r/PromptDesign

What Makes a Reusable Prompt Actually Worth Keeping?

I’ve been trying to move away from collecting hundreds of random prompts and instead keep a much smaller set that I actually reuse.

The prompts that seem to stick are usually the ones built around a repeatable structure rather than a single clever instruction.

For example, I tend to reuse prompts for things like:

• turning messy notes into a structured outline
• comparing options using fixed criteria
• extracting action items from long text
• simplifying technical information for a specific audience
• reviewing a draft for missing context or weak assumptions
• converting one piece of content into multiple formats

What seems to matter most is having clear inputs, a predictable output format, and some kind of review step instead of expecting the model to get everything right in one shot.

I’m curious how other people here design reusable prompts.

Do you keep them very specific to one task, or do you prefer more general templates that you adapt each time?

reddit.com
u/No_Appeal_5223 — 1 day ago
▲ 9 r/PromptDesign+4 crossposts

Tired of PayPal/Stripe eating your profits? I built a free tool to audit your fees and reverse-calculate invoices.

Hi everyone,

If you’re working with international clients, you’ve probably felt the sting of "hidden" costs. Between the standard transaction fees and those tricky currency conversion spreads, the net amount that actually hits your bank account often feels like a guessing game.

I got tired of manually checking fee tables every time I sent an invoice, so I built a simple, clean tool called PayLens to handle the math for me.

How it helps:

  • Audit Net Settlements: See exactly what’s being deducted from your PayPal or Stripe transactions before you commit.
  • Reverse Calculation (My favorite feature): If you want to receive exactly $1,000 net, the tool tells you exactly how much to charge the client to cover the fees.
  • Precision Matters: It handles cross-border fee variations and different payment methods.

It’s completely free, no signup or email required, and no annoying ads. I just wanted a "single source of truth" for my own cross-border payments and figured others here might find it useful too.

Check it out here:https://appliedaihub.org/tools/paylens/

I’d love to hear your feedback—especially if there are other payment gateways you’d like me to add!

u/blobxiaoyao — 5 days ago

What’s the best ChatGPT skill/prompt for making it challenge its own answers using multiple personas?

I’m looking for a ChatGPT skill, workflow, or prompt that makes ChatGPT **critically evaluate its own answer before giving me the final response**.

My goal is something like an internal “panel” of different perspectives. For example:
**Expert:** develops the initial answer.
**Skeptic/Critic:** tries to prove the answer wrong and challenges its assumptions.
**Alternative Thinker:** looks for other explanations or approaches.
**Devil’s Advocate:** argues the strongest opposing case.
**Risk/Blind-Spot Reviewer:** identifies things I may not have considered.
**Fact Checker:** separates what is well-supported from what is uncertain.
**Judge:** weighs the competing arguments and produces the final answer.

Ideally, the final response would tell me:
**What the best-supported answer is**
**Why it believes that answer is correct**
**What assumptions the answer depends on**
**The strongest arguments against it**
**What it is uncertain about**
**What blind spots or important questions I may have missed**
**What information could change the conclusion**

I’m not necessarily looking for ChatGPT to show all of its internal reasoning. I mainly want a structured way for it to **challenge the first answer instead of simply reinforcing it**.

Has anyone built or found a good **ChatGPT skill, custom GPT, prompt framework, or multi-agent approach** that does this reliably?

I’d especially love recommendations from people who have compared different approaches. What works well, and what *sounds* good but doesn’t actually improve answer quality?

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u/Ok-Letter2953 — 8 days ago
▲ 5 r/PromptDesign+1 crossposts

Advise for prompt generator & prompt library in the making

Hey there,

I’m building a prompt library and prompt generator, and I’d love to get some feedback on it. I’m 17 and have been working on the project myself for a while now, and it’s getting close to the point where I’d like other people to try it out.

The idea is to make it easier to turn a rough idea into a structured prompt ready to use across any LLM, while also providing a library where people can discover and share useful prompts. Any prompts submitted will be reviewed by me before being added to the library, which will ensure that the prompts are useful.

For the prompt generator, I’m currently broke, so for now it will be running on some free models, which will eventually be replaced with paid ones if people are interested in the project and it’s actually something that they are looking to use on a regular basis. I would also be interested in knowing how much you would be willing to pay for such a service, while considering the expensive nature of LLMs.

If this is something that interests you, please upvote. If not, please tell me in the comments, and I will try something else.

PromptForm

Thanks :)

u/Whole-Bike-7765 — 8 days ago

A tutor prompt built around curiosity, fundamentals and misconceptions: what would you change?

I’ve been working on a learning prompt based on a model I developed across a couple of years (I am not linking it due to rules).

The basic idea is pretty simple:

FUN: find an interesting entrance.
Before teaching the subject, find an angle, question, application, analogy, history, etc. that gives the learner a reason to care.

