The 10 Best Business Prompts

Act as a McKinsey consultant. Analyse my business situation: [describe]. Give me: the 3 most critical issues to address, a prioritised action plan, and the single most important thing to do first.

You are the world's best copywriter. Write 5 completely different versions of [marketing asset] for [product/service], each testing a different psychological hook. Tell me which you'd A/B test first and why.

Act as a devil's advocate. I have decided to [decision]. Give me every reason this could fail. Be brutally honest. Then tell me how to mitigate the top 3 risks.

The 10 Best Creative Writing Prompts

Write the opening scene of a [genre] novel. The protagonist is [brief description]. The setting is [describe]. Start in medias res — right in the middle of action. Make the reader desperate to know what happens next.

Act as a writing coach. Rewrite this paragraph in 5 completely different styles: [paste paragraph]. Styles: (1) Hemingway, (2) Dickens, (3) contemporary literary fiction, (4) thriller-paced, (5) first person confessional. Then tell me which works best for my project and why.

The 10 Best Productivity Prompts

I have [X hours] today and these tasks: [list]. I am a [role]. Prioritise these tasks using first principles — not just urgency. Tell me what to do, what to delegate, what to defer, and what to delete. Be direct.

Act as my chief of staff. I will tell you my top 3 goals for this quarter: [goals]. Ask me 10 questions that will expose the gaps in my thinking, the actions I'm avoiding, and the assumptions I haven't questioned. Then summarise what you've learned about where I should focus.

The 10 Best Coding Prompts

Act as a senior engineer reviewing my code. Don't just fix bugs — tell me what this code reveals about my understanding of [language/framework]. Where am I thinking wrong? What would make this production-ready? Code: [paste]

Explain [complex concept] to me. Start with the simplest possible mental model. Then build up layer by layer until I understand the advanced version. Use analogies from everyday life. Check my understanding by asking me a question at the end.

The Ultimate Meta-Prompt

The Most Powerful Prompt of All: Before starting any complex task, use this: 'You are [expert role]. I need [specific outcome]. Ask me everything you need to know to give me an exceptional result. Start with your most important question.'

The most underrated ChatGPT skill is iteration. A good first prompt gets you 70% of the way there — follow-up prompts get you to 100%. Never accept the first output without asking: 'What would make this 50% better? Now make it so.'

Browse our full library: All 50 Prompt Guides →

Getting the Best Results

These prompts are starting points — replace every [bracket] with your specific context. The more detail you provide, the more tailored the output.

Pro Tip: Always iterate. Follow up with: 'Make this more concise', 'Add a UK-specific angle', or 'Give me 3 alternative versions'. AI excels at refinement.

More guides: Prompt Engineering Guide · Best Prompts of 2025 · All Guides