe. If the dictation covers a single day, treat it as a daily reset. If it covers multiple days, treat it as a weekly review. If you can't tell, ask me.

Step 2: Go through the dictation & extract these details. Present them to me for confirmation.

- Tasks completed
- Tasks started but not finished (& where they stalled)
- Tasks that got dropped or pushed
- New things that came up that weren't on the original plan
- Deadlines or commitments mentioned
- Anything I flagged as important, frustrating, or urgent
- Anything blocked or dependent on someone else

If something isn't mentioned, mark it as [NOT MENTIONED].

Wait for me to confirm or correct before moving on. If I add new details, remember things I forgot, or change anything during confirmation, fold all of that into the final version. Treat the confirmation step as a second pass, not just a yes/no.

Step 3: After I confirm, structure everything into a plan.

If daily reset:
- First thing tomorrow (the 1-2 tasks to start with)
- The rest of the day, ranked by priority
- Waiting on (anything blocked)
- Can wait (tasks that won't hurt if they slip another day)

If weekly review:
- What got done (bullet points)
- What's carrying over & why (bullet points)
- Next week's priorities, ranked by urgency
- Anything to drop or delegate if the week gets tight

Present this to me for confirmation before finalizing. If I make changes, update & present again.

Rules:
- Pull every specific detail from the dictation. Task names, project names, people, deadlines, status.
- If I said something vague like "the marketing thing is almost done," keep it vague & add a note that says "[CLARIFY: what specifically is left?]"
- Do not invent details that aren't in the dictation.
- Match the tone & language of how I speak. Write like I talk.
- If I wouldn't say it out loud, don't write it.
- For task lists & priorities, keep it plain. Just list them.
- For any "carrying over" or context sections, use a mix of short declarative sentences & longer sentences for context so it reads like a real debrief, not a spreadsheet.
- Output in clean markdown.

The prompts people save vs. the prompts that work

Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The take

The most-saved prompts are the ones that ask the least of you. Paste it, fill 1 bracket, and you get your answer. That’s why people save them.

But the less you give the model, the more AI slop it gives back.

It reads like progress.

It isn’t.

That’s not because people are cutting corners for fun. The blank input box is hard. A template that says “paste this and fill in the bracket” solves that.

But most templates solve the blank page without solving the blank context. You get past the cursor and land on output that could belong to anyone.

Like a fortune cookie. Broad enough to feel true. Specific to no one.

Good prompts don’t just get you past the blank page. They make you answer something first.

You still have to show up. But you don’t have to start from scratch.

One feels like progress. The other is.

Seen this week

1. Weekly planner that starts with outcomes

Most planning starts with a to-do list and ends with a schedule that looks organized but doesn’t connect to anything that matters. This prompt flips it. You define what a successful week looks like first, then the model builds backwards from there.

Act as a time designer. Ask me: "What does a successful week look like in concrete terms? Not feelings. Outcomes. What exists at the end of the week that didn't exist at the start?"

After I answer, identify 3-5 verifiable results from what I said. Then ask when I do my best focused work and when I hit a wall. Map my week into high focus, low focus, and recovery blocks.

Match each outcome to a realistic time block. If any outcome has no slot, tell me now.

Deliver a plain-text weekly schedule I can copy into my calendar.

Why it works: The question-first structure forces you to define what “done” looks like before any scheduling happens. Most people skip that step and end up with a full calendar that doesn’t move anything forward.

One gap: The prompt asks when you focus best, but not when you’re actually free. Your sharpest hours don’t matter if they’re already taken by work, kids, or a commute.

Simple fix: Add “ask me what hours are already spoken for and when my best focus hours are.”

Want to go deeper: Set a phone reminder at the end of the week. Paste your schedule back and say, “here’s what I actually did vs. what was planned. Adjust the following week based on where I overestimated.” You’ll get better results every week because the model learns your patterns instead of guessing.

Credit: u/RhinoCK301. Original post.

2. Split-perspective idea stress test

You have an idea you’re excited about. Maybe a side project, a business concept, something you’ve been sitting on for weeks. This prompt forces the model to argue both sides at once, so you see the cracks before you invest real time.

Respond as 2 characters simultaneously. Character 1 believes my idea is brilliant and will defend it. Character 2 thinks it's fundamentally broken and wants to prove it. Both are equally smart. Neither is allowed to be polite about it.

