The Interview Trick

Stop giving AI the job before it knows anything about you — make it interview you first.

Preserved from the original Prompt Vault. The active series restarted with the Semantic Tree Learning Navigator and the YouTube Action Plan.

Before you do anything, interview me. One question at a time, until you know enough to do this right. Then tell me your plan before you start.

Replace anything in [brackets] with your real thing. The prompt is deliberately short — resist the urge to pad it.

When to use it

The start of any real task. The bigger the task, the more this matters.

Why it works

The biggest AI mistake is handing over a job with none of the context that makes it YOUR job. Flipping it — the AI asks, you answer — surfaces everything you forgot to mention. And honestly, the questions are the product: half the time, question three is the thing you hadn't thought through.

How to run it

1. Flip the opening

   Before describing the task in detail, tell the AI to interview you — one question at a time — until it knows enough to do the job right.
2. Answer honestly, watch the questions

   The questions are the product. The one that stumps you is the part of the task you hadn’t thought through.
3. Approve the plan before the work

   Make it state its plan before it starts, and correct the plan — not the finished work.

From the video

Everything I build starts this way. The questions are the product — half the time, question three is the thing I hadn't thought through.

The video for this one drops on @espoai — the page is live so the prompt is yours already.

Make it yours

The same method, pointed at the situations people actually hit.

I want you to plan a trip for me. Before you do anything, interview me. One question at a time, until you know enough to plan this right. Then tell me your plan before you start.

I want a [workout/nutrition] plan. Before you do anything, interview me. One question at a time — my situation, my history, my constraints — until you know enough to do this right. Then tell me your plan before you start.

I want to build [the thing]. Before you do anything, interview me. One question at a time, until you know enough to do this right. Then tell me your plan before you start.