You already know how to start a prompt. You just don't know it yet.
One phrase that ends the blank-box paralysis for good.
Here's a question I get all the time:
"I know I should be using AI. But when I open it up... I just stare at the box. I don't know what to type."
Sound familiar?
You're not alone. And here's the thing: it's not a knowledge problem.
PMs who've been managing projects for years — strategic thinkers, strong communicators, people who run complex stakeholder environments — freeze in front of a blank prompt box.
The problem isn't that you don't know how to use AI.
The problem is you're waiting to say the right thing. And when the stakes feel high, nothing comes out.
So let me give you one phrase that fixes this instantly.
Start with "Is it possible to..."
That's it.
"Is it possible to..."
Type that, finish the sentence with whatever's on your mind, and hit send.
Here's why it works so well:
It's a question, not a command. When you ask a question, you invite AI into thinking-partner mode. You're exploring together. You're not issuing an order and waiting to grade the output. That shift alone changes how useful the conversation becomes.
It signals possibility, not perfection. "Is it possible to..." doesn't demand a finished answer. It opens a door. That makes it low-stakes — which means you'll actually start.
It mirrors how PMs already think. You spend your days asking "Is it possible to deliver this by Q3?" and "Is it possible to get both VPs aligned?" You already think in questions. Now you're just directing that skill at a different audience.
There's no wrong answer. If AI can't fully do what you ask, it'll tell you. If it can, you're in the conversation. Either way, you've started.
10 Ways to Use It Right Now
Here's where this gets practical.
Below are 10 prompts — one for each of the Principles of Intentional Intelligence. Each one starts with "Is it possible to..." and connects directly to real PM work.
You don't need to memorize them. Just recognize which one fits your week and try it.
Principle 1 — Intentional Leadership:
"Is it possible to help me figure out where I'm spending my energy this week and whether those things are actually moving my project forward?"
Principle 2 — Value Creation:
"Is it possible to help me reframe my project status update to focus on outcomes and business value instead of task completion?"
Principle 3 — Strategic Stakeholder Engagement:
"Is it possible to analyze my key stakeholders and predict where I'm likely to face resistance before my next meeting?"
Principle 4 — Adaptive Thinking:
"Is it possible to evaluate whether the approach I'm using on this project actually fits its unique context, or whether I should be doing something differently?"
Principle 5 — Context Awareness:
"Is it possible to help me map how my project connects to and might impact other initiatives happening in my organization right now?"
Principle 6 — Risk Intelligence:
"Is it possible to surface the assumptions embedded in my current project plan that I haven't tested yet?"
Principle 7 — Team Empowerment:
"Is it possible to help me design a team retrospective that leads to real change, not just a conversation everyone forgets by Monday?"
Principle 8 — Cognitive Efficiency:
"Is it possible to draft a meeting summary from these notes so I can focus on follow-through instead of write-ups?"
Principle 9 — Continuous Learning:
"Is it possible to explain [concept — insert what you're learning about] in a way that applies directly to the situation I'm dealing with on my current project right now?"
Principle 10 — Ethical Practice:
"Is it possible to help me think through who could be negatively affected by this decision before I commit to it?"
Pick one. Open your AI tool of choice. Type it.
That's the whole exercise.
This Week's Prompt (Risk Intelligence)
If you want to start with the one that tends to produce the most "I didn't see that coming" moments, use this one:
Copy/paste this into ChatGPT or Claude:
"Is it possible to surface the assumptions embedded in my current project plan that I haven't tested yet?
Here's my project overview: [paste a few sentences about your project, its goals, and the current plan]
Please list the assumptions that seem to be baked into this approach — things I'm treating as true but haven't verified — and flag the ones that, if wrong, could most seriously derail the project."
What you'll get: A list of the quiet bets you're making on your project without realizing it.
That's not a nice-to-have. That's leadership.
This Week's Challenge
Before Friday, try one prompt from the list above.
Don't prepare. Don't craft. Don't rewrite.
Just open your AI tool, type "Is it possible to..." and finish the sentence with whatever's actually on your mind about a real project right now.
Then notice what happens.
Does the conversation go somewhere useful? Does it surface something you hadn't considered? Does it feel more like thinking than typing?
If it does, you just found your entry point.
And once you have an entry point, the blank box stops being scary.
Get Intentional,
Paul
P.S. If you try one of these and it sparks something unexpected, hit reply and tell me which one you used. I'm building out the full set of examples for each principle — and the best ones come from what real PMs actually try.
P.P.S Source of this idea: Josh Spector and his "For The Interested" Newsletter. And he saw it posted by Evielyn Chapman.
I like how knowledge travels. Giving credit to those where credit is due.