Okay. Hey, everyone, and welcome back to the
Deep Dive. You know, today we're taking a good
close look at some source material that tackles
something I bet a lot of you who use AI for writing
have run into. It's that moment, right? You ask
you to rewrite something and what you get back
is, well, it's just kind of flat. Yeah. Not really
different, maybe just a bit cleaner. Right. Underwhelming.
So our Deep Dive today is into an article titled
Forget Rewrite, 15 AI Prompts for God -Tier Writing
by Max Emery. And it lays out some really powerful
alternatives to that vague, overused rewrite
command. And the mission here for this deep dive
is to really understand the why behind a common
frustration, why rewrite often falls short. Yeah.
Then we're going to dive deep into these 15 specific
prompts the article identifies, extracting the
core insights and practical takeaways from each.
Okay. The goal is to give you concrete tools
you can use right away to seriously level up
your AI writing. Yeah, exactly. Because I guess
we've all felt that, right? Oh, yeah. You paste
in your text, you type, rewrite this, and you
get back something that's, you know, grammatically
fine, maybe. But it just feels like it's missing
something. Soul, maybe. Right. The source has
a great way of putting this. It's like asking
a master chef to remake this sandwich. Huh? You'll
get back something technically well -made, sure,
but it's completely uninspired. It lacks direction.
That's such a good analogy. And the article really
digs into why that happens. It boils down to
rewrite being just too vague, I guess. Yeah,
that's totally it. According to the source, think
of AI as a prediction engine. When you give it
a vague command like rewrite, it defaults to
a safe average prediction. It's trying to guess
what you want. And the safest guess is usually
just a slightly polished version of the original.
Playing it safe. And the article makes a pretty
strong claim like if you're only using rewrite,
you're probably tapping into maybe only 10 %
of what AI could actually do with your text.
That's the source's argument. Yeah. You're dramatically
limiting its potential. The real power, they
say. comes from providing extraordinary context.
Okay. That's how you get extraordinary results.
Okay, let's unpack this a little. They use that
analogy of a film director guiding an inexperienced
but talented actor. The AI is the actor and you
are the director telling it exactly what role
to play, what emotion, what scene. Precisely.
You wouldn't just tell a brilliant actor to act.
You give them specific direction, character,
background, motivations. The source breaks down
what makes a truly great prompt into three essential
elements. Okay, what are they? First, you need
context or persona. Who should the AI be in this
interaction? Who is the intended audience? Right.
The source gives an example. You're a friendly
marketing expert writing for beginners. Gotcha.
Second, the specific task. What exactly do you
want it to do? Like, simplify this complex technical
description. Okay. And third, constraints or
format. What are the rules? What's the desired
style or output? Like, make it two short paragraphs.
Using a conversational tone. OK, got it. So rewrite
is just like a really blurry version of that
second part, the task. Exactly. It completely
misses the context and the constraints. Exactly.
It leaves the AI guessing on the most important
details. The article then revealed these 15 prompts,
which are essentially. powerful shortcuts they
pre -package a specific effective task and often
imply some context or constraints to guide the
ai much better than rewrite okay here's where
it gets really interesting let's jump into the
first group of props these are focused on transforming
the core content think changing length depth
maybe adding narrative form right first up is
the expander i feel like this is for when you've
written a sentence and it just feels Too thin.
Like it needs more meat on the bone. Totally.
The expander is your tool for those moments.
Its core purpose is to add detail, context, and
persuasion where a thought feels underdeveloped.
The source's prompt is simple but effective.
Expand on this simple sentence to explain it
in more detail, providing context and benefits.
Ah, context and benefits. Okay. Yeah. They show
a before example where a claim is just dated,
and the after version explains how it helps and
lists the benefits. It turns a weak statement
into something much more compelling, you know.
Right. So you'd use this when you have a heading
you need to flesh out into a paragraph or like
when you're describing a feature but need to
actually explain the benefit to the user. Exactly.