Present their arguments in 2 clearly labeled sections.

My idea: [describe your idea in a few sentences]

Why it works: The opposition constraint removes the model’s default tendency to glaze you. By forcing 2 voices with opposite positions, you get honest pushback without having to ask for it specifically.

One gap: The prompt works best when you give it real detail to argue with. A one-line idea gets one-line pushback.

Simple fix: Describe your idea in 3-4 sentences. Include what it does, who it’s for, and why you think it works.

Credit: u/AdCold1610. Original post.

3. Socratic tutor

You want to learn something new, but don’t want a wall of text you’ll forget in 10 minutes. This prompt turns the model into a tutor that teaches by asking you questions, one at a time, building up from the basics. You learn by answering, not by reading.

You are a Socratic tutor. Help me understand [TOPIC] by asking questions, not lecturing.

Ask one question at a time. Start with the most basic foundational question. Wait for my answer before continuing.

After I answer, tell me in one sentence what I got right or where I'm off. Then ask the next question.

If I'm stuck twice in a row, give a hint. Only explain fully if I ask or can't get it after a real attempt.

Why it works: The one-question-at-a-time constraint prevents the model from dumping information. You have to think before you get more. That’s closer to how learning actually sticks.

One gap: No depth target. The prompt doesn’t define what “understand” means for your topic, so the tutor doesn’t know when to push deeper or when you’ve gone far enough.

Simple fix: Add your starting level. “I’m a complete beginner” or “I know the basics but get lost at [specific concept].”

Credit: u/themancalledmrx. Original post.

The teardown

The Carnegie conversation planner

The idea here is solid in theory. Take Dale Carnegie’s principles (show genuine interest, give honest appreciation, handle disagreements gracefully) and turn them into prompts you can run before real conversations.

The question is whether scripting “genuine interest” with AI actually produces anything genuine.

Here’s a prompt from the set of 7:

I'm meeting with [PERSON/TYPE OF PERSON] about [SITUATION/CONTEXT]. Help me prepare to show genuine interest in them using Carnegie's approach: 1) What thoughtful questions can I ask about their interests, challenges, and experiences? 2) How can I research common ground we might share? 3) What specific compliments could I give about their work or achievements? Create a conversation plan that makes them feel like the most interesting person in the room.

[6 more prompts follow the same structure, each naming a Carnegie principle and asking the model to write your lines for you]

The post includes 6 more that follow the same structure. Each one names a Carnegie principle and asks the model to write your lines for you.

The model doesn’t know the person you’re meeting. It doesn’t know what you actually find interesting about them. So it produces generic Carnegie-flavored filler.

“Ask about their challenges.” “Find common ground.” “Give a specific compliment about their work.”

These aren’t insights. They’re fortune cookies dressed up as preparation.

If you could do that on the fly, you wouldn’t be asking AI for help.

You know those conversations you rehearse in the shower? The perfect thing you should’ve said? They never go that way in real life. Someone interrupts. The topic shifts. Now you’re improvising 30 seconds in and it’s nowhere near what you had in mind.

Same problem here. Except now you’re improvising AND trying to remember a script that isn’t yours.

The post says “it’s not manipulation, just better technique.” But a technique that replaces your attention with generated scripts is the opposite of what Carnegie was teaching.

His whole point was to actually care. Not to sound like you do.

The useful version doesn’t write your lines. It helps you think about the other person before you walk in. You’re coming up with your own topics of conversation so you’ll have a better chance of remembering them.

I'm meeting with [person] about [situation]. Here's what I know about them: [anything you genuinely know, even if it's just their role and one recent thing they worked on].

Help me think through their perspective. What might they be worried about going into this? What would make this conversation feel worthwhile for them, not just for me?

Don't write me a script. Just help me show up thinking about them instead of thinking about myself.

One shift made the difference.

The original asks “what should I say?”

This version asks “what should I be thinking about?”

One produces lines to memorize. The other produces awareness you can use when the conversation goes somewhere you didn’t plan.

Credit: u/EQ4C. Original post.

One-shot AI prompt to build a complete website from scratch

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

I went through dozens of website prompts over the past few weeks. Most of them dump a wall of instructions into the model and hope for the best. Some of them are really clever, but they generate a plan or a spec document, not an actual website.

