A prompt is a question that is impossible to collaborate on. It points inward, asks for language, and leads to self-knowledge.
For example, what bores you?
Different people would have other answers. We can’t collaborate on what bores each person, only to ask why. When we do, we immediately shift to talk about meaning. We expand our communication container.
Briefs always lead to collaboration (with another person or knowledge). They are anchored in a situation, and its physics. They must converge on a shared outcome.
For example, what is the secret of a work-life balance?
Experts will approach this from different angles, but the conversation must lead to a meeting where everyone shares their direct opinion.
Through Thirdness, Critical Business School, and Being in Space, I have developed prompts to bring people into meta-conversations and generative discourse spaces. I define generative value as one that persists after the conversation ends. Read more on the development of prompts.Meta-Scale, a tool for writing prompts
The scale between prompts and briefs helps initiate and navigate leadership, creativity, and personal fulfillment, especially in light of the growing importance of AI and language models.