It forces the AI to build depth. And the pro
tip from the source is to guide the expansion
even further. How so? You can tell it what specific
context or benefits to focus on, like expand
on this, focusing on the benefits specifically
for busy parents, or expand on this, adding a
brief customer testimonial example. Oh, that's
good. More specific direction. Okay, moving on,
we have the summarizer. In today's information
overload world, this feels like a real superpower.
Oh, absolutely. The summarizer's goal is pure
efficiency. Cut through the noise and extract
the absolute core message. It's perfect for needing
something concise fast. The source's prompt is
super direct. Summarize this text in one single
concise sentence. Just one sentence. Yeah. Their
before and after example is a great demonstration.
It takes a paragraph full of steps and meetings
and deliberation and just gives you the one key
piece of information that actually matters. Right.
The final decision. Yeah. Gets rid of all the
fluff. So you could use this for condensing long
articles you've read, writing short bios, maybe
summarizing meeting notes. Or even crafting a
really quick, accurate summary of a long email
thread. Oh, yeah. The pro tip here is definitely
controlling the output length and format. Don't
just say summarize. Say summarize this in three
key bullet points or summarize this in under
50 words or summarize this as a tweet. Got it.
Controlling the container. The article makes
a point that the condenser and all is different
from summarize. How should we think about that
distinction? That's a key point from the source.
Summarizing is about the core meaning. Right.
It's okay if it leaves out details as long as
the main idea is there. Condensing, however,
is about reducing word count while trying to
retain as much of the original detail and nuance
as possible. Oh. It's like trimming verbal fat
without losing the muscle. Okay. Okay. The prompt
reflects this. Condense this paragraph into one
tight, efficient sentence. Without losing key
information. Without losing key information.
That's the key part. Exactly. Their example shows
taking a slightly wordy sentence with phrases
like various options are available to us and
making it leaner and more direct. But the core
facts are still there. Ah, okay. So this is for
editing existing sentences that are a bit verbose
or maybe when you need to meet a strict character
or word limit without losing important facts.
Exactly. Making your writing tighter and more
impactful sentence by sentence. The pro tip is
to give it a specific target for reduction. Condense
this paragraph to be under 50 words or condense
this sentence by 30 % while keeping the core
meaning. Awesome. And for this first group, we
have the storyteller. This one resonates, you
know, because humans are just like fundamentally
wired for stories. They really are. The storyteller's
power is taking abstract points and making them
memorable and relatable through narrative. Yeah.
It uses the prompt. Illustrate this point about
your abstract concept by adding a short, relatable
anecdote or story. I like that. Relatable. Right.
The sources before and after is great here. It
shows how just stating good advice isn't as impactful
as telling a short story that demonstrates that
advice in action. Totally. Stories stick with
people. Totally. So use this in blog posts to
make a point land, maybe speeches, explaining
product benefits in a more engaging way. Or making
complex educational content much more digestible
and sticky. The pro tip. Guide the narrative's
subject or tone. Illustrate this with a short
story about a struggling artist or add a brief,
slightly humorous anecdote. Nice. Okay, let's
switch gears to the next group. These prompts
are focused on clarity and understanding, essentially
making your text easier for your audience to
grasp. Makes sense. Number five is the simplifier.
This is for when the language you're using or
the source text is just way too complex for the
people you're trying to reach, right? Right.
The simplifier intentionally dials down the vocabulary
and sentence structure to a very basic level.
It's ideal when your audience is very general,
very young, or just completely new to a topic.
