AI Crash Course, Call 1
How to actually talk to AI
Jaden Parisi
Ever asked AI for something and got garbage back?
Sure! Here's a complete lead scraper for Toronto. I'll use Python with requests and BeautifulSoup to pull business listings from a directory site, then save everything to a CSV.
Let me know if you'd like pagination, proxies, or a Google Sheets export!
The bad prompt
Typed cold. No setup. This is how most people start.
Useless.
The AI wasn't dumb.
The ask was empty.
What it actually is
AI is a power tool, not a mind reader.
That's it. That's the tool.
What it is not
An assistant
It doesn't know your business. It won't think ahead for you.
A mind reader
It does what you said, not what you meant.
The equation
It multiplies what you bring.
Bring nothing, get nothing, fast.
The iceberg
Build me a lead scraper. I want leads from Toronto.
It only sees the tip.
Two habits it has
It's literal.
You asked for "leads." You got names.
| Business | Phone | |
|---|---|---|
| Roofing Co. | ||
| Plumbing Co. | ||
| HVAC Co. | ||
| Electrical Co. |
It would rather guess than ask.
The question it should have asked. The answer it gave instead.
So make it ask.
The cheat code
You don't need to be good at prompting.
You need to answer questions.
Here's what I want: [your idea].
Before you build anything, interview me. Ask every question you
need answered to do this well. Tell me what decisions I'm not seeing.
Don't take my words literally. Figure out what I'm actually trying
to achieve, and tell me if what I asked for won't get me there.
Same ask, three ways
V1
Just ask
V2
Interview me
- Where do the leads come from?
- What kind of business?
- What info per lead?
- How many?
- What's the budget?
- Will the site block you?
- Where do the leads go after?
V3
Write the brief
Seven decisions you didn't know existed. That's the gap.
Writing it yourself: six questions
Why the "why" matters
"Never use long sentences."
Fixed the one spot you pointed at.
"Keep sentences short, this gets read on a phone by a busy contractor."
Fixed the whole thing.
Give it the reason and it gets the rule right everywhere, not just where you said.
Everything is possible
When AI says it can't, it's out of ideas. Not out of options.
That didn't work. Give me 5 completely different ways to get the same result. Include the weird ones.
Tunnel vision
Signs it's stuck
- Same fix, third time.
- "Let me try one more thing."
- Every attempt gets more complicated.
- It keeps apologizing.
Break it out
Step back
Stop. Forget your approach. What are 3 totally different ways a pro would do this?
Start fresh
Two misses = new chat, better brief.
Don't keep patching.
Feedback that works
My launch video, two tries.
"Kinda boring, feels like a PowerPoint."
Nothing changed.
"One continuous shot, Apple style, song starts at 0:40, use this sound folder, landscape."
"Really good."
Feelings don't help it. Say what, where, and why.
Stop doing these
- ALL CAPS and "CRITICAL"
- Threats and fake tips
- "Act as a world-class expert"
- "Think step by step"
- Magic prompt templates from the internet
No magic words. Just a clear ask.
The four rules
- Bring the thinking.
- Make it ask.
- Don't let it tunnel.
- Tell it why.
Before next call
Set it up right,
from zero.
A step-by-step guide that sets up Claude for the newest models (Opus 5.5). Plain English, every click.
This week: run the interview prompt on one real task, bring the before and after.