Tools I use · Grilling
Let AI question your plan
Most AI chats say your plan is great. A better move: tell the AI to ask you the hard questions first. In 15 minutes, you learn how, and you get a prompt to paste.
- Plan
- What you want to do, and how. A few lines are enough.
- Grilling
- Hard questions, a few at a time, until the weak parts show. Like a coach in practice.
- Round
- A short set of questions, up to 4. You answer, then the next round starts.
- Branch
- One decision that leads to more decisions. "Where to sell" leads to "what to charge".
01 · The question
A cookie stall, and an AI that says yes
You want to sell homemade cookies at the Saturday market. You write your plan to an AI and ask: "Is this a good plan?"
The AI says: "Great idea! Here are 5 tips." You feel good. You buy 40 kilos of flour.
Nobody asked about the stall permit. Nobody asked how many cookies sell in one day. You find out on Saturday.
First, a quick guess.
02 · Your guess
You send your plan and ask "Is it good?". What does the AI usually do?
A wrong guess costs nothing. Guessing first helps you remember the answer. Pick one to open the next part of the lesson.
03 · The 5 steps
How a grilling session runs
Press Next step to see each step. Steps 2 to 4 repeat until no question is left.
04 · Remember
A hard question costs a minute now. A wrong plan costs much more later.
You cannot see your own blind spots. The AI can ask what you forgot.
But it only does that if you tell it to. Your first message sets the job.
On the court
Before a game, the coach asks: "What if they press us full court?" You want the answer in practice, not in the last minute.
In the cockpit
Pilots read a checklist before every takeoff. It feels slow. It catches the one thing you forgot.
Moving house
A friend asks: "Does the sofa fit through the door?" You want to hear it before the van comes.
A good grilling prompt has 3 parts
- Questions first. Say: "Ask me questions about my plan before you give any advice."
- Rounds and a best answer. Say: "Ask up to 4 at a time. Give your best answer to each."
- Do not start yet. Say: "Look up facts yourself. Do not build or write the final plan until I say we agree."
Why does the AI give its own answer too?
A blank question is hard to answer on a phone. A suggested answer lets you say yes, or fix it in one line. You also see where the AI is guessing. This is how my grilling skill works.
05 · Two checks
Pass two checks to finish
A miss is fine. Each miss gives you a new case.
Check 1 of 2 · Which message grills best?
Check 2 of 2 · Fix the message
Rewrite this weak message so it grills. Use all 3 parts: questions first, small rounds with a best answer, and a wait.
This checker looks for words only. It is not a real AI.
06 · Tell a friend
Before you build anything
Say it in your own words. Here is a version you can use:
The one-minute version
"When I have a plan, I do not ask an AI if it is good. It will say yes. I tell it to grill me. It asks 4 hard questions at a time, and gives its own best answer to each. I fix what is wrong. My answers open new questions. When nothing is left, I have a list of decisions. Only then do I build."
Try it today · 5 minutes · free
Open any AI chat. Write 3 lines about a plan you have. Then paste this under it:
Grill me on the plan above. Ask up to 4 questions at a time, numbered. Give your best answer to each. Look up facts yourself and ask me only for my choices. If I say "I do not know", suggest a small test. Do not build or write anything until I say we agree. When no question is left, make a one-page list of my decisions.| Round | Up to 4 questions. |
| Best answer | The AI suggests. You accept or fix it. |
| "I do not know" | Becomes a small test. |
| "We agree" | The only words that start the build. |
Check: did the AI ask something you had not thought about? That is the grill working.
Stuck? Ask the AI: "Explain your last question like I am new." This is how I do it: I say "grill me" and my grilling skill runs. It also makes the one-page sheet.
Grilling checks your thinking. It does not replace a real test with real customers.
Get this skill
grilling: Made by Matt Pocock. I use it as it is. Free, on his GitHub.