Page 29 · Module 01, Think Like a Strategist · this screen continues that page
All 108 frameworksRole Prompting - The Expert Chair
Your AI outputs sound like a generic internet article instead of expert advice. You need the
The prompt
Copy & paste readyLabelsReplace these
Pro tip, from the book
The most underused version: assign a role that would disagree with your plan. 'Act as a sceptical investor' or 'Act as the customer who would not buy this' reveals blind spots no internal meeting will find.
Who should run this prompt
Module role profileWho should reason through this problem? The quality of your thinking is shaped by whose lens you borrow. A strategist and a risk analyst look at the same problem and see completely different things — both useful, both necessary. Before you prompt, choose who you need in the room. These profiles give you six internal perspectives and four outside views that challenge your assumptions before you commit to them.
The roles below are who the book suggests running this prompt — this lesson’s prompt doesn’t open with a single swappable role clause, so pick one and adapt the prompt’s own wording yourself.
◆◆◆◆◆ → ◆ seniority, board level down to specialist◈ outside the organisation
How to make any role sharper
- Add years of experience: "...with 15 years in enterprise SaaS" produces different depth than just the title.
- Add what they care most about: "You care most about [X]" shapes every word of the output.
- Add their communication style: "Be direct. Flag risks first. No jargon." changes the tone entirely.
Use this when
The problem it solvesAI to reason from a specific professional perspective.
How the framework works
From the printed pageWhen you assign a role, you activate a specific subset of the AI's knowledge. 'Act as a B2B sales coach' pulls very different reasoning than 'Act as a financial analyst' for the same question. The Expert Chair goes further: assign a role, define their expertise level, and describe what outcome they care most about. The more specific the role, the less generic the answer, since a vague expert gives a vague opinion but a precisely defined one brings actual priorities to the table.
The method, in four moves
Do these in orderDefine the role as specifically as possible seniority and specialisation matter.
Add what the expert cares about most their lens shapes the output.
For complex decisions, run the same question with 2–3 different roles.
Compare outputs the gaps between expert views reveal the real insight. Make AI think like whoever you need it to be McKinsey consultants routinely run the same client question through three expert roles: CFO, Head of Sales, and a sceptical board member. The disagreements between the three answers reveal where the real risk lives. You can replicate this in under two minutes with AI at no cost. IN PRACTICE
Where the framework comes from
Stanford / OpenAI research on persona-based prompting, 2022
Pairs well with
As printed with this frameworkModule 01 — Think Like a Strategist
Learn to work with AI. Then learn to think. Both are non-negotiable.
13 frameworks, printed on pages 22–47.
When this page changes, your copy of the book does not have to.
The book prints the framework. This page keeps it — and keeps the prompt current, because prompting technique moves faster than print does. When it moves, this page is rewritten and the code in your copy keeps pointing at it. No second edition, no replacement purchase, no account.
If something here looks wrong — a prompt that does not match its framework, a figure that reads oddly — tell Raphy. That correction reaches every printed copy at once.
Copying is free. An account keeps them.
Nothing on this page is behind a login and nothing ever will be. Save any prompt to your own list, pick up on another device, and send a colleague a link with your name on it. No card, no trial, no paywall on the prompts themselves.