Video Part One - Notes: 

To complete the exercise in part one, you'll need to sign up with one of the AI providers, e.g. OpenAI, or Anthropic. I currently pay OpenAI $20 per month to use GPT-4, I'd guess it gifts me back about two hours every day...so, a cost of approx $0.50 per hour.

I choose to spend this time working on the high-touch tasks that only I can do: driving my business forwards, appearing on camera and liaising live with prospective clients.

Before trying exercise one, why not say hi to your AI? Tell the system your name and the name of your business. Explain exactly what you do and who you do it for (describe your clients). Tell it what your immediate business goals are, and ask it to explain some of the ways it could help you. 

EXERCISE ONE -  writing a letter to a client. 

The quality of the response you'll get is dependent on the quality of brief (the 'prompt') that you give.

I've drafted the prompts below formally, to start with good practice. In reality, the way I write to my AI partner is much more like the way I speak: less structured, more chaotic! It can make a silk purse out of a pig's ear.

Try copying and pasting the following prompt, or, change the details and use this exercise to help you with a current task in your business. 

PROMPT

Please help me by drafting a letter based on the following brief: 

Title: Writing a Covering Letter for a Fee Proposal After an Initial Meeting

Desired Outcome: The client is impressed by my professionalism, feels confident in my understanding of their project, and agrees to my attached fee proposal, proceeding to commission my services.

Necessary Content: 

 1. Open with gratitude, thanking the client for their time and openness during the meeting.

 2. Summarise their needs and preferences discussed in the meeting to show understanding.

 3. Prepare the client for the attached fee proposal by outlining its contents and purpose.

 4. Reassure them that I am available to discuss any part of the proposal or the project.

 5. Provide clear next steps, such as signing the agreement or scheduling a follow-up call.

Useful information: The property is a Georgian villa set in its own grounds in Bath. The client has just bought it, it's really tired and in need of significant repairs, but it has beautiful bones - all the original features are still intact. The client has three school-aged children, and two dogs. Their preferred style is contemporary, but respectful of the architecture and history of the building and location. They want to use colour expressively and are open to being brave and adventurous. 

Tone: Friendly yet professional, warm and sensitive, confidence-inspiring, and appropriate for a UK audience. Maintain decorum—avoid being overly familiar or gushing, but inject my genuine enthusiasm for the project.

Recipient: A couple, husband and wife, both professionals; the husband is concerned about time and value, the wife wants the home to reflect their personalities, and to develop with the family over time. They both value clarity and attention to detail.

Style Preferences: 

 • Length: Aim for 200-250 words.

 • Clarity: Use concise sentences and clear language.

 • Formatting: Use short paragraphs for readability.

Additional Instruction: If the draft can be improved, provide suggestions to enhance clarity, tone, or effectiveness.

END PROMPT

In the video I mention using AI to help you with business planning, I will post the Business Planning materials direct into the Hothouse group - or ask me to send these to you. 

Video Part Two - Notes: 

To complete the exercise in part two, you'll need to sign up with the free AI system operated by Google: Google Notebook LM.

EXERCISE TWO -  using an audio file to create new materials.

You'll need an audio recording to run this exercise, for example, a recording of a meeting (ask permission to record, and tell others how you'll use the data), or a podcast...or even your unedited thoughts about a situation that exasperates you, and where you'd like help organising your thoughts into a rational order.

Follow the instructions in the video to upload your recording to the system. 

EXAMPLE PROMPTS

1. "Create minutes from this recording of a meeting, including actions for group members."

2. "Draft notes for podcast listeners, highlighting the key themes addressed in this episode."

3. "I am upset about the situation described in this recording, please help me to organise my thoughts logically, so that I can begin the process of writing a letter of complaint." 

END PROMPTS

While you're there, try this...Google Notebook LM has a surprising additional feature, as you look at the interface you'll notice a button that says, "Generate 2-way conversation", or similar.

Try uploading a recording (or a document) to Notebook LM, and then press this button. It will take few minutes to process, but you'll be amazed by the audio file produced. You can use this successfully to get different perspectives on the selling points and strengths of a business plan, or a sales pitch. 

Video Part Three - Notes: 

To complete the exercise in part three, we'll use GPT-4 or Claude again. 

EXERCISE THREE - using AI as a journalling partner to help with personal development, or managing a sensitive or stressful situation. 