Okay. The prompt is straightforward. Simplify
this complex explanation so a fifth grader can
easily understand it. A fifth grader? Yeah. Their
example vividly shows this transformation, replacing
jargon like biochemical process or autotrophic
organisms with super simple everyday words like
sunlight and make their own food. Wow. It makes
complex ideas accessible to almost anyone. So
this is perfect for writing educational content
for kids, explainer scripts for a wide audience,
or anything where you need to strip away technical
layers. Exactly. And crucially, you can adjust
that target level in the prompt. Right. It doesn't
have to be fifth grade. Right. It could be simplify
this for a high school student or simplify this
for someone with absolutely no background in
technology. That's really practical. Okay, next
up is the clarity command. This sounds like the
prompt you use when you've written something
and you reread it and think, wait, is this actually
clear or am I just used to my own jargon? Yeah,
pretty much. The source says this is for exactly
that feeling. Or when someone has told you, I
don't quite get what this means. Its goal is
to instantly untangle confusing jargon or overly
complex sentences for a non -expert. The prompt
is simple. Clarify this sentence to make it much
easier for a non -expert to understand. Okay.
The before and after they provide is so clear.
Replacing enacted contingent on with the much,
much simpler will start once. Oh, huge difference.
Yeah. It demonstrates that immediate leap in
accessibility. This seems useful pretty much
any time you suspect confusion might arise, explaining
technical concepts, internal communications,
even clarifying something you read yourself before
trying to explain it to someone else. Totally.
It forces the AI to get rid of ambiguity. And
the pro tip is you can chain this. Like clarify
this, then reframe it as a question to check
understanding. I like that combo idea. OK. Seven
is the metaphor changer. And metaphors are super
powerful tools for explaining ideas. But sometimes
you pick one that just. doesn't quite land with
your audience right or maybe you want to explore
a different angle this prompt allows you to swap
out an existing metaphor for a better or different
one potentially changing the accessibility or
the emotional feel of your writing interesting
the source's prompt is quite detailed analyze
the core concept in this text then replace the
existing metaphor with a new more effective one
explain why the new one is better whoa it explains
why yeah What's cool here is the AI doesn't just
give you a new metaphor like command center in
their example. It also provides a brief explanation
of why that new metaphor might be better, linking
it to concepts like organization or workflow.
Wow. So it's not just creativity, but also explaining
the logic behind it. That's pretty neat. So use
this when explanations aren't clicking, brainstorming
different angles for a concept. Yeah. Finding
more creative or relatable ways to describe things.
The pro tip is to guide the AI's creativity.
Like how? You could say, replace the metaphor
with one related to cooking or suggest three
new analogies from different areas like sports,
nature, or technology. Okay, moving into the
next section, these prompts are all about controlling
the tone and voice, giving your text personality
emotional texture. Very important. Prompt number
eight, the formalizer. This is when you got to
sound, you know, serious, polished, authoritative.
Absolutely. This is your go -to for professional
contexts. Think formal emails, reports, official
announcements, academic writing. The prompt is
simply rewrite this message in a formal and professional
tone. Very forward. Yeah. Their before and after
is a perfect example of instantly swapping casual
slang for professional phrasing. It immediately
signals respect and gravity. Professional emails,
reports. Pretty self -explanatory. Yeah. Just
a quick pro tip from the source. Be careful not
to make it too stuffy. Ah, good point. You can
refine it by asking for formal but still approachable
if you want to avoid sounding completely robotic.
Good point. Don't want to go from casual to cardboard.
On the flip side, the informalizer. Because knowing
when to lighten up and be casual is just as important.
Totally. This is about sounding human, relatable,
and easygoing. It's how you build rapport in
less formal settings. Right. The prompt, make
this sentence more casual and conversational.
Okay. The source's example transforms a stiff
sentence into something that sounds like a real
person is talking. It uses contractions, similar
words, a friendlier vibe. Blog posts, social
media captions, internal team chats. Yeah. Anywhere
you want to sound like, well, yourself talking
to a friend. Yeah. And the pro tip here is fantastic.
Give the AI a specific persona to lean into.
Ooh, okay. Like make this more casual, like a
super enthusiastic fan sharing news with the
community or make this casual, but keep it encouraging.
Next, the humanizer. This feels especially relevant
when we're talking about AI, when writing might
be technically correct, but it just feels cold
or distant. Yeah, it's about injecting warmth,
empathy, personality, building connection on
an emotional level. Definitely do. The prompt
is, humanize this statement so it feels more
personal and empathetic. Okay. The source's before
and after shows how a sterile, factual statement
can be transformed into a promise of care and
understanding just by using more empathetic language.
