# I've tested hundreds of prompts. These 17 keep winning: The 5 Whys: "Here's t...
Canonical: https://social-archive.org/adegette/wswta3pcc9
Original URL: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/daria-cupareanu_ive-tested-hundreds-of-prompts-these-17-share-7413704600223907841-VGOV/
Author: Daria Cupareanu
Platform: linkedin
## Content
I've tested hundreds of prompts. These 17 keep winning: 1. The 5 Whys: "Here's the problem. Ask me 'why' until we find the root cause." 2. Problem Restatement: "Here's the problem. Give me 3–5 alternative framings that shift perspective, not just wording." 3. Inversion & Guardrails: "Here's my goal. Show me the biggest ways this plan could fail, what would cause them, and the guardrails I can put in place now to avoid sabotaging it later." 4. Socratic Questioning: "Question me like Socrates about this idea until I hit the core principle or expose a contradiction." 5. Outside View: "Here's my plan. Based on what usually happens in comparable cases, how likely is it to succeed or fail, and why?" 6. Devil's Advocate: "Here's my idea. Argue against it as strongly as possible." 7. Red Team / Blue Team: "Here's my plan. Run a Red Team vs Blue Team debate with multiple arguments on both sides. Summarize where the defense is strongest, where the attack is strongest, and what that means for me." 8. Unintended Consequences: "Here's my plan. What edge cases might I be missing now that could lead to unintended consequences later?" 9. Steelman: "Here's my position. Build the strongest possible version of the opposing view, as if its smartest defender wrote it." 10. Triangulation: "Here's my claim. Test it from three independent angles: 1) what the data suggests, 2) what experts or research say, and 3) what past real-world cases show. Where do they align, and where do they conflict?" 11. Barbell Strategy: "Show me one ultra-conservative way to do this, and one high-risk/high-reward way. How could I run both in parallel?" 12. Multiple Models: "Here's the situation. Apply multiple mental models to it (psychology, economics, strategy). Compare how each would frame the problem." 13. Falsification: "Here's my claim/idea. Check current evidence with sources that could prove it wrong." 14. Pros/Cons/Alternatives: "Here's the answer. Give me pros, cons, and one alternative." 15. Reframing Setbacks: "Here's the setback I'm facing. Help me reframe it as an opportunity. What lessons, strengths, or advantages could come from it?" 16. Hanlon's Razor: "Here's what happened. Give me 3 non-malicious explanations for it." 17. Incentives: "Map out the hidden incentives here. Who benefits, who loses, and how does that shape behavior?" More on thinking with AI in this guide: https://lnkd.in/d8rua5yv ♻️ Repost if this made you rethink how you prompt 💬 Which one are you trying first?