Prompt library · AI · 11 prompts
Prompts from the guide
Dictate your thoughts, let AI turn them into text
11 prompts from this guide. Fill in whatever sits in [square brackets] — your own context, the document text or the name of your tool. That context is exactly what separates a generic answer from a usable one.
Cleaning up the raw transcript
This is a raw transcript of my dictation. I spoke without preparing, so it's messy. Clean it up into readable text following these rules: - remove filler, false starts, and verbal padding (“um,” “like,” “basically,” “so anyway”), repetition of the same idea in different words, and unfinished tangents - fix grammar, punctuation, and word order into standard written form - break it into paragraphs by topic - when I corrected myself (“no, actually, more like this”), keep only the final version - if a passage is unintelligible, don't guess at it — mark it as [unclear: approximate wording] Don't drop any content, don't add your own thoughts, and don't add an intro or closing sentence. Keep my phrasing and vocabulary, don't make it more formal than it is. Transcript: [paste text]
Checking fidelity
Compare my raw transcript and your cleaned-up version. List, in a table, every place where the MEANING changed, not just the wording: columns = original wording | your version | type of change. Types of change I care about: - confidence going up or down (probably → definitely, maybe → likely) - a changed number, date, name, or amount - information added that I didn't say - information dropped that wasn't filler - a question turned into a statement, or the reverse Skip pure style edits. If you didn't change the meaning anywhere, say so in one sentence. Raw transcript: [paste text] Cleaned-up version: [paste text]
Turn my dictated transcript into an email. Recipient: [name and role, e.g. a client we've been in touch with for a year] Relationship: [formal / friendly-professional / long-time and casual] Goal of the email: [what the recipient should do or know after reading it] Longer context the recipient already has: [what I don't need to explain] Requirements: - a subject line that describes the matter, not a generic “Update” - no more than [180] words, no long opening pleasantries - a specific ask or next step in its own paragraph at the end - don't promise anything on my behalf: where I wasn't specific in the transcript, leave it vague or mark it as [fill in] - polite tone, but not apologetic — no “sorry to bother you” At the end, attach a list of things I should verify or fill in before sending. Transcript: [paste text]
Meeting or call notes
This is my dictated record of what I remember from a meeting. It's not a transcript of the meeting — it's my own recollection, so it's disorganized and out of order. Turn it into notes in this format: 1. Context: who, when, about what (one sentence) 2. Decisions: what was decided — each as one sentence 3. Tasks: table task | who | deadline | note 4. Open questions: what's still unresolved and who needs to move it forward 5. Context for absentees: 3 sentences for someone who wasn't there Rules: - distinguish decisions from ideas that were merely floated; if it's not clear from my recollection which one it was, put it under open questions - where an owner or deadline is missing, write [missing] — don't assign one by guessing - passages I marked with “note to self,” put at the very end under a My Notes section (won't go out to others) Record: [paste text]
Notes and tasks for your task system
Pull the actions out of my dictated stream of thought. Split the output into three lists: A) Tasks with a deadline — format: verb + object + [deadline]. Calculate deadlines from today's date [date]: convert “by the end of the week” into an actual date. B) Tasks without a deadline — same format, no date. C) Ideas and things to consider — these aren't tasks, don't turn them into any. Rules: - one item = one action; if I said two things in one sentence, split them - start with a verb (“send,” “verify”), not a noun (“sending”) - if it's not clear from my wording whether something is a task or an idea, put it under C - at the end, list what needs a decision from me before it can become a task Transcript: [paste text]
A draft article, post, or longer piece
This is my dictated raw material for a piece on the topic of [topic]. Target format: [blog post / LinkedIn post / internal document], length [1200] words, reader: [who they are and what they already know]. Turn it into a DRAFT: - find the main idea in my stream and put it in the first paragraph - organize the rest into [4-6] sections with headings, ordered so they flow into each other - where I gave an example or a story, keep it whole and don't shrink it to one sentence — that's the most valuable part Strict rules: - use ONLY what I actually said; don't add general truths, examples, or statistics - where an idea is unfinished, write on its own line TODO: [what to add] — don't invent filler - no phrases like “in today's world,” “plays a key role,” “it's important to recognize” - keep my own phrasing wherever it makes sense At the end, list every TODO and three questions the text doesn't yet answer. Transcript: [paste text]
A brief for a colleague
I dictated what I need from a colleague. Turn it into a brief they can understand without having to ask follow-up questions. Structure: - What the goal is (one sentence, the outcome, not the activity) - Why we're doing this (context that helps them make decisions) - What exactly needs to be produced (format, scope, where to save it) - What's already done and where to find it - Deadline and why it's set where it is - What is NOT part of this brief - Where they should decide on their own and where they should ask me Rules: - where I wasn't specific, write [clarify: what] instead of guessing - at the end, add 5 questions a colleague would probably ask, so I can answer them up front Transcript: [paste text]
Stitching the blocks together
Here are [5] separately processed blocks of one piece. Each one came from a separate dictation, so intros repeat, transitions are missing, and some ideas show up in two places. Stitch them into one continuous text following this outline: [paste outline] What to do: - remove repetition: when the same idea appears in two blocks, keep it wherever it's developed better and drop it in the other spot (tell me where you did this) - add transition sentences between sections, at most one per seam - unify terminology: where I used different words for the same thing, pick one and tell me what you unified - unify point of view and tense throughout What NOT to do: - don't rewrite my sentences into a “better” style - don't add an intro or conclusion if the blocks don't have one - don't fill in content that's missing from the blocks — just write TODO: [what's missing] in the right spot Blocks: [paste blocks, each headed with its own heading]
A coherence pass
Read this text as a first-time reader who knows nothing about the topic. Don't rewrite anything, just list findings with a pointer to where in the text they occur: 1. Where the text claims something it never introduced (an unexplained term, acronym, or name used without context). 2. Where two adjacent passages don't connect — it jumps to a different topic with no transition. 3. Where the same thing is said twice in different words. 4. Where I promise something I never deliver on (“I'll come back to this,” “more on this below”) and never do. 5. Where a sentence is so long or tangled that I had to read it twice. For each finding, one sentence on why it's a problem. Don't propose fixes. Text: [paste text]
Evening batch processing
This is [7] voice notes I dictated throughout the day in different situations. They're separated by a --- line. They're unrelated, some are fragmentary and recorded on the move. Process them like this: 1. For each note, write one sentence on what it's about and sort it into a category: task / idea / information to remember / something to tell someone / unintelligible. 2. Then build summary lists across all the notes: - tasks (verb + object + deadline, where one was stated) - people I need to talk to, and about what - ideas worth thinking over - things I need to verify 3. Find connections: where two notes touch on the same thing, merge them and say so. Rules: don't guess anything, mark unintelligible passages and leave them be. Don't turn vague statements into definite ones. Notes: [paste notes separated by ---]
A sample of your own style
Here are [3] pieces I wrote myself and I'm happy with them. Analyze my style from them and write it up as an instruction I'll keep using going forward. Describe, concretely and measurably: - typical sentence and paragraph length - how many technical terms I use and how I introduce them - how I open pieces (what kinds of first sentences) - how I give recommendations: directly, or with hedges - words and turns of phrase I use repeatedly - what I avoid (superlatives, questions as headings, exclamation points) - how I close Output: an instruction of at most 200 words, phrased as a brief for you (“write …”), plus 5 example sentences that are typical of me, and 5 sentences I'd never write. Texts: [paste texts]