9 AI Prompts for Public Affairs Professionals Who Want Better Thinking, Not Just Faster Drafting
Discover 9 practical AI prompts for public affairs professionals to improve policy messaging, pressure-test arguments, anticipate objections, and communicate more clearly with EU stakeholders.
“What is the single weakest sentence in this briefing, and how would you fix it?”
This is a prompt I would probably never have come up with myself.
And yet, it is exactly the kind of question that makes AI useful for public affairs work.
Not because it writes the briefing for you.
But because it helps you test the thinking behind it.
A lot of AI use in public affairs still focuses on speed: summarise this, draft that, turn this into an email. Useful, yes. But not the whole story.
The real value is when AI helps you pressure-test your message before someone else does.
A policymaker.
A journalist.
A Commission official.
A sceptical attaché.
A client.
A colleague in the meeting who spots the weak point before you do.
So here are 9 AI prompts for public affairs professionals who want better thinking, not just faster drafting:
- Rewrite this message so it would survive a hostile question from an MEP in the relevant EP committee.
- List the 5 strongest objections a Commission desk officer at [DG] would raise to this proposal, then tighten the argument.
- Translate this policy language into something a national journalist would not misinterpret.
- What is the single weakest sentence in this briefing, and how would you fix it?
- Adapt this message for a sceptical Permanent Representation official who is short on time.
- Strip this text of buzzwords and replace them with concrete, defensible claims.
- Assume the audience is politically neutral but institutionally risk-averse, rewrite accordingly.
- What is the hidden assumption in this argument that could be challenged in a meeting?
- Reduce this to a 30-second spoken answer that sounds credible and not rehearsed.
The point is not to let AI do your public affairs work for you.
The point is to use it as a sparring partner.
To make your arguments clearer.
To make your messages harder to misread.
To find the sentence that sounds fine until someone challenges it.
To prepare for the question you hope no one asks.
That is where AI becomes genuinely useful.
Not as a shortcut around expertise.
But as a tool that helps you use your expertise better.
Stop Using AI for Answers. Start Using It for Better Questions
Discover why the real power of AI isn’t in providing answers, but in helping you ask better questions, uncover blind spots, and explore alternative perspectives for smarter decision-making.
Picasso once said: "Computers are useless, they can only give you answers."
That was true in his time, and still true today if you only use AI as a search ("answer") engine.
The real value is in the questions we ask:
- see blind spots in our reasoning ("Identify hidden biases or blind spots in my plan.)
- test assumptions we didn’t know we had ("Highlight my explicit or implicit assumptions.")
- explore alternative framings of the same problem ("How can this problem be viewed from multiple angles? How would a manager, a psychologist, a physicist, and musician look at it?") Or take these for example:
- Instead of asking “What’s the EU’s position on AI regulation?” try “What unintended consequences could the EU AI Act have for small startups?”
- Instead of “Summarize this report,” try “What’s missing from this report that an NGO focusing on circular economy could ask?”
- Instead of “Write a press release,” try “What would make this story credible to a skeptical journalist?”
AI doesn’t (and shouldn't) replace thinking. Just be sure to ask it the right way.
➡️ looking for AI workshops for your team? Influence Builders has trained 1500+ corporate and government affairs teams, and we'll be glad to work with you.
AI on LinkedIn: Hype, Hysteria, or Honest Insight?
A wry look at the LinkedIn AI conversation: from overhyped promises to doomsday takes, existential musings, and magical shortcuts. Where does reality meet rhetoric?
I get the impression that each time someone talks about AI on Linkedin, it's either:
- "oh this is such a hype/BS that only grifters talk about it"
- "you can go sit on a beach, it'll do everything for/instead of you"
- "whatever it churns out, it's a piece of cr*p that should be ridiculed"
- "here is some existential AI philosophy that I just invented"
- "a magic shortcut to hack your way to the top of the newsfeed"
- "it's the end of [name topic] and let's despair OR here is what to do about it"
- "this is revolutionary and the best of all worlds is about to come"
(I am guilty as charged of some of the above, I readily admit.)
Did I miss anything else?
p.s.: and the opportunistic plug, as the plus one: check out Influence Builders
ChatGPT and AI: Overhyped?
ChatGPT and AI for public affairs / strategic communication is overhyped.
“ChatGPT and AI for public affairs / strategic communication is overhyped.”
…a sentiment many professionals secretly (sometimes very openly) share.
We are at the beginning of a long transformation, and even the current tools are incredibly powerful. As long as you instruct them properly.
