How to Actually Get Good at Using AI

The secret: It's not about being tech-savvy. The best AI users think like coaches, not commanders.

Shift Your Mindset

AI is your new coworker, not a magic 8-ball. Talk to it like you hired someone smart to help you. Teams who do this get better results than teams who treat AI like Google search.

Just talk normally. When stuck on what to say, ask yourself "What would I tell a human?" Then say that. Your personal experiences and weird ideas are what make AI responses useful, not perfect prompts.

Jump in and mess up. You don't need technical skills. You need guts to try stuff and curiosity when it doesn't work. Not using AI at all is worse than using it badly.

Don't just save 10 minutes. Do impossible things. Sure, AI can make your email writing faster. But that's boring. Use it to do stuff you couldn't afford to do before, like analyzing 1000 customer reviews or creating personalized training for each employee.

Keep pushing until you laugh. Most people accept the first decent answer AI gives them. That's like eating the first thing you see in the fridge. The good stuff takes a few tries. If AI hasn't surprised you with something weirdly brilliant, you stopped too soon.

Expect to suck at first. Give yourself permission to get 10 terrible responses before you worry about being "bad at AI." Nobody learned to ride a bike without falling off.

⚡ Try This Right Now

Open your AI tool and paste this: "I want to get better at using you. Ask me 5 questions about how I currently use AI and what I'm trying to accomplish. Then give me one specific technique to try today." Do it before you read the next section. Seriously. Close this tab and do it.

Master the Conversation

Have a conversation, don't give a command. Don't fire off one question and walk away. Go back and forth. Say "that's not quite right, try this instead" or "expand on that third point."

Example: Bad vs Good Prompts

❌ Bad Prompt: "Write an email to a potential client."

✅ Good Prompt: "I need to write a follow-up email to a potential family law client who consulted with us last week about a divorce. She seemed hesitant about costs and timing. Our firm's approach is compassionate but direct - we don't sugarcoat the process, but we make people feel supported. Keep it under 200 words, focus on addressing her likely concerns (timeline, what to expect in first 30 days, and our flat-fee pricing), and include a soft call-to-action to schedule a 15-minute call. Here's an example of a client email that led to a retainer: [paste example]. What questions do you have about her situation or concerns?"

---

Make AI show its work. Add this magic phrase: "Before answering, walk me through your thinking step by step." Works like asking someone to explain their math - you get better answers. Also try: "What assumptions are you making?" or "What would change your recommendation?"

Tell AI to cut the cheerleading. Most AI defaults to being your biggest fan. That's useless. Say: "Be direct and honest. Point out flaws in my thinking. I need a critical thinking partner, not a cheerleader." You want someone who'll tell you your idea has problems and helps you fix them, not someone who calls everything "fantastic!"

Let AI ask YOU questions. Start with: "Ask me 3-5 questions you need answered to give me a great response." You'll discover you left out important details you didn't even realize mattered. Let AI interview you before it solves your problem.

Give AI a job title. Say "You're my tough-love editor" or "You're a McKinsey consultant" or "You're my devil's advocate." This focuses its response style.

Show examples, not just descriptions. AI can't read your mind about tone, audience, or format. Don't say "make it professional" - paste an example of what professional means to you. Show what you want AND what you hate. It's like showing your hairstylist a photo instead of saying "make it shorter."

Ask for 10 ideas, not one. Especially for creative work. Tell AI to make each idea wildly different. Most will suck. One will be gold.

Talk instead of type. Use voice-to-text and just ramble all your messy thoughts. Let AI organize the chaos. Typing makes you self-edit too much.

Teach AI your style. When you fix its output, show AI what you changed and ask "What can you learn from my edits?" It's like training a new employee. It takes time, but it's worth it.

Build Your Practice

Upgrade without guilt. When you hit limits or need better features, upgrade immediately. $20/month for a tool that could save you hours daily isn't a question - it's a no-brainer. People spend more on streaming services they barely watch. If you're still debating whether it's "worth it," you're not paying attention to what AI can actually do.

Fix your own annoying problems first. What task makes you want to throw your laptop? Start there. Caring about the problem gives you energy to keep trying when AI gives you garbage.

Put "AI practice" on your calendar. 15 minutes daily. Call it "AI gym time." Test one new technique. Most will fail. Some will change your work life.

Use AI to get better at AI. Stuck? Ask AI to write better prompts for you. It's like asking a personal trainer to design your workout.

Rehearse hard conversations. Tell AI to pretend to be your boss and practice asking for a raise. Or your angry customer. Or your teenage kid. Free therapy with no judgment.

Follow the AI nerds. Subscribe to newsletters, listen to podcasts about AI use cases. You need other people's wild ideas to spark your own.

Take tech breaks. Your brain needs empty time to connect dots. The best AI ideas come in the shower, or when you're taking a walk, not staring at the screen.

Scale Your Impact

Build simple automations. You don't need to code. Regular people with zero programming skills are building AI assistants that handle permit applications, schedule meetings, and write reports. You can build these tools in minutes using templates.

Automate yourself before someone else does. Find the parts of your job AI could do and set it up yourself. Own the automation = own your future.

Show off your AI wins. When you figure out something cool, tell everyone. Send that "look what I built" email. Hiding AI use makes everyone dumber.

Be the AI evangelist. Keep asking coworkers "Have you tried using AI for that?" Make it as normal as "Did you Google it?"

Build on others' ideas. When someone shows you their AI thing, don't critique it. Ask "What does this make me think of?" Then go build that.

Start every project with THE question. Before doing anything the old way, ask: "Could AI help with this?" Just asking changes everything.

The Bottom Line

Using AI well is like learning to cook. You need to get in the kitchen and burn a few meals. You'll oversalt things. You'll undercook stuff. Your first attempts will be mediocre. That's normal. The people winning with AI aren't smarter than you or more technical than you. They just started trying stuff while everyone else was still reading recipes and watching cooking shows. Stop preparing to use AI. Start using it badly. That's how you get good.