Get straight answers from Claude
Each prompt gives Claude one clear job: find what's wrong, argue against your plan, write like a person, explain something simply, or look back on a decision from ten years out. You don't need all five. If you only try one today, make it prompt 3 on a plan you're about to act on.
You'll leave with five prompts you can reuse in Claude or ChatGPT, and a quick check to run on whatever comes back.
Before you start
Open Claude or ChatGPT in a new chat and paste the prompt at the start. Each one works in either.
Replace the words in square brackets before sending. Use material you're comfortable sharing with that tool.
The name on each prompt only helps you find it again. The full sentence is what you send.
When you want the honest version
When to use it: you want to know what's wrong with a draft or a plan, not how good it is.
Prompt 1 · Be blunt with meBe blunt with me. No cheerleading and no compliments. Tell me what's actually wrong with this and what's most likely to fail, biggest problem first. Here it is: [paste your plan or draft]
A straight list of problems, biggest first. If it opens with praise, see "It's still too nice" below.
When it sounds like a press release
When to use it: you need a post, an email or a bio, and you don't want it to sound like an ad.
Prompt 2 · /humanWrite this like a person talking to a friend, not a press release. Use plain words and contractions. No corporate phrases, no hype, and nothing I wouldn't say out loud. Here's what I need: [describe it, and who it's for]
A draft in plainer words. Read it out loud and change anything you'd never say.
Before you commit to a plan
When to use it: before you put time or money into a plan, a launch or a big decision. This is the one I'd start with.
Prompt 3 · Argue against my planRed team this plan. Argue against it as hard as you can. List the ways it could fail, most likely first, and then ask me the questions I haven't answered yet. Here's my plan: [paste the whole plan, not a summary]
A list of ways it could fail, most likely first, plus some questions to answer before you go ahead. Some will matter and some won't. You decide which ones to act on.
When the answer is full of jargon
When to use it: an answer, a document or an email is full of words you'd have to look up.
Prompt 4 · Explain it like I'm 10Explain this like I'm 10. Use short sentences and one everyday example. If you have to use a technical word, explain it in the same sentence. Here's what I don't get: [paste it]
A plainer explanation with one everyday example. If a technical word slips in without an explanation, ask it to explain that word.
When you're stuck on a decision
When to use it: you've made the list of pros and cons and you still can't choose.
Prompt 5 · Answer as me, ten years from nowAnswer as me, ten years from now, looking back on this decision. Speak as future me, in the first person. Tell me what I'm glad I did, what I wish I'd done differently, and why. Here's what I'm deciding: [describe it, and what matters most to you]
An answer from future you about what mattered in the end. Treat it as a fresh angle, not a forecast. The choice stays yours.
What the prompts look like
Made-up examples to show what each prompt does. These are not real Claude answers.
- Be blunt with me
- You paste a bake-sale flyer. Instead of "Great start!", it tells you the date and the address are missing.
- /human
- "We are thrilled to announce our new offering" becomes "I'm trying something new. Here's what it is."
- Argue against my plan
- For a plan to sell cookies at a Saturday market, it asks what you'll do if it rains, and whether the market needs a food permit.
- Explain it like I'm 10
- "What's an API?" comes back as a waiter who takes your order to the kitchen and brings the food back.
- Answer as me, ten years from now
- Deciding whether to take a big client who drains you, future you talks about the weekends it cost, not just the money.
If you get stuck
It's still too nice.
Reply: "Don't soften it. What's the one thing most likely to sink this?"
It's vague and doesn't use the details of your plan.
Paste the whole plan, not a one-line summary. The more it has, the more it can push back on.
It still sounds like an ad.
Paste three or four sentences you wrote yourself and say: "Rewrite your last answer so it sounds like this. Keep the facts the same."
Future you just gave general advice.
Reply: "Answer in the first person, as me, ten years from now."
Your final check
Tick these as you go. The ticks reset when you leave this page.
Keep going when you’re ready.
Pick another guide for the next problem you’re working on.