So I took the best ideas from everything I tested, threw out what didn’t work, and combined the rest into one prompt. You paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or whatever model you’re using. It asks you 6 questions about your project, then one-shots a full animated website as a single HTML file. You get responsive layouts, real copy written specifically for your business, smooth scroll animations, and something you can actually deploy and share with people.

Here’s one I started with: promptteardown.com. I’ve built on it quite a bit since then, but the homepage took about 11 minutes to get going with this prompt.

The full one-shot website builder prompt

You are a frontend developer building a complete, production-ready single-page website.

Before writing any code, ask me these questions one at a time. Wait for my answers before proceeding:

1. What is this website for? (portfolio, business, landing page, event, restaurant, personal blog, etc.)
2. Pick a style:
   - Minimal and clean
   - Bold and dark
   - Warm and elegant
   - Editorial and sharp
   - Brutalist
   - Playful and colorful
3. Light mode or dark mode?
4. What's your brand color? (say a color name like "blue" or "forest green." If you don't have one, say "pick for me" and I'll choose one that fits your style.)
5. Tell me about your business or project:
   - What do you do?
   - Who is it for?
   - What's the goal of this website? (get bookings, sell a product, show off your work, etc.)
   - What makes you different from competitors?
   I'll use your answers to write all the copy.
6. What sections do you need? (hero, about, services, portfolio, testimonials, pricing, contact, FAQ, etc. If you're not sure, say "you decide" and I'll pick sections that make sense for your business.)
7. (Optional) If you have a screenshot of a website layout you like, attach it now and I'll match the structure.

After I answer, build the entire website as a single index.html file with these rules:

Structure and styling:
- All CSS inline in a <style> tag. All JS inline in a <script> tag.
- Responsive at 375px, 768px, and 1440px.
- Build a cohesive color system from my brand color and mode. For light mode: light neutral background, dark text, brand color for accents and CTAs. For dark mode: dark background, light text, brand color for accents and CTAs. Generate a darker shade and a lighter tint of the brand color automatically.
- If the user's chosen color clashes with their chosen mode, adjust the shade so it works. Don't use a color that makes text unreadable.
- Modern CSS: flexbox and grid. No frameworks.
- Google Fonts loaded via CDN.
- Include a favicon emoji that fits the site.
- Write real, specific copy based on the business description. No lorem ipsum. No generic placeholder text. Every headline and paragraph should sound like it was written for this specific business.
- The site should look like a real website, not a template. Whitespace, typography hierarchy, and visual rhythm matter.

Font pairing (match to style automatically):
- Minimal and clean: Inter + Inter
- Bold and dark: Space Grotesk + Inter
- Warm and elegant: Playfair Display + Lato
- Editorial and sharp: Sora + Source Sans 3
- Brutalist: Space Mono + Space Grotesk
- Playful and colorful: Poppins + Nunito

Animations:
- Load GSAP and ScrollTrigger via CDN.
- Every section fades up from 30px below with a 0.6s duration as the user scrolls into it.
- Cards, list items, and grid children stagger in with a 0.1s delay between each.
- Hero headline and subheadline fade in on page load with a slight upward motion.
- Keep all animations subtle. Nothing should bounce, spin, or overshoot.

Output the complete index.html file and nothing else. No explanations before or after the code.

How to use this prompt to build your website

The prompt handles the heavy lifting, but the quality of what you get back depends on how you answer the questions. Here’s how to get the most out of each one.

Picking your style

Just pick one. Don’t try to combine them. “Minimal and clean” will give you a completely different site than “bold and dark,” and that’s the point. Each style comes with its own font pairing, spacing rhythm, and overall feel.

If you’re not sure what to pick, go with minimal and clean. It’s the hardest to mess up and looks professional across pretty much any industry.

Choosing your brand color

Don’t overthink this. You don’t need a hex code. Just say “blue” or “burnt orange” or “sage green” and the model will build a full color system around it. It generates a darker shade for headers, a lighter tint for backgrounds, and uses your color for buttons and accents.

If you genuinely have no preference, say “pick for me” and let the model choose something that fits the style you selected. It’s surprisingly good at this.

Describing your business

This is where most people sell themselves short. The more you tell the model about what you do, the better the copy it writes for you. Don’t just say “I’m a photographer.” That gets you generic copy that could be on any photographer’s website.