Do you ever wish you had a strategically-minded diplomat on speed dial? This application is maybe the most powerful way of using AI. How I wish I'd had access to this when working with my most challenging interior design clients.
I wrote a blog about the experience of analysing a fictional client interaction using AI when I first discovered this use case - you can read it here. The blog captures the 'conversation' (all in writing) with the AI, and demonstrates the kinds of questions you could ask, and the advice you might get back. 

The example below focuses on using AI to overcome a mindset issue, e.g. nagging impostor syndrome. It suggests how you could work on building resilience and confidence over time as a result of keeping a journal or diary of events that report on your mood and mindset. 

EXAMPLE PROMPTS

1. "I want to start a journal on the subject of impostor syndrome. I often feel out of my depth or anxious about my performance, I would like to explore this with a view to improving over time. To begin, can you provide me with an overview of impostor syndrome: what it is, what causes it, how to live with it, and how to improve and feel more confident over time?"

2. "Is there a recognised expert working in this field, is there someone who has established proven therapies or practices designed to help you overcome impostor syndrome with time?"

3. "I would like you to act as a form of therapist for me as I record how I feel on a regular basis. I would like you to suggest activities or ways of rethinking my reactions in the manner of [insert name of recognised expert identified in the question above]." 

4. "Please suggest a programme of self-help I could follow - with your assistance - how would you recommend I proceed from here given my desire to improve and change?"

END PROMPTS

Many AI users refer to the 'difficult email' as being a killer app for AI. By this they mean production of a communication that treads a careful path through a controversial subject, without triggering a negative response or making the situation worse. Indeed, AI can help you improve relationships that historically you might have struggled to sustain. 

Video Part Four - Notes: 

To complete the exercise in part four, we'll use a different system: MidjourneyAI. 

EXERCISE FOUR - uses images of your own work to imagine similar, new interiors that look just right as part of your portfolio. 

You'll need images of work you've completed - images you own - in order to generate new, related interior views. 

Follow the instructions in the video to clone your past projects and create new attractive images for use on your website or on social media. 

Midjourney is also brilliant at imagining new interiors that don't exist in the real world, based on a written prompt. If you can describe it, Midjourney can imagine it. Beware: you get what you are given, you can make modest adjustments however the system has a mind of its own and doesn't take detailed direction. Think of your partnership as being more like a creative collaboration. All Midjourney prompts start with the instruction /imagine although the new Midjourney website seems to have this starter built in now, and all you need to write is your text prompt. 

EXAMPLE PROMPTS

1. "[/imagine] an interior design sample board displaying pale toned natural materials including stone, wood, textiles, metal, and a hint of nature itself in the form of green leaves, all laid out in flatlay view on a board as if being presented to a client."

2. "[/imagine] a rustic style finca in Andalusia, southern Spain, with simple white-washed walls, timber roof beams, terracotta floors strewn with antique rugs, white sofas, and minimal decoration involving baskets, and plants (just a few). There is a wall of french doors giving out onto a terrace with far-reaching views of the Spanish landscape and mountains, with the mediterranean sea in the distance, it is early evening, the sun is setting, and on the terrace a table has been simply set for sundowner drinks. A motion-blur silhouette of a slim woman in a white kaftan moves across the scene. Editorial style photo, AR 16/9." - in this prompt AR 16/9 refers to the aspect ratio (the rectangular proportions) of the image, and 'editorial style' means, 'make it look like an image from a magazine'. 

3. "[/imagine] an aspirational interior design photograph, showcasing a beautiful, large sitting room with double-height ceiling and mezzanine level overlooking the room. Decorated in a neutral and pale palette, and in contemporary style using natural materials such as stone, wood, wool, linen. There are large patio doors down one long wall, these are open and overlook a pretty terrace with pot plants and comfortable outdoor seating, in turn the terrace looks out over a Tuscan landscape. It is late in the afternoon, the sun is setting. AR 16/9." 

END PROMPTS

Midjourney is great for producing decorative images for websites (I used it to create mood images for mine www.recipeforaroom.com), it will generate materials in the styles and colours you describe. It's quicker than searching Pinterest for something real that to match what you have in mind. It's important to be honest about the provenance of your visuals, and not to seek to deceive when presenting AI work, and sites like Instagram now have special labels for machine-made images.