Prompting is about 1) knowing what you want (the hardest bit) 2) formulating your request properly 3) applying best practices (there are many) 4) refining results (it’s often far from perfect in its first iteration) 5) integrating it in your own and your team’s workflow 6) applying the 80:20 principle (it will give you 80% of the results and you do the remaining 20% to fine-tune it).
But most importantly, it’s about imagination: there is so much more AI tools are capable of than what meets the eye. (More on this in a later post.)
See a few examples for #prompting to get better results.
(and if you are interested in getting a hands-on practical training, join Jacques Foul and me in Brussels or online in June : https://lnkd.in/e6npR854)
Did You Miss the European Commission Presidential Debate? [GPT pro tips]
Did you miss the European Commission Presidential debate a few days ago, but you want to know what the 5 candidates said?
Did you miss the European Commission Presidential debate a few days ago, but you want to know what the 5 candidates said? Worry not, here is what you can do with AI/GPT to catch up - without being a geek.
1. Copy the link of the debate's Youtube recording (https://lnkd.in/evBa6PxY)
2. Paste it into Tactiq.ai 's free transcript generator: https://lnkd.in/eckVkgm2 (it won't be 100% perfect but still totally usable... if you need more accuracy, there are countless paid tools out there)
3. Click to download the full transcript, and upload the file into ChatGPT (or Gemini or perplexity.ai any other tool).
4. Use a prompt like this one:"This is a transcript of a debate with multiple participants as per below:
- Walter Baier (European Left)
- Sandro Gozi (Renew Europe Now)
- Ursula von der Leyen (European People’s Party)- Terry Reintke (European Greens)
- Nicolas Schmit (Party of European Socialists)
Take your time to analyze the full text first. Give me an outline with 5 bullets on each participant's main points and a one-line summary of their main message, plus a memorable quote from each."
5. Impress your boss with your briefing (and share these tips with friends) 👏🏻
Countdown to the European vote: Expectations on the last stretch
As we gear up for the 2024-2029 European Parliament elections, the stakes couldn't be higher.
As we gear up for the 2024-2029 European Parliament elections, the stakes couldn't be higher. With the potential to not only shape the composition of the new EP but also influence the selection of the next European Commission President, the power lies in the hands of the voters across the EU member states.
The question now becomes: will the gravity of these stakes drive more Europeans to the polls on election day? And what are the policy ramifications if radical right forces indeed experience a surge in support? Equally important is how the political mainstream in Europe should strategize for the impending mandate.
These are the pressing issues that our distinguished speakers, including myself, have delved into during this Policy Dialogue. Drawing upon insights from the recent EPC-Eulytix publication titled 'The European Parliament elections 2024: getting more jitters from the mainstream than the far-right,' we've engaged in a robust discussion on the future trajectory of European politics."
Here are the 7 ideas I shared:
1. "European politics is increasingly resembling Eurovision, with alliances and performances that play into identity politics [rather than content]."
2. "The European Parliament, to its credit, is far better at communicating the get-out-the-vote campaign and engaging in global issues."
3. "We see an increasing distinction between those who question the system and those who are unhappy with the *decisions* of the system."
4. "We should not be stuck in our Brussels bubble but listen to the diverse trends, priorities, and voices of Europeans."
5. "Foreign policy, like Ukraine, shows a clear divide between some components of ID and ECR, e.g. the Polish Law and Justice party, which is relatively pro-Atlantic and pro-Ukraine [compared to some of its regional peers]."
6. "The severity of the problem with Russian [and other] interference is not properly understood or taken seriously enough even though it has massive implications for the EU's very existence."
7. "EU institutional reform is essential, especially decision-making reform, to make the EU more effective with [the possibility of an] expanding membership to 30+ countries."
Science Communication with AI: 10 Ideas
Science communication is about to undergo a revolution thanks to AI and large language models, and their ability to simplify without losing the substance (sorry for the pun).
Science communication is about to undergo a revolution thanks to AI and large language models, and their ability to simplify without losing the substance (sorry for the pun).
Here are 10 practical ideas on how to use ChatGPT to turn complex science messages into relatable and understandable ones, dedicated to the memory of my chemistry teacher(s):
1. Simplifying jargon: Use ChatGPT to translate complex scientific terminology into everyday language, making your content more relatable and understandable for the general public.
2. Storytelling with science: Use ChatGPT to create compelling narratives around your scientific findings, instructing it to use storytelling techniques to make your work more engaging and memorable.
3. Analogies and metaphors: Instruct GPT to generate analogies and metaphors to explain complex concepts by relating them to familiar experiences, helping your audience get difficult ideas more easily.
