Pressure-test a decision with AI before you commit

What do you need before you start?

You need a decision you have not locked in, the plan you like right now, and the facts only you know. A free chat is enough. ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude all work. Plan on about 15 minutes, including the time to read the reply.

• The decision in one sentence, and the plan you currently like
• Facts you can point to: dates, people, limits, and what already went wrong
• One line for what you have not checked yet

Leave out customer names, account numbers, and anything your company says not to paste. If this chat is not approved for the work, use the tool your company named.

This page is a way to think. It does not choose for you. If the decision is medical, legal, or about money you cannot afford to get wrong, use the chat only to list questions, then talk to a qualified person. If a class is involved, follow your school's AI policy. Do not turn in words the chat wrote.

How do you name the decision and paste only the facts you have?

A vague decision gets a pep talk. Name the choice, the plan you like, and the facts. If a fact is missing, leave it missing. The chat does not get to fill the blank.

Work. A launch that is already messy. The date slipped once. Someone on the team is already full. You still like the original plan. Fill the brackets with what you know. Leave the rest as MISSING.

Do not pick an option for me. I will decide.

Decision: whether to [slip the date / cut scope / bring in extra help] for [project].
Plan I like right now: [one or two sentences].
Facts I already have:
- Deadline: [date, or MISSING]
- People: [who is on it, and who is already full]
- What already slipped: [the real miss]
- What cannot move: [the constraint]
- What I have not checked: [the open question]

Restate the decision and the plan in two sentences, using only these facts.
List any fact that is still MISSING.
Do not add dates, people, money, or a recommendation.

Life. A small Saturday choice. Same rules. The chat does not invent a price or a reservation.

Do not pick an option for me. I will decide.

Decision: [have people over, or keep Saturday quiet].
Plan I like right now: [one sentence].
Facts:
- Who would be there: [names, or a count]
- Time I actually have: [hours, or MISSING]
- What I will not do: [the limit]
- Money I already set aside: [amount, or none]

Restate the decision and the plan in two sentences, using only these facts.
List any fact that is still MISSING.
Do not invent hours, prices, or reservations.

How do you ask for options and the tradeoff?

Send this in the same chat, after Step 1. Two or three options is enough to see a real difference. A long list is a stall.

Using only the facts from my last message, give me 2 or 3 options.
Do not rank them. Do not pick one. I will decide.

For each option, include:
- what we would do, in one sentence
- the tradeoff (what we give up)
- the cost in time or people, using only facts I typed. If that cost is not in my notes, write COST UNKNOWN
- one way this option fails

If a fact is missing, write MISSING. Do not invent a date, a name, a number, or a price.

How do you ask it to argue against the plan?

Agreement is not a review. This pass is the skeptical one. Paste the plan you like, even if you already typed it once.

Argue against the plan I like. Do not soften it, and do not agree with me to be helpful.

Plan: [paste the "plan I like" line from Step 1].
Use only the facts from my earlier message.

Give me:
1. The 3 strongest reasons a careful person would reject this plan. For each reason, name the fact you used.
2. What I might be wrong about.
3. An UNSURE list. Any claim you cannot tie to a fact I typed goes here. Do not fill a gap with a new fact.

Do not pick an option. Do not add a recommendation at the end. I will decide.

How do you mark unsure claims and write the decision yourself?

The labels help you see what wandered in. They are not the check. You still read the lines. Then you write the decision in your own words, and the chat only restates what you wrote.

List every name, date, number, and cost in your last reply.
Mark each one FROM ME, UNSURE, or NOT FROM ME.
Delete the NOT FROM ME lines and show the options again.
Leave the tradeoffs and the case against the plan.
Do not pick an option. Do not rank the list.

After you choose, paste your own sentence. The chat does not get a vote.

I am choosing this, in my words: [the option you picked, and the one reason].
Rewrite that as a short note I can read back to myself, under 80 words.
Use only the facts I typed and the lines I kept.
Do not add a new option. Do not tell me to switch.
If this decision is medical, legal, or about money that needs a qualified person, stop. Say to talk to that person. Do not draft the note.

What should you check before you use it?

Answer each line before you act on the reply. If one is still a no, the reply is not ready.

Director check: look before you use it

• Can you point to where you typed each fact? If you cannot, cut that line.
• Did the chat pick the option? A ranking, a "best" label, or a closing recommendation is the chat deciding. Delete that part. You decide.
• Did it argue against the plan, or only agree? If it only agreed, run Step 3 again.
• Are unsure claims marked? An unmarked claim you did not type is not ready to repeat out loud.
• Is this medical, legal, or high-stakes money? Stop. This is a thinking pass. Talk to a qualified person before you act.
• Is this for a class? This page does not do the assignment. Follow your school's AI policy.

What is one extra tip?

When the reply only agrees with you, use Stop the yes-man reply. When you do not have a favorite yet and need the options first, use Ask for options and tradeoffs before you decide. The same habit of one task and no invented facts is Write prompts that get useful work. If the decision depends on sources you have not opened, start with Research a topic with AI without trusting made-up facts. More work guides are on Work.