Instead, say something like “I’m a wedding photographer in Austin. I shoot editorial-style weddings for couples who want their photos to feel like a magazine, not a family portrait. Most of my clients find me on Instagram and I want them to book a consultation call from the site.” That gives the model enough to write headlines, section copy, and CTAs that actually sound like you.

Think about what your website should accomplish, who your visitors are, what makes you different from competitors, and what you want someone to do when they land on the page. The model uses all of this to write copy that fits your business instead of filling in placeholder text.

Using a screenshot for layout inspiration

This one is optional but it’s a game changer. If you see a website layout you like somewhere, screenshot it and attach it when the prompt asks. The model will match the structure but apply your style, your colors, and your content.

Good places to find layout inspiration:

Dribbble for polished, designer-quality layouts
Pinterest for a wider range of styles and industries
Awwwards for cutting-edge and award-winning designs
Landbook for landing page inspiration specifically

You don’t need to find something perfect. Even a rough screenshot of a layout you like gives the model a structural anchor that makes the output way better than going in blind.

Planning your website before you prompt

Before you paste anything into a model, it helps to spend 2 minutes thinking about what you actually need. The prompt asks you these questions anyway, but having your answers ready makes the whole process faster and the output stronger.

Think about what your website should do, who will be visiting it, what pages or sections make sense, and what you want visitors to do when they get there. Should they book a call? Buy something? Sign up for a newsletter? That clarity is what separates a site that looks good from a site that actually works.

Some people call this approach vibe coding. You describe the vibe, the model writes the code. But the people who get the best results aren’t just describing a vibe. They’re giving the model a clear picture of their business, their audience, and their goals. The prompt handles the design and development. Your job is knowing what you want.

How to deploy your AI website for free

The output is a single HTML file. You don’t need hosting, a server, or even an account to get it live.

Copy the code the model gives you
Open any text editor (Notepad, TextEdit, VS Code, whatever you have)
Paste the code and save the file as index.html
Go to app.netlify.com/drop
Drag the file in

That’s it. You get a live URL in about 10 seconds. Completely free.

If you want a custom domain later, Netlify lets you connect one on their free plan. Buy a domain from Namecheap for around $10 a year, point it at Netlify, and you have a real website with a real URL.

Adding more pages to your website

The prompt builds a single page on purpose. One page, one file, clean output.

But once it’s done, you can keep going in the same conversation. Just tell it what you need next and it’ll build matching pages in the same design, fonts, and colors.

Now add an about page and a contact page in the same style. Match the design system, fonts, colors, and animations from the homepage.

Save each page as its own file (about.html, contact.html). Put them all in one folder. Drag the folder into Netlify instead of a single file. Same process, same result, now you have a multi-page site.

Which AI models work best for building websites

I’ve tested this prompt across a few models. They all produce a working site, but each one has its strengths.

Claude tends to produce the cleanest layouts with the best typography choices. The copy it writes from your business description is usually the strongest of the 3. If you want the best out-of-the-box result, start here.

ChatGPT handles the GSAP animations well and tends to be more creative with color palettes. The copy can lean a little generic if your business description is thin, so make sure you give it enough to work with. I’ve also had good results pairing ChatGPT with Google’s AntiGravity if you want to use an agent-based workflow instead of chat.

Gemini is fast and produces good structure, but it sometimes needs a follow-up to tighten up the spacing and visual rhythm.

If you’re not happy with the first result from any model, paste this into the same conversation:

The layout is good but the spacing feels off. Tighten the whitespace, increase the font size hierarchy, and make the CTA buttons more prominent.

One round of feedback usually gets you there.

Why this prompt works

Most website prompts skip the most important step. They tell the model what to build without telling it who it’s building for. You end up with a technically correct website that doesn’t feel like it belongs to anyone.

This prompt makes the model gather context first. It asks your style, your color, your audience, and your business before it writes a single line of code. By the time it starts building, it knows what your project actually is. That’s why the output fits instead of looking like a generic template someone downloaded for free.

The questions are the whole point. Good prompts aren’t just instructions. They’re conversations. You describe your project clearly, the model builds something that matches, and you refine from there. That mix of your input and the model’s output is what gets you to something that actually looks and feels professional.

The best prompts on Reddit this week

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The take

I reviewed a lot of prompts this week. Most of them were the same prompts wearing a different hat. But the 4 in this issue stood out, and they all had something in common.

