I stopped typing

Happy Thursday!

Welcome back to HOW TO // AI. Quick confession this week: for most of my AI conversations, I don't type anymore. I talk. And once you try it, I don't think you'll go back either.

Here's what's in today's issue:

Let's get into it! (Short on time? grab the free Talk-to-AI Kit now and read the why later.)

When I was writing my book, I hit a wall early on. Not writer's block. Typing block.

The best AI results come from giving it real context, and real context is long. The situation, what you've tried, what you want, what to avoid. I knew all of that in my head, but typing three paragraphs of setup before every request felt like homework. So I'd type one lazy sentence instead, get a mediocre answer, and blame the AI.

Then I started talking instead. I'd hit the mic and ramble for ninety seconds about a chapter, what it needed to cover, the stories I wanted in it, what tone to avoid. Big chunks of Amplified started life as me pacing around my office talking to Claude. And these days, just about every AI conversation I have starts with my voice, not my keyboard.

Here's the math behind why this works so well:

You type around 40 words a minute. You speak around 150. Last week I showed you that good prompts are mostly good context. Speaking makes context nearly free. The same 30 seconds that gets you one typed sentence gets you a whole spoken paragraph, and the answer that comes back is night-and-day better.

There's a second benefit I didn't expect: talking keeps you thinking out loud instead of polishing. When you type, you edit yourself. When you talk, you just explain, the way you would to a coworker. It turns out AI understands "coworker rambling" perfectly well. You don't need clean sentences. You need complete thoughts.

On your phone: open ChatGPT or Claude and tap the microphone icon on the keyboard. That's it. Dictate your prompt instead of typing it. Every phone has this built in.

ChatGPT voice mode: the headphone/voice icon starts a full back-and-forth spoken conversation. Great for thinking through a problem on a walk.

On your computer: both Mac (press the mic key or double-tap a shortcut) and Windows (Win + H) have built-in dictation that works in any text box, including AI chats.

Try this starter, out loud, filling in as you go:

That last line matters extra with voice, because rambling sometimes leaves gaps, and it lets the AI catch them.

Honesty section, because voice isn't magic for everything. Type when the exact wording matters (code, legal language, anything you'd want to quote precisely), when you're somewhere you can't talk, and when you're editing rather than creating. My split is roughly: voice for the first messy explanation, keyboard for the surgical follow-ups.

Voice setup steps for ChatGPT, Claude, and your phone, plus five "speak, don't type" prompt starters and a talk-out-loud cheat sheet, all in one Notion template. Free, and no email required if you're reading this in your inbox.

→ Grab the free Talk-to-AI Kit

Built-in dictation is where to start, but it has rough edges. It types your "ums," it punctuates badly, and you end up cleaning up after it.

The tool I actually use every day is Wispr Flow. It's system-wide voice typing that works in every app, and the difference is that it cleans as you speak: filler words gone, punctuation handled, so what lands in the chat box reads like you typed it carefully. I used it constantly while writing the book, and it's still how most of my prompts get written today.

It's free to start, and if talking to your AI clicks for you the way it did for me, it's the upgrade that makes it effortless.

→ Try Wispr Flow free

Write better emails with AI in 5 minutes
The Context → Task → Tone formula that stops AI sounding like a robot. Free 5-Minute Email Toolkit included.

The 6 AI prompts I use most
The short prompts I reach for almost every day, and why they're shorter than you'd think. Free Tiny But Mighty Prompt Pack included.

Your AI is lying to you
Three prompts to catch fabricated stats, fake quotes, and made-up sources. Free AI Fact-Check Kit included.

Have a question you want answered? Email [email protected] and you just might be featured in an upcoming issue!

This newsletter is your starter kit for mastering AI with confidence. We keep things simple, show real examples, and focus on quick wins you can repeat.

Stay curious, stick with it, and watch your skills grow week by week!

Until next time :)

-David

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