YOU get an AI tip, and YOU get an AI tip…

I want to teach you one of my favorite AI techniques. It takes six words, it works immediately, and it'll probably make you laugh the first time you try it.

Open Claude (or whatever you're using) and type:

"Interview me about this topic."

That's the whole thing. Tell AI what you're working on (a grant, a service plan, a board presentation, whatever) and then ask it to interview you. 

Here's why this is so crazy good. You already know your agency better than anyone. You've got years of context swirling around in your head about your routes, your riders, your politics, your budget. The problem isn't that you don't know the answers… it's that there's so much in there you don't know where to start. "Interview me" lets AI pull the thread for you, one question at a time, until everything clicks into place.

It's basically Oprah — three questions in you're telling it things you didn't even know you felt, and by question five you're having an emotional breakthrough on national television. Except it's just you and your laptop and nobody's judging your answers!

I'll prove it to you. This newsletter post you're reading right now? I made it this way. I knew I wanted to write about this technique, but I had like four different directions swirling in my head — should it be funny? Tactical? Should I use a specific example? I couldn't pick. So I told Claude "I need a Wednesday tactics post, I'm not sure what angle to take, interview me" and it started asking me questions. What problem does this solve for your readers? How tactical do you want the CTA? What's the emotional tone? 

By the fifth question, the whole post had taken shape, because the questions helped me figure out what I actually wanted to say. I didn’t even necessarily take its advice. But it helped me realize what I was actually thinking! 

Here's the screen recording of exactly how it went down:

Try it this week. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

"I need to write a grant narrative for a new microtransit pilot. Interview me — ask me questions one at a time until you have enough to write a strong first draft."

"I'm thinking about restructuring Route 12 but can't articulate why yet. Ask me questions until we figure it out together."

"I have to prep for my board meeting next Tuesday. Interview me about what I want to present and help me find the story."

"I need a job description for a new position I haven't fully defined yet. Pull it out of my head."

All your answers are already in that brain of yours. You've been building this expertise your whole career, and it turns out the fastest way to get it onto paper isn't trying to write it all out…. it’s talking it out. AI just happens to be a super good listener who never forgets what you said three questions ago. And with a good Thinking Model, it’ll ask you great questions.

Now get out there and interview yourself. You get a breakthrough, and YOU get a breakthrough, and YOU get a breakthrough…

TransitGPT is where I share practical AI insights for transit leaders. Subscribe if this resonates or forward to a colleague who needs it. And hit reply — I read everything.

Go shatter your glass ceiling.