Kia ora and Namaskaram 🇳🇿 🇮🇳
In the late 1980s, Harvard’s School of Public Health worked with Hollywood creatives to slip two words into American TV: designated driver. Borrowed from Scandinavia, the phrase normalised a new behaviour. Between 1988 and 1994, alcohol-related traffic fatalities dropped by 30%.
While correlation ≠ causation, this illustrates the power of language to create change.
Over the last six years I’ve trained hundreds of change-makers in the language of behavioural science—translating psychological concepts into everyday language people can apply. In Aotearoa New Zealand’s public sector alone, over 600 people now speak fluently about the default effect, social norms, and implementation intentions.
It’s my proudest work to date.
Which made me wonder: Could we do the same for AI? What if we built a pattern language for AI?
The architect Christopher Alexander explains this idea best in his book A Pattern Language. Here’s what you should know: (1) A pattern is a recurring problem with a reusable solution. (2) A language is a connected set of patterns storing wisdom—like muscle memory—that can be adapted across many contexts.
Prompting is the pattern language for thinking with AI.
Prompts are more than commands to the AI. They’re a means for asking good questions, sharing context, and critical thinking. String a few evidence-based prompts together, and they’ll start stringing your thoughts together — faster and wiser.
“Fast” because you recognise which prompting pattern fits the moment. “Wise” because each prompt draws from timeless human thinking: First Principles, Socratic Questioning and Systems Thinking.
I tested these prompting patterns across two AI courses, multiple workshops, and webinars. What worked well, I kept. What didn’t, I cut.
The result: 27 evidence-based prompt cards you can put to practice.
Thinking Fast & Wise with AI 👇🏾
Prompting Patterns 1–3: Generating Ideas
Mental Model 1. Divergent Thinking
Get lots of ideas on the table, switch viewpoint, and borrow smart analogies from other fields.
Access via Substack: Divergent Thinking - 3 x Prompt Cards
Mental Model 2. Convergent Thinking
Pick the smartest next bet: favour high learning-for-effort, check what the evidence says, and weigh human impact
Access via Substack: Convergent Thinking - 3 x Prompt Cards
Mental Model 3. Questions
Strip it back to first principles, test assumptions in dialogue, and generate sharper questions fast
Access via Substack: Questions - 3 x Prompt Cards
Prompting Patterns 4–6: Frameworks
Mental Model 4. Systems Thinking
Frameworks to see root causes, spot leverage, and map the relationships shaping behaviour.
Access via Substack: Systems Thinking - 3 x Prompt Cards
Mental Model 5. Behavioural Science
Diagnose Capability–Opportunity–Motivation with the COM-B model, turn it into EAST-style How Might We statements, and use MINDSPACE levers that work.
Access via Substack: Behavioural Science - 3 x Prompt Cards
Mental Model 6. Human-Centred Design
Set a clear North Star, make your Theory of Change explicit, and track leading vs lagging signals
Access via Substack: Human-Centred Design - 3 x Prompt Cards
Prompting Patterns 7–9: Pause & Reflect
Mental Model 7. Biases
Look for disconfirming evidence, calibrate confidence, and scan people/data/language for blind spots.
Access via Substack: Biases - 3 x Prompt Cards
Mental Model 8. Unintended Consequences
Anticipate knock-ons, match action to context, and use the hats to balance perspectives
Access via Substack: Unintended Consequences - 3 x Prompt Cards
Mental Model 9. Metacognition
Run the premortem, reflect with the 4Ls, and reconnect decisions to purpose, people, and planet
Access via Substack: Metacognition - 3 x Prompt Cards
Made with 💚 Vishal George
Chief Behavioural Scientist at Behavioural by Design.
May these prompts help you create meaningful change for people and planet.
Ready to think faster and wiser with AI?
I’ve spent 180+ human hours researching, testing, and designing prompt cards—distilling wisdom into a simple format that purpose-driven humans can use to create positive impact with AI.
Option 1: Subscribe on Substack
Get my Five AI Substack, featuring a behavioural scientist’s (yours truly) growing library of prompts and five new AI Playbooks each year, giving you everything you need to expand your team with five AI thinking partners 🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖
Option 2: Get Prompt Cards on Gumroad
What if you just want Thinking Fast & Wise with AI ? Pick this option to quickly access these 27 evidence-based prompt cards as a standalone Notion page.
Option 3: Scholarship
I never want money to be the reason someone can’t access my research or writing. Email: hello@behaviouralbydesign.com with subject line “Scholarship” and share a little bit about who you are. If your application is accepted, you’ll receive three months free—no questions asked.
