AI Usage · No-Coders Module 4 of 7

🔒 This module opens once you've passed the one before it.

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Module 4 · about 10 minutes

Getting a second brain

Two habits that turn the AI from a typist into a thinking partner: ask it what you should be asking, and borrow other people's eyes.

Before asking for the answer, ask "what should I be asking?" Then get a second pair of eyes on the result. The virtual colleagues are those eyes.
  • 1 · Reverse-asking
  • 2 · The colleagues
  • 3 · Pick the lens
  • 4 · Quick quiz
  • 5 · One thing to remember

1 Reverse-asking: let it interview you first

Most of the time we ask for the finished thing straight away. But the AI is very good at something else too: spotting what's missing from your brief. So flip it. Before you ask for the email, ask what it would need to know to write a good one.

You

I need to write a follow-up email to a client after a slightly rocky call. Before you write anything, ask me the five questions you'd need answered to do it well.

AI

Happy to. Five quick ones:

1. What made the call rocky, in one sentence?
2. What did you agree to do, and by when?
3. How formal is your relationship with this person?
4. Is there anything you must not promise or mention?
5. What do you want them to do after reading the email?

You

1. Support replies were slow last month and she said so. 2. Named support contact from Monday, revised timeline by Friday. 3. Friendly, first names. 4. Don't promise response times or launch dates. 5. Confirm she's happy with Friday for the timeline.

Look what just happened: you filled in all four building blocks from module 3 without even trying, and you noticed a rule ("don't promise response times") you'd have forgotten. Now say "great, write it" and you're done.

Three reverse-asks worth memorising:
• "Before you answer, what do you need to know from me?"
• "What am I not thinking about here?"
• "What questions would a picky client ask about this?"

2 The virtual colleagues: five lenses on the same document

Once you have a draft, the second habit is to look at it through someone else's eyes. You and your first draft share the same blind spots. Someone with a different job doesn't.

That's what the virtual colleagues are for. Each one is a different way of reading the same thing. If your AI tool has them set up, pick one by name. If not, just describe the lens in a sentence — it works the same way.

How to ask for a lens, word for word: "Read this as Maya would: list anything that reads like a commitment or could cause trouble. Don't rewrite it yet, just list." The "don't rewrite" matters: you want the feedback first, so you decide what changes.
A lens is a second opinion, not a decision. When Maya's lens flags something legal, or John's lens flags a number, that is your cue to take it to the real human who owns that area. The AI colleague found the question. A person gives the answer.

3 Mini-game · Pick the lens

Here's Mari's proposal draft for Nordic Play. At a glance it reads fine. It's also hiding a few problems. Five rounds: in each one you have a worry about the draft. Pick the colleague whose eyes would catch it best, and see what they say.

The draft

Dear Anna, Further to our recent discussion, please find below our proposal for the deployment of three titles to the Nordic Play platform. We are confident that our comprehensive solution will meet your requirements. We guarantee a 24-hour support response time for all tickets. Under the proposed terms (12% revenue share as per the draft agreement), we anticipate a successful partnership. Our team stands ready to commence at your earliest convenience. Kind regards, Mari

Round 1 of 5

4 Quick quiz

Six questions, 80% to pass (5 out of 6). Options shuffle every attempt. Nothing is recorded until you pass.

One thing to remember

Ask "what should I be asking?" before you ask. Then borrow a colleague's eyes before you send.

Pass the quiz to open module 5.