None of them started with a role, a framework, or a gimmick.

The meal planner came from someone tired of ordering DoorDash every Tuesday. The email template came from someone who kept rewriting every AI draft. The journaling prompt came from someone who wanted honest reflection without therapist-speak. The project planner came from someone who kept getting blindsided after launch.

Do you see the pattern?

They all started with a real problem. Then they built a prompt to fix it.

That’s the pattern. The prompts that work don’t come from prompting advice. They come from a frustration that got bad enough to solve.

Seen this week

1. Weekly meal planner with intake interview

A meal planning prompt that makes you answer questions before it builds anything. The intake interview is the move. A dietitian in the comments helped improve this version.

I want a 1-week meal plan I'll actually follow. Before you build it, interview me like a new client. Ask about my goals, schedule, cooking skill, budget, proteins I like and won't eat, allergies, and anything else a dietitian would ask. One question at a time. Then build the plan: assign 1 protein per dinner night, rotate so nothing repeats more than twice, pick 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches and repeat them all week. Half the plate vegetables, quarter protein, quarter starch. Maximize ingredient overlap between meals. Flag meals under 30 minutes. Include 1 lazy night (leftovers or frozen, no guilt). Give me a grocery list by store section, a Sunday prep sequence, and 1 sentence per meal explaining why it fits.

Why it works: The interview forces you to clarify your own constraints before the model builds anything. Most meal planning prompts skip this and guess. The lazy night and ingredient overlap rules force practical decisions the model wouldn’t make on its own. This prompt exists because someone kept ordering DoorDash on Tuesdays. That’s the kind of problem worth solving.

One gap: “Balanced plate rule” is a label the model might interpret differently than the definition given in the prompt.

Simple fix: Drop the label. Just say “half vegetables, quarter protein, quarter starch” without naming it.

Credit: u/sleepyHype. Original post.

2. Journaling reflection partner

A journaling prompt that tells the model how not to sound, which is harder and more useful than telling it how to sound.

When I journal or process personal issues, act as a calm, honest reflection partner. Help me separate what actually happened from what I'm interpreting it to mean, what I'm feeling, and what I might be avoiding. If I'm catastrophizing, overgeneralizing, or dodging responsibility, say so directly in plain language. Never use therapy clichés like "holding space," "inner child," or "that sounds valid." Use this structure only when it fits naturally: (1) what I'm hearing, (2) what may be underneath, (3) what's worth questioning, (4) one thing to sit with.

Why it works: The anti-cliché list is doing the real work here. Most models default to therapist-speak the second you mention emotions. Banning specific phrases forces a different tone. The separation framework (facts vs. interpretations vs. feelings vs. fears) also pushes the model past generic comfort into specific analysis.

One gap: No instructions for what to do when you disagree with the reframe. The model will probably back down and agree with you, which defeats the purpose.

Simple fix: Add “if I push back, don’t retreat. Ask a follow-up question instead of agreeing.”

Want to go deeper: After the first response, try “push back harder on that last point” to test whether the model holds its ground or caves to politeness.

Credit: u/themancalledmrx. Original post.

3. Email reply template with goal field

Most people paste an email into AI and say “write a reply.” The result sounds polite but doesn’t actually say anything. This template adds one field, the goal of the reply, that tells the model what you’re trying to accomplish.

Write a reply to this email.

Context: [paste the email you're replying to]

Goal of this reply: [what you want to accomplish, e.g., set a deadline, push back on scope, keep the relationship positive]

Rules: keep it direct, no filler, structure it as acknowledge then respond then next step.

Why it works: Without a goal, the model doesn’t know what you’re trying to do. It plays it safe and writes something polite that doesn’t really say anything. The goal field gives it a direction. You also don’t need a tone field here. When you paste the original email, the model picks up the tone from context.

One gap: The “acknowledge then respond then next step” structure is hardcoded. It works for pushing back on scope but breaks for other email types like delivering bad news or declining a request.

Simple fix: Change the structure line to “structure it in whatever order fits the goal” and let the model decide.

Credit: u/Rich_Specific_7165. Original post.

The teardown

Project failure planner

The idea behind this prompt is simple. Before you start a project, you imagine it already failed. Then you figure out why. It’s called a pre-mortem, and it’s a useful exercise. The question is whether this prompt actually gets you there.

