Say what angle you want
2 min read
You'll see advice to start every prompt with "You are an expert…". Newer AI models mostly don't need that. What helps more is saying what angle you want: practical or thorough, cautious or blunt, for a beginner or for someone who's done this before.
A short role can still be a handy shortcut. "Answer like a patient tutor" brings small steps and checking in. But it's the angle doing the work, not the job title.
Keep it honest, though. A role changes how it writes, not what it knows. Calling it a doctor doesn't make its medical advice safe to rely on.
Instead of
is my sourdough starter dead
Try
I'm a nervous beginner. My sourdough starter has a gray liquid on top and smells sharp, like nail polish. Tell me plainly whether it's dead and what to do next, in short steps.
No job title needed. Saying who you are and how you want it told set the tone. The specific facts — gray liquid, sharp smell — did the actual diagnosing.