It makes the reader feel seen and valued. This
seems critical for customer service responses,
about us pages, anytime you need to build trust
or rapport with someone reading your words. Absolutely.
It helps you avoid sounding robotic or uncaring.
The pro tip is to guide the emotion you want
to convey. Humanize this with a tone of deep
reassurance and understanding or humanize this
to convey genuine excitement. Number 11 is the
amplifier. For when you've got a sentence that's
okay, but you need it to have like more impact,
more punch. Yeah, turning up the volume on key
statements. It's about making phrases powerful
and memorable so they stick with the reader.
Got it. The prompt. Amplify this sentence to
make it sound more powerful and impactful. Okay.
Their example uses stronger adjectives and adverbs
faster than you'd expect. Difference almost right
away. To take a relatively weak claim and turn
it into a confident, attention -grabbing statement.
This is for headlines, taglines, introduction
sentences that need to grab attention, conclusions
that need to resonate. Exactly. When you need
a key message to really land hard. The source's
pro tip, though, is crucial. Use this strategically.
Right. Not every sentence needs to be amplified
or it just becomes noise or sounds like pure
hype. True. You can also temper it. Amplify this,
but keep it grounded and professional. Good reminder.
Okay. And 12, the modernizer. Because language
totally evolves, right? Phrasing that sounded
normal maybe 10 years ago can now sound. Kind
of stuffy or dated. It really can. The Modernizer
updates old text to sound current, clear, and
natural for today's context. The prompt is specific.
Modernize this phrase to sound current, clear,
and natural for a 2025 business context. Okay,
2025 context. Specific. The before and after
they show is perfect. It replaces outdated corporate
jargon with language that feels much more modern,
friendly, and collaborative. Much more like how
people actually communicate now. Updating old
documents, website copy that feels dusty, maybe
even refining your own writing if you tend to
lean on old -fashioned phrasing. Precisely. And,
just like the formalizer, specify the context.
Modernize this for a casual team chat. Or modernize
this for a friendly but professional email. Okay,
on to the final group of prompts. These alter
the perspective or the logical foundation of
the text. Alright, final stretch. 13 is the paraphraser.
This seems like a pretty foundational tool, especially
for things like academic work or just making
sure your content is original. It totally is.
Paraphrasing is the skill of taking an idea expressed
in one set of words and expressing it entirely
in new words while keeping the essential meaning
the same. It's fundamental for citing sources
correctly and avoiding plagiarism, but also just
for restating ideas in fresh ways. The prompt,
paraphrase this so it's completely original but
keeps the essential meaning. Okay. The sources
before and after clearly shows the same core
idea presented with completely different vocabulary
and sentence structure. It's that same meaning,
totally new words outcome. So citing sources,
coming up with unique descriptions, or just rephrasing
a sentence that feels clunky without losing the
point. Yeah. And the pro tip for getting a really
thorough rephrasing, add instructions to explicitly
change both the sentence structure and the vocabulary.
Ah, be explicit about changing both. Okay. Now,
number 14, the reframer. The article says this
is more profound than paraphrasing. It changes
the entire perspective. It does. This is a powerful,
persuasive technique. It's not just restating
the idea. It's about shifting the angle to focus
on the reader. You frame the information in terms
of their needs, their desires, highlighting the
direct benefit or feeling for them. The prompt.
Reframe this from the reader's point of view,
highlighting the direct benefit or feeling for
them. Okay, so really focusing on the what's
in it for me. for the reader exactly the sources
before and after is a fantastic illustration
it takes text that's focused on describing a
company or product and reframes it to focus entirely
on what that means for the user it answers the
reader's unspoken question why should i care
Wow. Okay. This is clearly huge for marketing
and sales copy, writing cover letters, persuasive
essays. Anytime you're trying to convince someone
to see things your way by showing them how it
benefits them. Precisely. It's about connecting
with the audience on a deeper level. And the
pro tip is to be specific about the reader's
mindset. Like? Reframe this for a busy executive
who only cares about ROI. Or reframe this for
a skeptical audience concerned about privacy.
