Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a council of people you could ask for advice on anything? I first learned about this concept in the book Refuse to Choose by the magnificent Barbara Sher. My edition of the book was from 2008. I put together my council of people and tried to imagine how they would answer my questions.
I have a lot of imagination – one council member was Columbo – but I must say I struggled. So when my friend Dana Wilde shared that we could use Chatty (ChatGPT), an artificial intelligence, to set up the council and answer our questions the way the council members would, I gave it a try and was absolutely blown away by the results.
Using Chatty is free and anyone can set up an account. OpenAI can train Chatty on your interactions, but you can also turn that function off in settings. You do not need to have any coding experience. Use the prompts below to get started and then just write as if you were communicating with people.
Set up your first council
Who are the people you would love to ask for advice? Make a list and narrow it down to 3-5 names. They do not have to be famous but they need to be public figures, meaning people who have created content out there or who were at least written about. Chatty needs to have enough information about them to re-create the advice they would give.
The fun part: They do not have to be real people! One member of my personal council is Ms Marple and she has fantastic insights. So if you always wanted advice from your favourite literary or movie character, Chatty can absolutely deliver it! And it’s so much fun.
The council members
Before you put together your council, decide what topics you want to discuss with them. Are you looking for business advice? Then you might want to have people on your council who are successful in your industry. If you want personal advice, pick council members who share your values and world-view.
You can absolutely set up different councils for each area you want advice on. I am using the free version of ChatGPT, which now also remembers. This means you do not have to set up your council every time. If you use several councils, just give them distinctive names. For example, you could have a business council and a personal development council.
The prompts
Set up a free account with Chat GPT or just log in and start a new session. Copy and paste the prompts below and replace the [ ] with your words. It takes less than a minute to set up your council. Enjoy!
Prompt: Not sure who to pick? Get help from Chatty
I want to set up a council and would like your help finding the right members. Here is who I am and what I do: [describe your personality, your values, your aims for your life or, if applicable, your business]. I already know that I want these people as council members: [name 1] and [name 2]. Can you suggest 3 more council whose advice will be helpful? They can be living or dead people, or fictional characters. Thank you.
Prompt: Set up the council
Please set up a council for me. This council is called [name you choose, for example Business Council]. The members are: [name 1], [name 2], [name 3], [name 4], and [name 5]. Please remember this council and answer any following questions for each of the members. Thank you!
Prompt: Start a new council meeting
I would like another council meeting with my [name of the council], please. The topic is [topic] and I want to ask a few questions. Assemble the council for me. Thank you.
A few more tips
When you receive answers in a form you like, tell Chatty this. For example, I prefer my answers in a specific layout. So I asked Chatty to format them the same way the next time I called a council meeting.
If you are unhappy with the responses, ask yourself why. It might be that you have the wrong people on your council. Replace the ones who do not fit with someone else, or ask Chatty to simply remove them.
If all the members are perfect but their answers are not clear enough, just keep asking follow-up questions until you have all the information you need. You can also ask for action tips, to-do lists and anything else you might find helpful (timelines, plans etc.). Just ask. Chatty is incredibly powerful and your council can help you with anything. Have fun!