If you’ve scrolled social media lately, you’ve probably seen posts promising “magic prompts” that make AI work miracles. But here’s the truth: the real choice today is Real AI Skills vs Prompt Hacks, and too many people are betting on the wrong side.
- “Bad prompt vs. better prompt”
- “10 secret prompts to replace a consultant”
- “The ultimate prompt guide to make AI your intern”
It’s the same story every time: a “magic formula” that promises you can outsmart AI with a clever string of words.
Act like a [insert role] and create a [insert a whole heap of stuff………over and over]…….look familar?
I call them BuzzPrompts™, gimmicks dressed up as skills.
The Trouble with BuzzPrompts™
Here’s the thing: a better prompt doesn’t make you better at AI. It just makes you better at repeating someone else’s trick.
And when the tool changes, as they all do, that trick vanishes. You’re left waiting for the next “hack” to hit your feed.
That’s not capability. That’s dependency.
Meanwhile, almost everyone at work is already using AI in some way. Surveys show three out of four knowledge workers are using generative AI right now, mostly as assistants for writing, research, or decision support. But without training, most of that use stays surface-level. Copy. Paste. Hope it works.
Which is why the real question isn’t “What’s the best prompt?” but: How do you actually build AI skills that last?
Real AI Skills: Sounds Like You. Works Like You.
The answer is simpler than people think. It comes down to this:
AI that sounds like you. AI that works like you.
- Sounds like you means the AI communicates the way you would. Not just in tone, but in clarity, empathy, and authority. If you wouldn’t send a vague, robotic email, neither should your AI.
- Works like you means the AI carries out tasks the way you would. It prioritises what matters, applies your standards, and makes decisions that line up with your way of working. If you’d filter out noise and get straight to the point, your AI should too.
When AI sounds like you and works like you, it stops feeling like an awkward gadget you’re trying to wrestle into shape. Instead, it feels like an extension of your own capability.
Training is the Difference
And here’s the part people miss: you don’t get there by memorising “perfect prompts.” You get there by training.
That means:
- Practising with AI in the actual situations you face at work
- Teaching it your standards, preferences, and ways of thinking
- Testing and tweaking until it feels natural
- Creating patterns you can repeat across tasks and projects
It’s like learning to cook. You don’t become a good cook by copying one recipe. You learn by understanding flavours, experimenting, and finding what works in your kitchen. Then you can cook anything.
The Payoff
When AI sounds like you and works like you, you stop relying on hacks. You stop chasing the latest BuzzPrompt™.
Instead, you gain something better: confidence. The kind of capability you can carry into every project, every role, every conversation.
Because at the end of the day, AI isn’t here to replace you. It’s here to extend you, in your own voice, with your own way of working.
Forget the BuzzPrompt™. Train the skill.
Cheers,
Adam Walsh
Founder – Bizualize