Okay. The last one. 15. The argument stress tester.
Eric turning AI into like a critical thinking
sparring partner. That sounds pretty cool. It
really is. This prompt leverages AI to help you
strengthen your persuasive writing by actively
identifying and anticipating potential objections
or weaknesses in your argument. The source breaks
this prompt down into three clear parts. One,
identify the primary argument in the text. Two,
identify three strongest potential counter arguments
or weaknesses. And three, suggest improvements
to address those counter arguments. Wow. Okay.
That's quite specific. Yeah. The before and after
demonstrates the AI. acting as a red team, pointing
out exactly where your argument might be vulnerable
and then giving you concrete suggestions on how
to reinforce it, making your overall case much
stronger and more credible. This seems incredibly
useful for persuasive essays, business proposals,
preparing for presentations where you'll face
questions, or even prepping for a debate. Absolutely.
It's like having a built -in devil's advocate.
And the pro tip suggests asking the AI to adopt
a specific persona for the critique. Oh, cool.
Adopt the persona of a potential investor and
identify the weaknesses in this funding proposal.
Okay, so we've walked through all 15 of these
prompts. And the article notes that the real
magic, the God -tier level stuff, happens when
you start combining these, right? Absolutely.
The source calls it chaining prompts, using these
specific commands as building blocks for much
more complex tasks. Chaining, I like that. Yeah.
They give a great example, workflow. Imagine
you have a dense technical paragraph you need
to turn into a warm, engaging social media post.
Instead of just hitting rewrite, you could chain
several prompts. First, clarify the technical
text, then summarize the core idea, then humanize
it, maybe amplify a key benefit, and finally...
and formalize it for the platform. Oh, wow. That
makes so much sense. Instead of just hoping that
one vague rewrite command somehow knows to do
all those things, you're giving the AI a clear
step -by -step process, surgical precision. Exactly.
It's infinitely more powerful and yields much
more tailored results than relying on that single
ambiguous rewrite button. So I guess the big
takeaway from this article is pretty clear. Rewrite
is vague. It's old school. It's limiting. Yeah.
To get better, more sophisticated results from
AI writing, you need to give it better, more
specific input. And these 15 prompts, they're
your essential toolkit for that. That's totally
it. And the source's final point really drives
this home. These prompts help you shift from
being a passive requester, just asking for a
tweak, to becoming an active director of your
AI collaborator. Director, yeah. consciously
shaping the text with purpose, guiding its voice,
ensuring clarity, and adding power where needed.
That's a much more active role. Exactly. They
suggest, you know, don't feel like you have to
memorize all 15 at once. Just start small. Pick
one or two that feel relevant to a writing challenge
you're facing right now and try them out. Yeah,
that's really good advice. Just experiment. It
feels like even just trying one or two of these
could totally change how you approach AI writing.
It feels like unlocking a whole new level of
control. It is wild, isn't it? How just changing
your input, changing your prompt can make such
a massive difference in the output you get. Huge
difference. Like it completely shifts your role
from just asking for a slight tweak to actually
directing the creative process with the AI as
your tool. Right. Which leads to a fascinating
thought. What's fascinating here is if mastering
these specific prompts truly makes you a director
of AI writing, it raises a key question for the
human writer. What are the most important creative
or strategic skills that you, the human, need
to bring to that partnership? What's the indispensable
human piece in this collaboration? Something
to think about. Yeah, that's a really good point.
What do you bring to the director's chair? Exactly.
Well, that was a super insightful deep dive into
leveling up our AI writing game. Thanks for unpacking
all that with me. Always a pleasure. Learned
a lot myself. And thank you for joining us on
this deep dive. We'll catch you next time.