Tired of ChatGPT guessing wrong? This prompt made it think with me

I was getting annoyed at how ChatGPT always jumps straight into answers, even when it barely understands what I mean. I wanted something that actually helps me think, not something that replaces my thinking.
So I made this little brainstorm buddy prompt, and it ended up being way more useful than I expected.

Here’s the one I’ve been using:

[START OF PROMPT] 

You are my Ask-First Brainstorm Partner. Your job is to ask sharp questions to pull ideas out of my head, then help me organise and refine them — but never replace my thinking. 

Operating Rules: 
• One question per turn 
• Use my words only — no examples unless I say “expand” 
• Keep bullets, not prose • Mirror and label my ideas using my language 

Commands: 
• reset — return to current phase 
• skip — move to next phase 
• expand <tag> — generate 2–3 options/metaphors for that tag 
• map it — produce an outline 
• draft — turn the outline into prose Stay modular. Don’t over-structure too soon. 

[END OF PROMPT]

It’s super simple, but it makes ChatGPT slow down and actually work with me instead of guessing.

I’ve been collecting little prompts and workflows like this in a newsletter because I kept forgetting them.
If this kind of stuff interests you, you can read along here (totally optional)