The "Interview Me" Prompting Strategy: Stay in the Driver's Seat and Retain Your Own Voice When Co-Writing With AI

You’ve heard about how AI can be more than just a tool – it can also be your collaborative partner. But how do you put that abstract concept into concrete practice? And how do you avoid using ChatGPT and other AI-based writing tools to churn out text that gets the job done but at the cost of sacrificing your unique voice for generic, AI-generated blandness?

Enter the "Interview Me” prompting strategy, a simple and practical approach for engaging in truly collaborative writing with AI in a way that keeps you in the driver’s seat and leverages AI as your muse and assistant – not your replacement. It’s a technique and mindset that ensures your written pieces scream “you” from start to finish, while taking full advantage of the speed and idea-generating power of AI.

AI-Generated Text: Fast and Bland

Have you ever wondered how most writers are using AI today? It's like having a supercharged typewriter that doesn't just type but also thinks – sort of. Writers feed a topic, and voilà, the AI spits out paragraphs. Sounds magical, right? But here's the rub: while these AI tools are fast and know how to churn out text that’s grammatical and on-point, they often miss the mark on one crucial element – the writer's unique voice.

I’m sure you’ve read an article and felt that it could have been written by anyone, anywhere. That's the AI conundrum – efficiency at the cost of personality. Your voice, the very essence that makes your writing distinctly yours, gets lost in translation. And the reader leaves the experience feeling like they’ve just eaten unsalted popcorn.

Yet the power of today’s AI, driven by large language models (LLMs), holds out the promise of being the most powerful innovation for the creation and dissemination of the written word since the Gutenberg printing press – if only we as writers could figure out how to leverage AI for what it does best without sacrificing the personal touch that imbues our work with our own unique spirit.

Enter the "Interview Me” prompting strategy – a fresh approach that promises to keep your writing as authentically you as your handwritten signature.

What is the “Interview Me” Prompting Strategy?

So, what exactly is the "Interview Me” prompting strategy"? Think of it as having a conversation with your AI, but with a twist. Instead of just asking the AI to write something for you, you turn the tables. You become the interviewee, and the AI, your interviewer.

Here's the crux of it: The strategy involves a two-step dance. First, the AI asks you questions about your topic – not just the what, but the how and why. These questions are designed to dig deep, to unearth your unique insights and perspectives on the subject. It's like peeling an onion, layer by intriguing layer, revealing the core of your thoughts.

The second step? The AI takes your responses and transforms them into a structured outline. It's not creating content on its own; it's organizing and refining your ideas. Think of it as a skilled and supportive writing coach who listens to your ideas – the essence of your work – and helps to draw them out from you without ever substituting his own vision or voice. Your ideas, your voice, your style – they're all there, just more polished and coherent.

If you want to enlist the AI in wordsmithing as well, you can do that using the same “Interview Me” approach, but that is optional. You might choose instead to use the outline as a launchpad from which to write your piece the old fashioned way (no quill and inkwell required).

What sets the "Interview Me Prompting Strategy" apart from standard AI writing methods is that it is designed to help you to write better, not to do the writing for you. You're always in control, always the primary author. The AI is just there to elicit, organize, and enhance your ideas and natural storytelling abilities.

Benefits of the Interview Me Prompting Strategy

Why use the “Interview Me” prompting strategy? Here's the standout benefits this approach brings to your writing table:

1. Keeping Your Voice in the Limelight: The biggest win? Your voice doesn't just survive; it thrives. Every word, every sentence reflects your unique style and personality. It's like having a personal editor who knows exactly how to amplify your voice without changing it.
2. Supercharged Brainstorming: Ever feel stuck staring at a blank page? The AI's questions in this strategy work like a brainstorming session on steroids. They prompt you to think deeper, explore new angles, and uncover ideas you didn't even know you had. It's like having a muse that knows exactly which buttons to push.
3. Clarity Like Never Before: Confused thoughts? Scattered ideas? The AI sorts them out. By organizing your responses into a coherent outline, the AI helps bring a crystal-clear focus to your narrative. It's like putting on glasses and seeing your ideas in 20/20 vision for the first time.
4. Synergy with AI: This puts the lofty goal of human-AI collaboration into a simple, practical, and concrete form. You bring the creative genius; the AI brings its organizational prowess, speed, and ceaseless energy. Together, you create something neither could achieve alone. It's a partnership where 1 + 1 equals 3.

