Power-user Multi-tool 6 min read · free

Prompt patterns worth stealing

A cheat sheet of reusable patterns that lift almost any answer you get.

The short answer

Keep a few reusable moves: 'ask me questions first', 'give me 3 options and a recommendation', 'critique this like a skeptic then fix it', 'show your reasoning'. Stack two or three into one prompt.

You don't need a thousand memorised prompts. A handful of reusable patterns cover most of what you'll ever ask, and once they're second nature you get better output from any model on almost any task. Think of them as moves you reach for instinctively, not scripts.

Beginner

Learn the core moves

Start with a few that fix the most common failures. 'Ask me questions first' makes the model gather context instead of guessing. 'Give me three options and a recommendation' beats a single take you can't compare. 'Explain it like I'm smart but new' gets clarity without being talked down to. Just having these in your back pocket changes how you interact — you steer instead of accepting the default.

Intermediate

Add the self-checking patterns

The next tier make the AI check its own work, which is where quality jumps. 'Critique this like a skeptic, then fix it' turns one prompt into a draft-and-review cycle. 'Show your reasoning, then the answer' lets you catch flawed logic. 'What would make this wrong?' surfaces risks before you commit. Models are often better at evaluating an answer than producing a perfect one first time — so ask for both, in sequence.

Advanced

Stack and compose them

The real leverage is composition — chaining patterns into one prompt that runs a whole workflow. 'Ask me three questions, then give three options with a recommendation, then tell me what could go wrong' is an entire consulting engagement in one message. The advanced habit is minting your own: whenever you give the same kind of instruction twice, name it and reuse it.

1Learn the core moves until they're automatic.
2Reach for the self-checking ones — 'critique then fix', 'what would make this wrong?'
3Stack two or three into a single prompt for a whole workflow.
4When you repeat an instruction often, name it and reuse it.

Pattern prompts to steal

promptBefore you answer, ask me up to 3 questions that would most change your response. Then answer.

promptGive me 3 distinct options for [decision], with the trade-offs of each and a clear recommendation.

promptCritique this like a skeptic — the 3 biggest weaknesses — then rewrite it to fix them: [paste].

promptShow your reasoning step by step first, then give the final answer, so I can check the logic: [problem].

promptWhat would have to be true for this to be wrong, and what should I check before I rely on it? [paste].

promptExplain [topic] like I'm smart but new to it, with one analogy and one concrete example.

promptAsk me 3 clarifying questions, then give me 3 options with a recommendation, then tell me the main risk of your pick — all for [task].

promptTake my plain request below and rewrite it as a stronger prompt that includes a role, the key context, the format I want, and a self-check step — then explain what you added: [paste my request].

💡 Chaining two or three patterns into one prompt is where the real leverage lives.

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