5 ChatGPT prompts to use any weakness to your advantage
Chris Do
What if everything you thought was letting you down could actually build you up? What if your personality quirks could work in your favour? What if your weaknesses could be transformed? If you could reframe every flaw into a unique and in-demand characteristic, what would be possible for you?
Chris Do is founder and CEO of The Futur, a business school for creatives, providing coursework, community and online coaching to help creative entrepreneurs succeed. Do is an Emmy award-winning designer, content creator and podcast host, and having run a successful design business for 22 years, he knows what it takes. He’s on a mission to teach 1 billion people to make a living doing what they love, and with published books, comprehensive courses, and a YouTube channel with over 2 million subscribers, he’s well on his way. The Futur teaches ambitious professionals to overcome objections and stand out in what he calls one of the most competitive markets in the world, including using their weaknesses to their advantage.
Combining Do’s teaching on personal branding with powerful prompts led to 5 ChatGPT prompts to use any weaknesses to your advantage. The prompts were designed and tested by Dr Jeremy Nguyen, an AI educator and researcher at Swinburne University combining professional storytelling experience with deep expertise in AI and machine learning, who runs international workshops on AI for writing and storytelling, and whose AI prompts have been quoted by the president of OpenAI himself.
Use these ChatGPT prompts to reimagine your personality and professional conduct so they work in your favour. Copy, paste and edit the square brackets in ChatGPT, and keep the same chat window open so the context carries through.
Transform any weakness: ChatGPT prompts to reframe flaws
Find your vulnerabilities
“True strength comes from vulnerability,” said Do. When you think about people throughout history who you really aspire to be like, those who stand out are not always physically strong people, “yet when you look at them you just see strength.” What are you vulnerable about? What have you been through, what are your war wounds and battle scars? Uncovering these could be your biggest source of strength.
“For this prompt, you’ll talk out loud to ChatGPT, using ChatGPT’s Voice Messages,” explained Nguyen. Open the mobile app, hit the headphones icon, then hold down the round button as you read in this prompt: “You are one of the world’s great biographers, Walter Isaacson. Your job is to interview me, to find sides of myself I don’t often share with the public: my vulnerabilities. Ask me about difficult times I’ve been through. Ask only one question at a time, then wait for my response. Try many approaches, for example, ask me about when I judge other people—sometimes we judge what we feel vulnerable about. Try many possibilities. Create a space where I feel comfortable and safe to share, because I know you’ll bring out the strengths I’ve gained as a result of dealing with these vulnerabilities. Every three to five questions, recap a running summary of the vulnerabilities and the way you frame them as strengths. But don’t talk for too long. The primary job is to interview me. If you’re ready, introduce yourself and set the scene, and ask your first question.”
Go in the opposite direction
“If everyone zigs, you zag,” explained Do. “If everyone zags, you zug. If everyone is doing a linear thing, do the curvy linear thing.” Where are you being too conventional, rather than leaning into what makes you different? Where are you fitting in for fear of standing out? Explain your work and experience to ChatGPT and see if it can come up with novel ways of you doing something different. Ask for clarification on anything that vibes, so you can move forward with a plan that’s uniquely you. Here’s the prompt by Nguyen.
“You are an expert in [your industry/niche, eg “social media”]. Your job is to be my brainstorming partner to come up with unconventional moves that are congruent with what works for me. Here are 3 trends I see everyone doing right now in my industry: (1) [describe trend, eg “shortform video on Twitter” (2) [trend] (3) [trend]. Please fill out the list of 10, with 7 conventional approaches in my industry. Then ask which numbers I suspect or know are not great. Interview me, one question at a time, pausing for my answers, to find and distill how I differ from everyone in my industry. Be a brainstorming partner, using “yes-and” to generate many ideas (in bullet points) on how I could “zag” where everyone else “zigs”. They should be compatible with my advantages, methods and demonstrated results. Keep the conversation flowing so that we cover many different ways I could try outlier moves. Don’t worry about getting the right answer, we’re brainstorming, go for many different ideas.”
Stop hiding your intentions
“We can smell intention from a mile away,” explained Do. “When you tell a story that seems to be vulnerable, but all you’re seeking is attention, and that’s your intention, we can see it.” To overcome this, share your intentions. Explain what you’re trying to do in ChatGPT and let it help you share genuine, not needy, ways of distributing your message. Get to the crux of your transformations without glossing over details or burying the lede. Deep connection, not shallow niceties. Be intentional about where you’ve been, who you are, and what it means for you and your audience.
“You’re a world-class press and social media writer, known for clear and impactful messages. Your job is to make sure my message comes from a sincere and genuine place. For context: some people share stories of vulnerability on social media just to grow their audience. In contrast, the reason I want more people to know about this is [your reasons]. Of course I want to grow my audience, but also, I have sincere reasons. Three steps follow, use bullet points and markdown for steps 1 and 2. (1) Look at the story and try to find the “story behind the story”—what are some reasons I may not be aware of that I’m sharing this story? (2) Critical eye: imagine you are a very unsympathetic reader. Make suggestions of where I may be misstepping or could be misinterpreted badly. (3) make suggestions of how I could rewrite to make my true intention resonate. My story: [insert your story]”
Don’t commoditize yourself
“If you’re a product without a story, you’re a commodity,” said Do. And no one wants that. Find your story by defining your two-word brand, a signature Chris Do exercise. This should explain who you are and what you do, grab attention from the right people and make them want to be a part of your mission. “I can choose anybody, but I choose you,” is what your customers will say, according to Do. Come up with words to describe yourself and figure out how to repeat them proudly in a catchy way. Start with characteristics you are happy you have.
“You are Chris Do, a world class designer and strategist and business educator, and a team of his branding experts. Your job is to help me brainstorm and choose my “two word brand”. The two words should explain who I help and what I help with. To give you some info, one way of explaining my business is:“I help X to Y.” In addition, what makes me different from the typical provider in my industry is that: (1) I bring [experience]. (2) I believe [viewpoint]. Please brainstorm a numbered list of 5-7 two-word brands. This process will be iterative—I can’t expect you to find the right words on the first try, so I’ll tell you which of the numbered list resonate with me, give you feedback on what’s working, and ask you to generate more and we’ll keep going like that.”
Transform personality quirks
An extension of Do’s two-word branding exercise is, “rather than think about coming up with words that you love about yourself,” he said,”find your shadow words.” Here’s what to do. “Write as many words as you can through the lens of you not liking yourself, as well as the words people that don’t like you would say about you.” Next, separate the words that have no emotional, triggering effect from those that do. “In order for you to show courage it has to be uncomfortable for you to reveal it.” When you have your list, make the negative a positive. It’s like saying, “I don’t like this thing about myself, but I’ve learned to accept it,” and it’s powerful.
“Below is a list of “shadow words,” representing traits that I don’t like about myself. Please brainstorm positives or acceptance terminology about them, in a markdown table. Use a wide range of approaches for each word. 1. [thing you don’t like] 2. [thing you don’t like] 3. etc.”
Use any weakness to your advantage with The Futur’s Chris Do, Dr Jeremy Nguyen and ChatGPT
You are a strong human being and that’s more than just muscles. Any weakness can be transformed given enough thought. Find your vulnerabilities to form the basis of your story, and have the courage to not follow the crowd. Get intentional about what you share and how, so your authentic voice shines through whatever the medium. Find your two-word branding by exploring what you love about yourself as well as what you don’t. Step into the spotlight as the version of you who is proudly different. Weaknesses can be leveraged to infinite results with these five powerful prompts.