Phase 2: Thinking & Reasoning Techniques · 30 min · ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini (any)
Multiple Approaches & Self-Critique
Don't accept the first answer. Ask for options, then ask the AI to check its own work.
Hiring signal: What changes when you use this: you catch mistakes before they ship, because you've built the habit of asking the AI to check its own work.
What you will learn
- Ask the AI for multiple approaches before picking one
- Use self-critique to catch mistakes before accepting an answer
- Combine multiple approaches with self-critique for high-stakes output
- Know when these techniques are worth the extra time and when they're overkill
The Problem
When you ask AI for one answer, it gives you one answer. But "one answer" might not be the best answer — it's just the first one the AI generated. And AI, like humans, can make mistakes it would catch if it reviewed its own work.
Two simple techniques fix this: asking for multiple approaches, and asking the AI to critique its own output.
Move 1: Ask for Multiple Approaches
Instead of asking for "the answer," ask for several approaches and then pick the best one.
Standard prompt:
How should I price my new online course?
Multiple approaches prompt:
I'm launching a new online course about prompt engineering for beginners. Give me 3 different pricing strategies:
- A low-cost, high-volume approach
- A premium, low-volume approach
- A middle-ground approach
For each, explain the strategy, the price you'd recommend, who it targets, and the main risk. Then tell me which you'd recommend for someone just starting out with no existing audience.
Now you have three options to compare. You can pick one, combine elements, or ask follow-up questions about a specific approach. This is almost always better than getting one answer and hoping it's the right one.
When to use: decisions, strategies, plans, creative directions, problem-solving. Any task where there's more than one valid approach.
When to skip: simple tasks with one right answer (formatting, summarizing, translating).
Unlock the full lesson
You've read the first 2 sections. The rest of this lesson covers Move 2: Self-Critique, Combining Both, When These Techniques Are Overkill, Your Practice Rep — plus a hands-on lab, quiz, and project artifact.
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