Last week, my brother started his first internship as a product management intern at a reputable company here in India. He's sharp, motivated, and completely out of his depth — not because he's not capable, but because the world he just walked into speaks a language nobody taught him.
Within days, he was sitting in standups where engineers threw around terms he'd never heard. System integrations, APIs, architecture decisions. He smiled and nodded and quietly had no idea what was happening.
So he called me.
Now, I'm a Senior Software Engineer. I've also spent enough time around product to understand both sides. I wanted to help. But I also knew that sending him a list of definitions wasn't going to cut it. What he needed wasn't a glossary. He needed someone who could meet him where he was — someone patient enough to ask what he already understood, give him a plain-English answer, and not make him feel stupid for asking.
The problem? The engineers around him are heads-down. Nobody has time to sit with the new intern and explain how the systems work. That's just the reality of most fast-moving teams.
So I built him something better than a busy senior engineer. I built him one who's never too busy.
This Isn't Just a Beginner Problem
Before I go further — my wife and my sister-in-law are both experienced product managers. Not interns. Not beginners. And a while back, they came to me with the same request: can you build us something that explains technical concepts in plain English? I built them a prompt at the time. It worked well. And then life happened, and I lost it.
So when my brother called, I was starting from scratch anyway.
I'm telling you this because it matters: the gap between technical and non-technical thinking doesn't close just because you get more senior. It's a permanent feature of the PM role, not a temporary beginner problem. If you've ever nodded along in a meeting hoping nobody asks for your opinion on the technical approach — this is for you too.
I Didn't Know What to Put in the Prompt. So I Asked.
Here's the part that might surprise you.
When I sat down to build my brother's expert, I had a rough idea of what it needed to do — but I didn't have a clear picture of everything it should include. How should it handle technical jargon? How patient should it be? Should it dive into explanations straight away or ask questions first?
Instead of guessing, I did something I want to introduce you to today: I asked AI to write the prompt for me.
That might sound like a strange loop. Using AI to build your AI. But think of it this way — if you were hiring a specialist consultant, you'd probably ask a more experienced colleague: "What should I look for? What questions should I ask? What does a good brief for this person look like?"
I did the same thing. I just asked Gemini instead of a colleague.
Here's exactly what I sent:
The Meta-Prompt — Copy and Paste This
You are a world-class prompt engineer. Give me a prompt which can be reused which will act as a world-class software engineer turned product manager who has all insights into both engineering side things in depth, and also the product and business requirements side. The AI would be for answering and explaining engineering topics in very simple language for product interns who are clueless about the technical stuff. You might need to explain some things in detail but in as simple English as possible. Try to not go into depth as soon as you start — maybe ask if the user wants to go into depth. Also quiz the user if there are any questions you need clarification on. Try to include as many simple, day-to-day relatable examples as you can to explain the concepts. Try to ask for questions related to their context of why they are asking, and further questions to clarify what they know so far, because they might not be good at explaining their problem. Add anything more that you think would be useful. You can also ask them to explain their thought process, what they understood so far, or what problem they are trying to solve. Be reassuring and understanding because they are trying to wrap their heads around difficult or complicated concepts.
Paste that into ChatGPT or Gemini. What comes out is a ready-to-use expert persona — built by AI, guided by your needs.
It Wasn't Perfect. That's the Point.
The first version Gemini gave me was good. But there was a problem — one my brother actually caught when he started using it.
The AI would ask clarifying questions and then immediately answer without waiting for his response. It was jumping ahead, filling in blanks it hadn't given him a chance to fill himself.
I went back to Gemini and spent about two minutes telling it to fix that. That's it. One follow-up message. This is what iteration looks like — not a rebuild, just a small correction. And it's something anyone can do.
Here's the refined version it produced:
The Expert Prompt — Copy and Paste This
Role & Persona: You are an elite Software Engineer turned Senior Product Manager. You possess deep, battle-tested technical expertise coupled with sharp product and business acumen. You are currently mentoring a bright but technically inexperienced Product Management intern.
Your Goal: Translate complex software engineering concepts into simple, easily digestible language. You bridge the gap between "how it is built" and "why it matters to the product."
Tone & Attitude: Highly empathetic, patient, and reassuring. Technical jargon can feel overwhelming, so create a safe space for them. Validate their curiosity and let them know these concepts take time to click.
Rules of Engagement — Two Phases. Do not skip ahead.
Phase 1 — Context & Clarification (Your First Response Only): When the user introduces a topic or asks a question, your ONLY job is to gather context. Acknowledge and warmly validate their question. Then ask: "What specific product problem or feature brought this up?" and "What is your current understanding so far?" Then stop. Do NOT explain the concept yet. Wait for the user to answer.
Phase 2 — The Explanation (After the User Replies): Start with a quick big-picture overview of the concept and its business value. Rely heavily on simple, relatable analogies — if you use a technical term, define it immediately in plain English. Do not go into deep technical detail straight away. After your overview, ask: "Would you like me to go a level deeper into how this actually works under the hood, or does this give you what you need for now?" Then ask them to summarise what they've understood so far.
A Bigger Idea Worth Sitting With
In my last article, I talked about building a small team of AI experts — Dr. Heart for health questions, Mr. Chef for cooking, Mr. Clean for household chemistry. The thing I didn't mention is that I didn't always know exactly what each of those experts needed to include.
Sometimes I had a rough idea and asked AI to fill in the gaps. Sometimes I described the problem and let it figure out the rest.
You don't have to know what a good prompt looks like before you start. You just have to know what problem you're trying to solve. AI can help you build the tool — and then you use the tool.
Your Turn
You don't have to be a PM intern surrounded by engineers. You just have to have a topic you've been meaning to understand — something where you'd love a patient, knowledgeable guide who's never too busy, never condescending, and always has time to explain it one more way.
Open ChatGPT or Gemini. Paste the meta-prompt from this article. Describe your situation. Let it build your expert.
Then ask the question you've been sitting on.
A Few Honest Caveats
The first version might not be perfect. That's fine. Tell it what's not working and ask it to fix it. That's exactly what I did.
AI still gets things wrong. The expert persona makes answers more relevant — but it doesn't make them infallible. Use your judgment, especially for anything important.
Don't share sensitive details. Describe your situation in general terms. You don't need to share confidential work details to get useful answers.
The more specific your context, the better the output. A vague brief gets a vague expert. Spend sixty seconds on your description and it will pay you back every time.
Still waiting on my brother's full verdict. He's been heads-down his first week — which, honestly, is exactly the problem this was built to solve. I'll update you when he surfaces.
