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Advanced prompting: roleplay, brainstorming, and creative modes

Guide · AI Edge Solutions

Once you understand the basics of prompting and how to get ChatGPT to think step-by-step, the next level is learning how to make it shift perspectives, simulate scenarios, and unlock creativity on demand. This is where AI stops feeling like a basic tool and starts feeling like a true collaborator.

Advanced prompting isn’t about complicated hacks. It’s about using roles, idea generation, and creative modes to tap into what the model is actually good at: exploring possibilities, trying on different voices, and thinking from multiple angles.

1. Roleplay: changing the intelligence you’re talking to

Roleplay is one of the most underrated ways to get more out of AI. When you give ChatGPT a role, it changes how it “thinks,” what it prioritizes, and how it communicates.

Try prompts like:

“Act as a startup mentor and challenge my idea like an investor.” “Act as my future self five years from now. What advice would you give me?” “Act as a customer who’s skeptical about my product. What objections would you have?”

Roleplay works well for:

  • Refining business ideas
  • Testing arguments and pitches
  • Negotiation practice
  • Analyzing decisions from multiple sides
  • Creative writing and character work
  • Personal reflection and coaching

You can “talk to” your ideal customer, a critic, a teacher, a competitor, or a professional in any field — each role gives you a new angle on the same problem.

2. Brainstorming: forcing divergent thinking

Most people use ChatGPT to get a single answer. But one of its superpowers is generating lots of ideas at different levels of creativity.

To push it into brainstorming mode, try prompts like:

“Give me 20 ideas — 10 safe ones and 10 wild ones.” “Brainstorm ideas that break the conventional rules of my industry.” “Give me three tiers of ideas: basic, creative, and ‘this shouldn’t work but might.’” “List unexpected angles on this topic that people rarely talk about.”

You can also layer constraints to force originality, such as:

  • “Ideas that don’t require spending money.”
  • “Ideas that take less than one hour to test.”
  • “Ideas no one else in my niche is talking about.”

Brainstorming mode turns ChatGPT into a high-speed creative partner. You’re not looking for one perfect idea — you’re gathering raw material you can combine, refine, and turn into real plans.

3. Creative modes: pushing AI beyond logic

Creative prompting is where AI becomes a writer, storyteller, or imagination engine. It’s useful for more than just fiction — you can use it in business, teaching, content, and branding.

You can ask for things like:

  • Worldbuilding and setting design
  • Analogies and metaphors
  • Character voices and dialogue
  • Stories, scripts, and scenarios
  • Emotion, humor, and sensory description

Example prompts:

“Explain this concept using a metaphor involving sports.” “Turn this boring paragraph into a short, vivid story.” “Describe this product as if it were a character in a movie.” “Give me three creative hooks that would grab attention in the first 5 seconds.”

Or for fun:

“Pretend you’re the narrator of a documentary about my life.” “Tell this story from the perspective of my dog.”

Creative modes remind you that AI can do more than answer questions — it can help you imagine, not just inform.

How these modes work together

The real power comes when you start combining roleplay, brainstorming, and creative prompting.

  • Roleplay + Brainstorming:
    “Act as a world-class marketing strategist and brainstorm 15 unconventional ways to grow my brand.”
  • Creative mode + step-by-step thinking:
    “Explain how compound interest works using a children’s story. Build it step-by-step.”
  • Roleplay + creative mode:
    “Act as a movie director. Rewrite my bio like the voiceover of a trailer.”
  • Brainstorming + analysis:
    “Give me 10 creative ideas, then pick the top 3 and break them down logically.”

When you do this, AI stops being a glorified search box and becomes a creative intelligence partner that can ideate, evaluate, and express.

Why advanced prompting matters

Advanced prompting is valuable because it teaches you something most people never realize: AI isn’t limited to literal, straight-ahead questions.

It can:

  • Play roles and simulate different identities
  • Challenge your assumptions and arguments
  • Generate ideas you’d never think of on your own
  • Break “rules” on purpose to uncover new angles
  • Add personality, story, and emotion to your work
When you learn to use roleplay, brainstorming, and creative modes, you stop using AI like Google — and start using it like a collaborator that can imagine, explore, and build with you.