4. Audience-specific content: Use ChatGPT to tailor your scientific messages to different audiences by providing information, in your prompt, about their background knowledge, interests, and concerns, thereby making your communication more persuasive.
5. Interactive explainer tools: You can instruct a public (or custom-built) chatbot to walk the audience through scientific concepts step-by-step, and you can allow them to ask questions and receive simplified (and personalized!) explanations.
6. Emotional appeal: I know scientists are cautious when it comes to emotions, I still suggest you identify and insist to GPT that it incorporate emotional appeals (or specifically 'inspiration' as a key emotion) into your science communication.
7. Visual aids creation: Use ChatGPT to generate *ideas* for visual aids, such as diagrams, infographics, and videos, that complement your scientific messages and make complex information more digestible. (Image generation is still often not up to par.)
8. Persuasive framing: Prompt ChatGPT to frame your scientific messages in ways that highlight their relevance and importance to your audience’s everyday lives, making the information more compelling and actionable.
9. Debunking myths: Generate narratives with ChatGPT that addresses common misconceptions and myths about your scientific field, providing clear, evidence-based explanations to correct misunderstandings. Make sure to instruct it to apply debunking best-practices and avoid any backfire effect.
+1: Engaging social media content: create engaging and shareable social media posts with ChatGPT that distill complex scientific findings into bite-sized, relatable
pieces.
(Interested in learning more about using #ChatGPT and other #AI tools for #scicomm ? Look for our upcoming workshops or request a custom offer.)
**This was originally posted on Andras Baneth's LinkedIn account.
The Kissing Map
Given that Brussels/Belgium has residents from 150+ countries, no wonder we're all so lost when meeting/greeting someone new.
Given that Brussels/Belgium has residents from 150+ countries, no wonder we're all so lost when meeting/greeting someone new, not to mention the difference between Flanders and Wallonia. (It may have been useful to add that we're talking about kiss on the cheeks.. anyhow, h/t The European Correspondent) #culturemap #protocol
The Ultimate Persuader
Can you become the ultimate persuader in 3 minutes using #EUGPT?
Can you become the ultimate persuader in 3 minutes using #EUGPT? #advocacy professionals, #lobbyists, MEPs and civil servants, from Washington D.C. to Brussels and beyond are in the #influence game.
Use these prompts to get better arguments for your next meeting or email:
1. "Give me 10 frameworks or research-based proven methods for effective persuasion." (you'll likely get Cialdini’s Six Principles of Persuasion, Behavioral Economics and Nudge Theory, Inoculation Theory and others)
2. "Use these methods and approaches to craft 7 persuasive arguments to convince [target audience] of [topic]."
3. "Given the above audience and their current stance, list 10 counter-arguments they will likely use to push back on my persuasion."
4. "Apply the above persuasion frameworks and methods to push back against their counter-arguments even before they make it, that is, proactively."
(ChatGPT for public affairs & comms workshop with Jacques Foul coming soon.
Follow us to stay tuned & share the above if you found it useful.) cc Influence Builders Academy
Evidence-Based Policy Making
“Evidence-based policy making” only works if the evidence is reliable.
“Evidence-based policy making” only works if the evidence is reliable, meaning, ideally, that it is not provided by a terrorist organization and then endorsed by a flawed international organization for 8 months. For those blinded by their ideological bias or racist prejudice, it doesn’t matter anyway. (And even these figures are likely still exaggerated.)
#Eurovision and EU #lobbyists
What's the connection between #Eurovision and EU #lobbyists ?
What's the connection between #Eurovision and EU #lobbyists ? More than what meets the eye 🇪🇺 (cc Influence Builders Academy)
Evolution of the European Parliament
The European Parliament's "get out the vote" campaign's visuals from 2009 --> 2024.
It's impressive to see the evolution of the European Parliament's "get out the vote" campaign's visuals from 2009 --> 2024. Well done!
Featured articles
and Insights
This compilation takes us through the history of the first #EPSO candidates, showcasing their journey and achievements from the very beginning to the present day—and even looking ahead.
A compilation of the first #EPSO candidates throughout history, until today and beyond.
(Have you played with ChatGPT-4o's new image capabilities? Pretty impressive.)
*This was originally posted on Andras Baneth's LinkedIn account.
Discover the inspiring story behind The Ultimate EU Handbook, a book born from the unexpected connection of a chance pitch and years of creative collaboration.
20 years ago, John Harper said 'yes' to an unknown person's unsolicited book pitch, which set of a chain of positive events. Yesterday, another book came to be as a result of two years' intense work and creativity of Sonia Gongu, Martin Tomov, Ljiljana Pavkov... and 'The Ultimate EU Handbook' was born.