The “Interview Me” prompting strategy creates a partnership where your unique voice and ideas take center stage, guided and sharpened by AI's organizational skills and indefatigable energy. It guarantees a writing process where your personal style is not only preserved but celebrated, your brainstorming sessions are invigorated, and your thoughts are crystalized with clarity.

Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing the Strategy

At this point, I’m sure you’re asking, “Where is this ‘Interview Me’ prompting strategy you’ve been promising and how do I put it into action?” Here's your step-by-step guide to making AI your writing sidekick while keeping your voice front and center:

1. Setting the Stage: Start by introducing your topic to the AI. Be clear about your main idea or question. This sets the direction for the AI's questions and ensures relevance.
2. Initiating the Interview: This is the heart of the method. Instruct the AI to interview you. Tell it to ask you questions whose answers would be helpful in creating the best possible document about your topic, and not to do any writing itself unless and until you explicitly ask it to do so. By doing this, you prod the AI to be your coach and assistant, rather than your replacement.
3. The Interview Begins: Engage with the AI as it starts questioning you about your topic. These questions are designed to explore various dimensions of your subject. Think of it as a friendly interrogation, where each question nudges your creativity and thought process. Feel free to tell the AI that some questions are irrelevant if that’s the case.
4. Your Responses, Your Goldmine: Answer the AI's questions as thoroughly as possible. Your responses are the raw materials from which your masterpiece will be sculpted. Don't hold back – the more detailed your answers, the richer the content for your outline. (Bonus: ask the AI to suggest potential answers if you get stuck.)
5. Crafting the Outline: Once the interview is complete, ask the AI to organize your responses into an outline or a list of key topics or ideas. This is where the AI’s ability to structure and categorize comes into play. You'll see your scattered thoughts transform into a clear, logical structure.
6. Refinement and Personalization: Go through the AI-generated outline. Here's where you add your final touches, refine ideas, and ensure everything aligns perfectly with your vision, whether manually or in collaboration with the AI. It's your work, with the AI as your assistant, ensuring the end product is polished and cohesive.

Remember, the magic of this strategy lies in the partnership between your creative mind and the AI’s organizational skills. It's about turning the AI from a writer into a facilitator of your writing process.

Overcoming Challenges and Limitations

Embracing the “Interview Me” prompting strategy sounds exciting, and I’ve personally benefited from it, but let's address the elephant in the room – challenges and limitations. Here’s how to navigate these waters:

1. Initial Learning Curve: Getting the hang of this strategy might take a moment. It's a bit like learning to dance. At first, you might step on a few toes – yours and the AI's. But with practice, the rhythm and flow will come naturally. The good news is that the AI won’t get impatient with you along the way.
2. Optimizing AI Interaction: Not every AI question will hit the bullseye. Sometimes, you might need to nudge the AI or rephrase your answers to get to the core of your ideas. It's a collaborative effort, and like any good team, you and the AI will need to find your groove.
3. AI Limitations: Remember, AI is brilliant but not infallible. It might misinterpret nuances or lack the depth of human experience. Be prepared to fill in these gaps. Your expertise and personal touch are what bring life to the AI's structure.
4. Fine-Tuning Your Responses: The quality of your AI-assisted outline hinges on your responses. Be as detailed and clear as possible, while speaking in your own voice. The AI can't read your mind (yet!), so the more you give, the more you get.
5. Patience is Key: Like any good craft, writing with AI takes patience. There will be trial and error, but each iteration is a step toward a masterpiece.

The key takeaway? The “Interview Me” prompting strategy is a new and powerful arrow to add to your quiver, not a silver bullet. It won’t do all of the work for you or be perfect, but if you came here because you were looking for an approach that doesn’t cede your agency or voice to AI, you probably won’t mind a process that can be messy and imperfect.

Here’s to Co-Creating

The “Interview Me” prompting strategy is now yours to explore and master. Happy writing, and here’s to the fantastic stories you're about to unfold in your wondrous and unique voice – with just a little help along the way.

To see the "Interview Me" prompting strategy in action, see a sample transcript of me using the strategy to co-create an article with ChatGPT in a longer version of the above article on my website .