Written by Pax Koi, creator of Plainkoi — tools and essays for clear thinking in the age of AI.
AI Disclosure: This article was co-developed with the assistance of ChatGPT (OpenAI) and finalized by Plainkoi.
The core idea is to apply your own "prompting as collaboration" philosophy to getting feedback on your article itself. You're essentially asking the AI to "roleplay" as different types of readers or critics.
1. AI as a "Target Audience Persona" Reader:
How: Give the AI a clear persona that matches your target audience (e.g., "Ma and Pa," a busy professional new to AI, a skeptical student, etc.).
Prompt Example: "Act as [specific persona, e.g., 'a busy but curious small business owner who knows a little about AI but gets confused by jargon.'] Read the following article. Article: [Paste your entire article here] From my perspective as this persona, please tell me:
Is the core message of the article clear? What do you understand it to be?
Does the tone feel engaging and encouraging, or does it sound too academic/demanding?
Are the examples easy to understand and relatable to my business?
What are the strongest parts of this article for someone like me?
What parts are confusing, unclear, or might make me stop reading?
Does it make me want to learn more about Pax Koi/Plainkoi?"
2. AI as a "Critical Editor" (Focus on Craft):
How: Instruct the AI to act as a professional editor, focusing on writing mechanics, flow, and impact.
Prompt Example: "Act as a professional content editor specializing in engaging online articles. Your goal is to help me refine this piece for maximum clarity, impact, and reader retention. Article: [Paste your entire article here] Please provide feedback on:
Overall Clarity: Are there any vague sentences, jargon, or areas where the meaning is ambiguous?
Flow and Transitions: Do the sections connect smoothly, or are there abrupt jumps?
Tone Consistency: Does the tone (e.g., empowering, conversational) remain consistent throughout?
Conciseness: Are there any redundant phrases, wordy sentences, or sections that could be tightened without losing meaning?
Hook and Conclusion: How effective are the opening hook and the closing statement?
Actionability: Are the practical tips (e.g., 'Try This Now') clear and easy for a reader to implement?
Suggest specific areas for improvement, providing examples of how I might rephrase or restructure."
3. AI as a "Sentiment Analyzer/Engagement Predictor":
How: Ask the AI to simulate reader experience on an emotional or engagement level.
Prompt Example: "Act as an analyst predicting reader engagement. Read the article below. Article: [Paste your entire article here] Describe the likely 'reader journey' for a first-time reader of this article. At what points might they feel:
Intrigued?
Confused?
Empowered?
Bored/Lost interest?
Motivated to act? What are the 3-5 key takeaways a busy reader would likely remember from this article?"
4. Using Your Own "AI Prompt Coherence Kit" on Your Article:
This is the most direct application of your own principles. You can use the specific "prompts" from your kit (Signal Clarity, Frequency Harmonizer, Logic Integrator, Collaborative Posture Reflector) to analyze sections or the entire article.
Prompt Example: "Using the principles of the AI Prompt Coherence Kit, analyze the following article for its clarity, tone harmony, goal logic, and collaborative posture towards the reader. Point out any 'fractures' and suggest how they could be improved to make the article even more coherent for its audience. Article: [Paste your entire article here]"
Important Considerations & Limitations:
AI Lacks True Subjectivity: Remember, the AI doesn't feel intrigued or bored. It's predicting based on patterns in its training data. It can tell you what makes good writing based on millions of examples, but it can't offer the truly unique, idiosyncratic human perspective that comes from personal experience or genuine emotional response.
It's a Simulation, Not Reality: AI feedback is a powerful simulation that helps you refine your content against established patterns of "good writing" and audience expectations. It's an incredible sanity check and a fantastic way to catch logical inconsistencies, vagueness, or tonal issues.
Still Valuable: For the purpose of getting objective critiques on clarity, structure, conciseness, and how well it addresses a defined persona's needs, AI is an indispensable tool that saves your loved ones from endless rounds of proofreading!
By combining these AI-driven approaches, you can get highly effective and diverse feedback on your articles without relying solely on your personal circle. It empowers you to refine your work significantly before seeking that final, crucial human read from a selected few.