AI as Your “Practice Partner”

Think of ChatGPT/Gemini/Claude (choose your favorite AI chatbot) as a practice partner.

Just like you wouldn’t expect a basketball teammate to score every point, you shouldn’t expect AI to hand you flawless drafts.

You’ll get the most value from these tools with a bit of back-and-forth → part of what is known as the 10-80-10 rule.

Try this sequence when you’re stuck:

1. “I need an opening paragraph for an email to [specific person] about [specific problem]. They care about [what they actually care about], not [what you think they should care about].”
   
   
2. “Take version 2 and make it less formal. I sound like a robot right now. You can use my style guide as reference.” [attach style guide]
   
   
3. “Trim this to just two sentences. Keep the part about [the thing that matters]. Cut everything else.”
   
   

By stacking continuation prompts (see AI Quick Tips #27), you refine your draft the way a coach refines a play: step by step, until it works.

We Cover The 10-80-10 Rule In This Video:

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