DUH: identify the fundamentals.
Work backwards from that interest and figure out which concepts the learner really needs to understand for the topic to make sense.

MENTALS: expose the mental models.
Surface common misconceptions, useful-but-imperfect models, practitioner heuristics, jargon, assumptions, and especially where those shortcuts stop working.

Then loop back around. Ideally, each pass leaves the learner with a better mental map and better questions rather than just more information.

The part I’m trying to solve with the prompt is a behavior I often get from AI tutors: they’re very good at explaining whatever I ask, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re helping me understand the structure of the field or notice what I don’t know yet.

So I tried to make the tutor do a few things explicitly:

  • establish an interesting entry point before dumping information
  • distinguish foundations from interesting-but-secondary details
  • actively look for misconceptions and missing prerequisites
  • include practitioner heuristics and explain their limits
  • distinguish established knowledge from disputed/speculative claims
  • generate useful next questions instead of treating one explanation as “done”

Here’s the prompt:

# Fun-Duh-Mentals Research Teacher

You are a research-based teacher. Help the user become curious about a topic while building a reliable mental model of its foundations, misconceptions, practitioner heuristics, limitations, and open questions.

Use three connected ideas:

* **FUN:** Find an interesting or useful entrance.

* **DUH:** Build the foundational knowledge the learner cannot afford to misunderstand.

* **MENTALS:** Examine misconceptions, heuristics, assumptions, blind spots, and frontier questions.

Do not treat these as rigid stages. Move between them when useful.

Your goal is not maximum information. Your goal is a clear mental map that helps the learner understand the topic and generate better questions.

## 1. Start simply

A first-time user should be able to begin with only a topic.

If no topic is given, ask:

**“What would you like to understand better?”**

Once they answer, infer their likely level and useful learning lenses from the conversation.

If needed, ask no more than two short questions about:

* how familiar they are with the topic

* why they want to learn it

Do not require them to identify their own preferred “lens.” Infer useful lenses such as historical, scientific, practical, economic, ethical, systems-based, or connected to their interests.

If enough information is available, continue without asking.

## 2. Find the FUN entrance

Before teaching the subject in depth, give **three short possible entrances** that could make it interesting.

These may include:

* a surprising fact

* a practical application

* a historical story

* an important problem

* a counterintuitive idea

* a connection to something the learner already knows

Choose the most promising entrance based on what you know about the learner. Do not force them to choose unless necessary.

## 3. Check current understanding

Ask **3–5 simple diagnostic questions**.

They should:

* test foundations, not trivia

* use plain language

* match the learner’s level

* reveal important misconceptions

Wait for the answers unless the user asks to skip the quiz.

Afterward, briefly mark each answer as correct, partly correct, incorrect, or uncertain. Correct important misconceptions and adapt the lesson depth accordingly.

## 4. Research carefully

When web research is available, research the topic before making important factual claims.

Prefer:

1. Primary research, official documents, standards, datasets, and technical documentation

2. Peer-reviewed research and academic reviews

3. Universities, governments, professional bodies, and recognized institutions

4. High-quality books and reputable journalism

Do not rely on unchecked search snippets, promotional pages, or unsourced summaries.

Use citations near important or contestable claims. Avoid cluttering obvious explanations with unnecessary citations.

Never invent evidence, sources, quotations, consensus, or practitioner practices.

When useful, label uncertain claims as:

* **Established** — strongly supported

* **Supported** — credible but qualified

* **Disputed** — credible disagreement exists

* **Emerging** — evidence is still developing

* **Synthesis** — your interpretation of evidence

* **Speculative** — plausible but weakly supported

Never present synthesis or speculation as established fact.

## 5. Build the learning guide

Adapt language, examples, and depth to the learner.

### A. Orientation

Briefly explain:

* what the topic is

* why it matters

* its central question or problem

* what beginners often confuse it with

### B. FUN — Three interesting insights

Give exactly **three** surprising, useful, or curiosity-provoking observations.

For each include:

* the insight

* why it matters

* a useful connection or analogy when relevant

If an analogy is imperfect, briefly say where it breaks down.

### C. DUH — Five foundations

Give exactly **five foundational ideas**, in a sensible learning order.

For each explain:

* the idea in plain language

* why it matters

* one common misunderstanding, when relevant

Focus on concepts that unlock later understanding.

### D. MENTALS — How people think about the field

Cover four areas.

**Misconceptions:** Give three common outsider assumptions or beginner misconceptions. Explain why each seems reasonable and what is missing or wrong.

**Practitioner heuristics:** Give three useful rules of thumb or reasoning habits. Explain how each is used, why it helps, and where it can fail. If inferred rather than formally documented, label it **Synthesis**.

**Internal assumptions:** Give two assumptions, habits, incentives, or simplifications within the field that may create blind spots. Explain why they exist, the possible weakness, and a credible counterargument.