Special thanks to Maryana Panyevina, Klym Ahrykov and David Meszaros for your support to make the launch event at Ambiorix Center & Podcast Studio special.
🇪🇺🙏📚
*This was originally posted on Andras Baneth's LinkedIn account.
What began as a discussion about burnout quickly turned into an exploration of something deeper. In my conversation with Dr. Vasadi Anna, a psychiatrist with decades of experience, it became clear that burnout isn’t just about long hours or stress—it’s rooted in expectations, upbringing, and the invisible pressures we internalize from an early age.
English summary of the latest episode of András' Hungarian podcast, 'Lélek Algoritmus – Ilyen az ember (avagy beszélgetések egy pszichiáterrel)' – 'The Soul’s Algorithm: The Human Condition (Conversations with a Psychiatrist).
What began as a discussion about burnout quickly turned into an exploration of something deeper. In my conversation with Dr. Vasadi Anna, a psychiatrist with decades of experience, it became clear that burnout isn’t just about long hours or stress—it’s rooted in expectations, upbringing, and the invisible pressures we internalize from an early age.
Burnout: More Than Just Exhaustion
Burnout gets thrown around a lot, but what does it actually mean? Many assume it’s just extreme fatigue, but as Anna pointed out, it’s something deeper. Burnout drains you emotionally, mentally, and even physically. It’s not the kind of tiredness that a weekend off can fix.
A key distinction Anna made: while depression can affect every part of life, burnout is usually tied to work. But it doesn’t stay there. It spreads—first to colleagues, then to family, then to an overall sense of disillusionment.
The Perfectionist’s Trap
Burnout isn’t just about overworking—it’s about overworking with the wrong mindset. People who push themselves too hard, who never feel their efforts are enough, who equate self-worth with productivity—these are the most at risk.
A common misconception: If I love my work, I can’t burn out. But passion doesn’t shield you. In fact, it often makes things worse. Overcommitting, ignoring personal limits, and relying on caffeine or alcohol to keep up are all red flags.
The Long Shadow of Childhood Expectations
Why do some people burn out while others keep their balance? Often, it starts in childhood.
Many of us grow up believing that our worth is tied to achievement. If we didn’t excel, love and approval felt conditional. Some parents—often unknowingly—reinforce this by setting impossibly high standards or withholding affection when a child falls short. Over time, this creates a need for external validation, making burnout almost inevitable.
Take elite athletes. Their entire identity is wrapped up in performance. When they lose, it’s not just a setback—it feels like a loss of personal value. The same happens in workplaces. A high achiever who misses a promotion doesn’t just feel professional disappointment—they feel like they have failed as a person.
Midlife Crisis: Burnout of the Soul
This naturally led us to midlife crisis, which, in many ways, is burnout playing out on a larger scale.
Both stem from the same root: spending years chasing external markers of success without stopping to ask, Is this what I actually want?
The midlife crisis tends to hit in the 40s or early 50s, often when several pressures collide:
- Aging Parents: The growing responsibility of caring for elderly parents forces many to confront their own mortality.
- Teenage Children: At the same time, kids are becoming more independent, adding another layer of emotional complexity.
- Career Pressures: By midlife, most people have built careers, but many start questioning if they’re on the right path.
It’s a perfect storm of obligations, internal and external, that makes people reevaluate everything—from their job to their marriage to their purpose.
Finding a Way Forward
So, how do we deal with burnout and midlife crisis without making rash decisions?
- Rethink Success – Instead of measuring success by salary, job title, or external validation, define it in terms of fulfillment and balance. If your work is draining you, can it really be called success?
- Recognize the Warning Signs – Losing interest in work, feeling detached, and struggling to muster enthusiasm are all early signs of burnout.
- Set Boundaries – Work will always demand more. It’s up to you to decide what is enough.
- Address Deep-Seated Patterns – If your self-worth depends on achievement, it might be time to rethink where that belief came from. Therapy and self-reflection can help break the cycle.
- Embrace Change – A midlife crisis isn’t necessarily a crisis—it can be a wake-up call. Maybe it’s time for a career shift, a realignment of priorities, or simply a different perspective.
Final Thoughts
Burnout and midlife crisis aren’t just work problems or age-related phases. They’re signals—urgent ones—telling us that something needs to change. The real question isn’t How do I push through? but Am I living a life that actually fits me?
If the answer is no, maybe the crisis isn’t a disaster. Maybe it’s an opportunity.
