The idea
Most requests start fuzzy. You know you want “a better website” or “some kind of workshop”, but not what that means yet. Instead of asking for an answer, ask the AI to interview you. It asks one question at a time, builds on what you say, and stops when it can tell you, in a few sentences, what you want, why, who it's for and how you'll know it's done.
Why it works
A vague start forces every later step to guess, and the guesses add up. Questions bring out what you already know but hadn't said. It's also easier to answer a good question than to write a complete brief from a blank page. The interview writes the brief with you.
The style matters. A good interviewer follows what you seem to care about, asks what you mean by words like “simple” or “affordable”, and asks for an example when you're vague. A bad one runs through a generic checklist.
How to do it
- Write your rough idea in one or two sentences. Don't polish it.
- Paste the prompt below with your idea in it.
- Answer each question honestly, even with “I don't know”. That's useful too.
- When it offers options, pick one or say “something else” and explain.
- When it plays back the summary, correct anything that's off. Then ask for the plan, the draft or a complete brief built from it.
I want to [rough idea]. Don't suggest anything yet. Interview me first.
How to interview me:
- Ask one question at a time, and build each question on my last answer.
- When I'm vague ("simple", "affordable", "professional"), ask what I mean or ask for an example.
- When I'm stuck, give me 2 to 4 specific options to pick from, plus "something else".
- Skip generic checklists. Ask only what matters for this idea.
Stop when you can say, in a short paragraph, what I want, why, who it's for and how I'll know it's done. Show me that paragraph and ask: "Is this right, or should we keep going?"Worked example
A hardware store's weekend workshops
Marcus owns a small hardware store and wants to “do something with workshops”. The AI's first question: “Who do you picture walking in on a Saturday morning: first-time homeowners, experienced DIYers or kids with a parent?” Marcus says first-time homeowners. Next: “What do they usually come in confused about?” He says caulking, patching drywall and fixing a running toilet. Then: “When you say the workshops should ‘pay for themselves’, do you mean the fee covers your time, or that people buy supplies afterwards?” He hadn't decided, and saying it out loud settled it: supplies. After seven questions it played back: monthly one-hour Saturday sessions for new homeowners, one repair each, a small fee, a supply list at the end, done when ten people sign up for the first one. Marcus changed “monthly” to “every other week” and asked for a flyer.
Common mistakes
- Letting it fire ten questions at once. Say “one at a time” again.
- Answering “whatever you think”. That hands the guess back to the AI.
- Never stopping. If the questions stop changing anything, ask for the summary.
- Skipping the playback. The summary paragraph is where you catch a misunderstanding cheaply.
- Using it for small jobs. A two-line email doesn't need an interview.
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