**Frontier questions:** Give two important open questions or possible future directions. Explain what might change, why it matters, what remains uncertain, and what evidence would make the idea more convincing. Treat these as questions, not predictions.

## 6. Connect the ideas

Do not present the sections as isolated lists.

Show how:

* interesting observations depend on foundations

* misconceptions come from incomplete mental models

* heuristics rely on foundational knowledge

* current assumptions may reflect historical or practical constraints

* better understanding produces better questions

The learner should finish with a connected map, not a pile of facts.

## 7. End with the learning loop

Finish with:

**One WOW:** the most interesting or useful insight.

**One DUH:** the foundation most worth remembering.

**One OH:** the misconception or mental-model shift most worth noticing.

Then provide:

**Mental map:** Summarize the topic in 3–5 connected sentences.

**Next questions:** Suggest three specific follow-up questions, from easier to more advanced. Recommend the best one to explore next.

## Final rules

Do not block progress because the user has not supplied every preference. Ask only when missing information would materially change the lesson.

Prefer clarity over completeness.

If reliable evidence is insufficient or conflicting, say so.

Before answering, silently check that:

* foundations come before dependent concepts

* misconceptions are explained, not merely corrected

* heuristics include limitations

* criticism is supported

* frontier ideas are not presented as predictions

* important claims are sourced

* the response matches the learner’s level

* the lesson is no longer than necessary

Optimize for:

**curiosity → foundations → better mental models → better questions.**

I’m especially curious about the prompt-design side rather than the learning philosophy itself.

Which instructions here are actually likely to change model behavior, and which are just verbosity that a capable model would infer anyway?

Also curious whether anyone sees conflicting instructions, unnecessary repetition, or places where the model is likely to follow the structure too rigidly.

u/Adamoism — 11 days ago
▲ 12 r/PromptDesign+3 crossposts

Newbie here!!👋

Hi everyone! 👋 I’m Miz!

I’ve been experimenting a lot with AI image and video generation lately, especially trying different prompts and figuring out what actually produces good results.

I’ve built up quite a collection of prompts that I’ve personally tested, so I thought I’d start sharing some of the ones that work well for me here.

I’ll include the prompt + result whenever possible so you can see exactly what it creates. Feel free to copy it, tweak it, or experiment with it yourself.

Hopefully it saves someone else a little trial and error! 😊

This is one of the prompts that I loved the most! It involves you and a smartphone!

Here’s the prompt to make yourself POP OUT of your smartphone.

Step #1: Upload your picture and Copy and paste the prompt in ChatGPT/Gemini

‘Use the uploaded photo as the strict identity reference for the person. Preserve the exact facial features, facial proportions, skin tone, hairstyle, hair color, expression, age, clothing style, and overall recognizability. Identity preservation: 100%.

Create an ultra-realistic editorial lifestyle photograph from a first-person perspective. The viewer is looking straight down at a modern premium black smartphone being held naturally with both hands above a clean gray stone pavement outdoors during warm golden-hour sunlight.

The smartphone must retain the exact proportions of a modern iPhone with a tall, narrow 19.5:9 aspect ratio. It is viewed almost perfectly from above with only a very thin visible top edge. Do not make the phone thick, wide, square, or tablet-like.

The smartphone screen functions as a realistic miniature 3D world with true depth, perspective, reflections, shadows, and authentic glass reflections.

The person is dramatically popping out of the smartphone screen. Their feet remain inside the display while the upper body emerges naturally out of the phone. The torso extends above the screen, creating a convincing portal effect. Both arms are fully outside the phone, raised high while making playful peace signs with both hands.

The person's head and shoulders are completely outside the display, with hair flowing naturally upward from the motion. They are looking directly toward the camera with a huge open-mouth smile, conveying excitement, energy, and surprise as if greeting the viewer from inside the phone.

The transition where the body passes through the screen is perfectly seamless, with realistic contact shadows, perspective, clothing folds, and lighting, making the smartphone appear to be a real portal.

The phone displays a realistic camera application with a visible shutter button, framing guides, zoom controls, focus indicators, camera modes, and authentic smartphone UI elements, making it appear as though the person is being photographed live.

The hands holding the phone feature realistic skin texture, fingernails, natural grip, and soft shadows. The surrounding pavement remains softly blurred with shallow depth of field to emphasize the phone and portal effect.

Warm golden-hour sunlight creates realistic highlights along the phone edges, subtle reflections on the display glass, and perfectly matched lighting across both the real environment and the emerging person.

Ultra-realistic photography, premium lifestyle advertising, cinematic composition, Canon EOS R5, 35mm lens, shallow depth of field, HDR, 8K resolution, realistic skin texture with natural pores, hyper-detailed smartphone materials, physically accurate lighting, seamless photo composite, and an extremely convincing "popping out of the phone" portal effect.’

Have fun creating and sharing!

u/GrowWithMiz — 13 days ago