Reverse Prompting (The Interview Pattern)
One of the most powerful prompting techniques is asking the AI to ask YOU questions. Instead of trying to guess all the context the AI needs, you simply tell it what your goal is, and instruct it to interview you until it has enough context to do the job perfectly.
This solves the 'blank page syndrome' of prompt engineering. By writing 'I want to build X. Ask me exactly 5 questions, one at a time, to gather all the context you need before you start drafting,' you force the model to build its own perfect prompt through you. It takes the burden of knowing what's important off your shoulders and puts it on the AI.
Open ChatGPT or Claude and type: 'I need to write a difficult email to a client delaying a project. Do not write it yet. Interview me, asking one question at a time, until you have exactly what you need to write a perfect draft.' See how it guides you instead of the other way around.
What does the "reverse prompting" / interview pattern actually ask the model to do?