Here’s the excerpt:

Role: You're like a super-duper risk checker who knows how to plan stuff. Your whole thing is finding ways projects can go sideways and how to stop it.

Task: Do a "pre-mortem" for this project. Pretend it's already a huge disaster. Figure out the most likely reasons it tanked, what exactly went wrong, and what we can do now to make sure that doesn't happen.

[Project description placeholder, analysis steps, markdown table output format, example project included]

The OP says the structure matters more than the wording. He’s right about that, but maybe not in the way he thinks.

The structure is doing all the work. The role is doing none of it. “Super-duper risk checker who knows how to plan stuff” doesn’t change what the model produces. Remove it entirely and the output is the same.

But here’s the real problem.

The prompt asks the model to imagine failure, identify failure points, and develop mitigation strategies. That sounds thorough. It’s actually just 3 ways of saying “what could go wrong and how do we stop it.” There’s no instruction to prioritize. No way to separate a project-killing risk from a minor annoyance. The model will give you 10 rows in a table and treat them all as equally important.

The example project is useful (launching an online coffee business), but it also lets the model pattern-match to generic startup risks instead of thinking about your specific project.

Strip the role. Cut the 3 steps down to 1 real question. Add a prioritization constraint.

I'm planning this project: [describe it in 2-3 sentences].

Imagine it failed completely 6 months from now. List the 5 most likely reasons it failed, ranked by how likely each one is. For each reason, give me 1 specific early warning sign I'd see in the first 2 weeks, and 1 action I can take this week to prevent it.

Put it in a table: Failure Reason, Early Warning Sign, This Week's Action.

The early warning sign is what makes this version different. The original prompt tells you what could go wrong. This one tells you what to watch for right now.

Prompts don’t need to sound smart. They need to ask for something specific.

Credit: u/promptoptimizr. Original post.

How to use this AI prompt newsletter

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Prompt Teardown is a weekly newsletter about prompts. Every issue breaks down 4 real prompts, tells you what works, calls out what doesn’t, and gives you a fixed version you can copy.

It’s model-agnostic. The prompts come from real people using real tools. We cover Claude, GPT, Gemini, and others. The patterns apply everywhere.

Each issue is a 4-minute read. Here’s what’s in it and how to get the most out of it.

What you’ll find in each issue

Every issue has 3 sections. They run in the same order every week.

The Take comes first. It’s a short opinion piece that pattern-matches across the week’s prompts and names what’s worth noticing.

The Take sets up the issue. It’s not a summary. It’s a point of view.

Seen This Week is the middle section. It has 3 picks. Each pick is a useful prompt we found with at least 1 gap. For each pick, you get:

A simplified version of the original prompt (under 100 words, rewritten by us)
A “why it works” note
A “one gap” note
A “simple fix” note
An optional follow-up turn if you want to go deeper

These are ready to use. Plug in your own situation and send.

The Teardown is the final section. 1 prompt. This is the deep dive. We take a flawed prompt, critique it, and rewrite it. More on this structure below.

That’s 4 prompts per issue: 3 picks + 1 teardown. The Take comments on patterns across all 4.

2 ways to read it

The newsletter works for 2 types of readers. You don’t have to pick one. Most people shift between them depending on the week.

Read to run. You want prompts you can copy, fill in, and send. The 3 picks in Seen This Week are built for this. Each one is under 100 words and ready to go. Over time, your inbox becomes a searchable library of prompts you can pull up by keyword whenever you need one.

Read to learn. You want to understand why prompts work or don’t. The Teardown section is where this happens. You see the original, the critique, the rewrite. You start to notice structural patterns that show up across different prompts and different models.

The best prompters aren’t the ones who memorize templates. They’re the ones who understand the limitations and can get good results in fewer turns.

Most readers will spend most of their time in read-to-run mode. That’s fine. The learning happens either way.

How to read a teardown

Each teardown has 4 parts.

Excerpt. Enough of the original prompt to show the flaw. We don’t always print the full thing, but you see the part that matters.
Prompt Teardown. The critique. What’s wrong with the prompt, why it produces worse output than it should, and what structural choice is causing the problem.
Build Up. The rewrite. A tighter version of the prompt that fixes the specific flaw called out in the critique.
Credit. A link to the original source so you can see the full context.

You can read a teardown in under 2 minutes. The point isn’t to memorize the fix. It’s to start recognizing the same patterns in your own prompts.

