Metaprompting

There is no best prompt.There is only better technique.

Asking for the single best prompt is like asking for the best Google search — it depends entirely on what you want to know. What does travel between tasks is technique: assess the goal before rewriting, make it interview you, ask for both cases, push once when it says no.

StartThe other two tools
make this sound better

Same sentences. Slightly different adjectives.

What sentence-level asks earn

Three stars: a sharp ask, the power-ups this job wants, and nothing that clashes with it.

What kind of job is it?
Technique cards · tap to slot one on

Cat’s job-description line is hers, word for word, from the episode. The rough ask and the draft in both samples are ours.

Make this sound betterAsk me any questions you have to ensure you have the context you need to complete this job.Give me the bull case and the bear case on this. Do not just agree with me — tell me what I am not seeing.
  • Sharp ask: not yetNo diagnosis on the rough ask
  • Power-ups: not yetEvery essential card for the job
  • No clashes: not yetNothing that fights the job
Fix this first

"sound better" is a sentence-level ask. On its own it gets you sentence-level polish — which is exactly what the goal-and-rewrite framing is for.

Sharp ask
  • Not yet: The rough ask is sharp on its own"sound better" is a sentence-level ask. On its own it gets you sentence-level polish — which is exactly what the goal-and-rewrite framing is for.
Power-ups
  • Not yet: Every card something that will repeat needs is slotted onFor something that will repeat, the episode would add: State the success criteria.
No clashes
  • Not yet: No card fights the jobMake it interview you: It will stop and ask, and nobody will be there to answer. Write the context in instead.
The upgraded prompt · copy it out
Make this sound better

Ask me any questions you have to ensure you have the context you need to complete this job.

Give me the bull case and the bear case on this. Do not just agree with me — tell me what I am not seeing.
Also from this episode

Two more.Same conversation.