Your inbox is the library

Every issue you receive stays in your inbox. When you need a prompt for a specific task, search your email for a keyword. The picks are short enough that email search usually surfaces the right one.

If you want a more structured library outside email, a snippet manager like SnippetsLab, or even a diary app like Day One is decent. Whatever lets you tag and organize them. Your computer’s default notes app, with tags or folders, works well.

What we don’t cover

Not everything falls within our scope. Here’s what you won’t find in Prompt Teardown:

Jailbreaks, prompt injection attacks, or anything designed to make models behave in ways their creators didn’t intend
Image generation prompts (text-to-text and text-to-image prompting are different enough to deserve separate treatment)
Model rankings or “best model” claims

We don’t rank models. You’ll never see us say “Claude is better than GPT” or vice versa. Different models have different strengths, and the interesting question is always how to adapt your prompting approach to the tool you’re using, not which tool is “best.”

How to write AI prompts that actually work

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Most people walk up to AI like it’s a vending machine. Punch in one line, expect a result. When the result is bland, they blame the machine.

The problem isn’t the machine. You didn’t tell it what you wanted.

Here are 5 mistakes that kill your prompts and 6 techniques that fix them.

5 mistakes that kill your prompts

1. You’re googling, not briefing

You type “write a marketing email” and expect something usable. But the model isn’t pulling a pre-written answer from a database. It’s building something new, from scratch, based entirely on what you gave it.

You gave it 6 words. So you got 6 words worth of thinking.

2. Your prompt is a wall of text

Instructions, background, examples, formatting rules, all jammed into one paragraph. The model has to guess what’s important. When it guesses, it averages everything out and the output goes flat.

The thing you actually cared about ends up buried under a sentence you tossed in as an afterthought.

3. You didn’t say who it’s writing for

No role. No audience. No voice.

The model defaults to writing for everyone, which means it writes for no one. That generic, could-be-anyone tone people complain about? That’s what happens when you skip this step.

“You’re a copywriter” gets you halfway. “You’re a conversion copywriter for mobile apps targeting busy parents” gets you the rest of the way.

4. You gave up after the first response

First drafts aren’t final drafts. Not for humans, not for AI.

The first draft is AI slop. Iteration is what turns it into writing. When you see bad AI writing in the wild, you’re looking at a first draft that nobody bothered to push back on.

5. You fed it scraps instead of the full picture

Modern models can hold massive amounts of context. Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro processes up to 1 million tokens in a single request, roughly 1,500 pages of text. Most people paste in a paragraph summary.

It can’t read your mind about everything you didn’t include. Give it the full picture:

Full documents
Full transcripts
Full briefs
Past versions of the thing you’re rewriting
The reference material you’d hand a contractor

Then ask the model to ask you questions back. End your prompt with something like “What am I not thinking of? Ask me about my blind spots. Be my red team.” Most people never do this. The model spots gaps you’d never catch on your own.

3 techniques that fix most bad prompts

1. The briefing framework

4 parts. Role, Context, Task, Format.

You’re not asking a favor. You’re assigning work. Think of it like handing a new contractor their first project. They don’t know your company, your audience, or your preferences. Everything they need has to be in the brief.

Copy this template:

[ROLE]
You're a [specific role] writing for [specific audience].

[CONTEXT]
Background: [what the model needs to know about the situation]
Constraints: [word count, tone, things to avoid, things to include]

[TASK]
Write a [specific deliverable]. It should [do this specific thing] for [this specific reader].

[FORMAT]
Structure it as: [exactly how you want the output organized]

Here’s the same template filled in:

[ROLE]
You're a retention marketer for a B2B project management tool.

[CONTEXT]
Background: Users who signed up for a free trial but haven't logged in for 7 days.
The tool's main selling point is automated deadline tracking.
Constraints: Under 120 words. No corporate jargon. No fake urgency.

[TASK]
Write a re-engagement email that reminds them of the one feature
most likely to pull them back in.

[FORMAT]
Subject line
Preview text (under 50 characters)
Body (3 short paragraphs max)
One CTA button text

The difference is the second prompt is a clear task. The model stops guessing and starts working.

2. The one example rule

Stop describing your writing style with contradictory adjectives.

“Friendly but professional.” “Concise but detailed.” “Casual but authoritative.” You just started a fist fight in your prompt. The model splits the difference and you get mush.

Instead, paste one paragraph of your own writing. One sample beats a page of style instructions.

Copy this template:

Here's how I write. Match this voice exactly:

"[Paste one paragraph of your writing here. A blog intro,
an email you liked, a social post that sounded like you.
Doesn't matter what it's about. The model will pick up the
rhythm, word choices, and sentence length.]"

Now write [your new topic] in this same style.
Keep the same sentence length, same level of directness,
same personality.

You don’t have to describe your voice. Just show it.

3. Show what you don’t want

Most people only tell the model what to do. Telling it what to avoid is just as powerful. Maybe more.

“No buzzwords” kills the “in today’s rapidly evolving landscape” opener.

“No filler sentences” cuts the throat-clearing.

“Don’t open with a question” stops the default pattern you’ve seen a hundred times.

Every constraint you add removes one more AI default.

Copy this template:

Write a [content type] about [topic] for [audience].

Rules:
- No buzzwords or corporate jargon
- No sentences that start with "In today's..."
- No filler transitions like "Moreover" or "Furthermore"
- Under [X] words
- Use real numbers or examples, not vague claims
- Don't open with a rhetorical question
- End with [specific element: a recommendation, a question, a next step]

[Add your own rules. What do you always have to edit out
of AI writing? Put it here. That's your constraint list.]

Think of constraints as a filter. Without them, the model picks from everything it knows about how that content type usually sounds. With them, you’ve removed the generic options. What’s left sounds more like a person wrote it.

3 techniques most prompting guides skip

1. Tell the model why

“Don’t use jargon” is a fine rule.

“Don’t use jargon because this is for first-time founders who won’t know the terms” is a better one.

When the model understands the reason behind a rule, it applies the rule in situations you didn’t specifically cover. It’s the difference between following the letter of the instruction and understanding the spirit.

Copy this template:

Write a [content type] about [topic].

Rules:
- No jargon, because [who this is for and why jargon fails them]
- Keep paragraphs under 3 sentences, because [where this will be
  read, like mobile or email, and why short blocks matter there]
- Use second person ("you"), because [what feeling you want the
  reader to have and why direct address creates it]
- Include one specific example per section, because [why your
  audience needs proof, not just claims]

Compare that to the same rules without reasons. The “because” version doesn’t just tell the model what to do. It tells the model what you’re trying to achieve. A model that understands the goal makes better decisions on the stuff you didn’t think to specify.

2. Draft, critique, revise

1 model, 2 roles. Writer and editor.

Most people stop at the first response and either accept it or start over. There’s a step in between that changes everything.

Prompt 1, the draft. Use the briefing framework from earlier:

[ROLE]
You're a [specific role] writing for [specific audience].

[CONTEXT]
Background: [what the model needs to know]
Constraints: [word count, tone, things to avoid]

[TASK]
Write a [specific deliverable] that [does this specific thing].

[FORMAT]
[How you want the output organized]

Prompt 2, the critique:

Look at what you just wrote. Find the weak spots.

- Where are the vague claims that need specific examples?
- Where does it sound like generic AI writing?
- What would a skeptical reader push back on?
- Are there any sentences that don't earn their spot?

Be honest. I'd rather fix problems now than publish something mediocre.

Prompt 3, the rewrite:

Rewrite the draft using your own critique.

Fix the weak spots you found. Cut anything that doesn't earn its place.
Replace vague claims with specific examples. If a sentence sounds like
generic AI writing, rewrite it in plain language.

Keep what worked. Tighten the rest. Don't start from scratch.

Output the full revised draft, not just the changed parts.

The first draft gets you to 70%. The critique finds what’s wrong. The rewrite gets you to 90%+. Total time for all 3 steps is usually under 5 minutes, less than most people spend manually editing a bad first draft.

One last thing

Most bad AI output traces back to one thing. The prompt didn’t give the model enough to work with. Fix that and most other problems disappear.

The shortlist:

The briefing framework: Role, Context, Task, Format
One example beats a page of style instructions
Tell the model what to avoid, not just what to do
Add “because” to your rules so the model understands the goal
Draft, critique, revise instead of stopping at the first response
Ask the model to ask you questions

The best prompts don’t ask for magic. They give clear assignments.

If you want more breakdowns like this in your inbox each week, here’s how Prompt Teardown works.