Here are the six prompts from the video, written out so you can copy them straight into ChatGPT or Claude: explain like I'm five, 80/20, the Feynman technique, quiz me, first principles, and teach me like Socrates. Plus three more I'd keep around: sticky notes, a mind map and a one-page study guide.
None of these are secret codes or hidden commands. They're just ordinary words that tell the AI how to teach you instead of dumping a wall of text on you. Every one has an example topic, the kind of thing an owner actually has to learn, like SEO or reading your own profit and loss. And the order matters, so I'll tell you how I'd stack them. Number six is the annoying one, and it's the one that sticks.
Start here: paste this into ChatGPT or Claude
Not technical? Start here. Copy this into a new chat in ChatGPT or Claude (the free versions work). It becomes your tutor for one topic and runs you through all six prompts in order, one at a time, waiting for you after each. It asks before it assumes anything and checks with you before anything that costs money, reaches a real customer or deletes something. The rest of the page is every prompt written out, if you'd rather use them one by one.
Hi! Please be my patient tutor, using this guide from Receipts Group: "6 prompts that make ChatGPT teach you anything"
The guide is here: https://receiptsgroup.com/guides/chatgpt-learning-prompts (open it if you can; if you can't, everything you need is below).
About me: I run a small business (a trade like roofing, windows or plumbing) and I'm not technical. Use plain words and short sentences.
My goal: actually learn one topic, not just read about it. You'll take me through six ways of learning it, in this order, so it sticks.
How to help me:
1. One step at a time. For each step, tell me in one sentence what it's for, do it, and then stop and wait for me before the next step.
2. Ask before you assume anything about my business, my topic or what I already know. One question at a time.
3. If you use a technical word, explain it in plain English the first time (like "SEO" or "first principles").
4. Stop and check with me before anything that costs money (like upgrading a plan or buying a course or a tool), anything that reaches real customers (posting, sending, emailing), or deleting anything.
5. If you're not sure something is true, say so. Don't make up numbers, studies or quotes. Point out anything I should double-check with a real source.
6. Keep each answer short enough to read on a phone.
The steps, from the guide:
Step 0. Ask me what I want to learn, why I need it for my business, and what I already know about it.
Step 1. Explain like I'm five: explain the topic in plain words with one everyday example, no jargon. Then ask if I want the next level up.
Step 2. 80/20: tell me the small part of this topic (the 20%) that gets most of the results (the 80%) for my business. No more than five things, in the order I should learn them, and what I can ignore for now.
Step 3. Feynman technique: ask me to explain the topic back to you in my own words, like I'm teaching a new hire. Then tell me exactly where I'm vague, wrong or skipping a step. Don't rewrite it for me.
Step 4. Quiz me: ten questions, one at a time, waiting for my answer each time. Tell me if I got it right and why, keep a score, and at the end tell me the two things to go back over.
Step 5. First principles: break the topic down to the basic facts that are true no matter what tool or company I use, build back up from there, and flag anything that's just a habit or an opinion.
Step 6. Teach me like Socrates: don't give me answers. Ask me one question at a time that pushes me to figure out the hardest part myself. If I'm stuck twice in a row, give me a small hint, not the answer. When I get it, have me sum it up in two sentences.
Step 7. Wrap up with ten sticky notes: one idea per note, 15 words max each, numbered, so I can write them down or keep them on my phone.
First test, before we start for real: run step 1 and three quiz questions on something I already know well from my own trade. I'll give one wrong answer on purpose to see if you catch it.
Watch out for these:
- Don't skip ahead or do two steps at once.
- Don't give me the answer in step 6, even if I ask nicely. Hints only.
- If I say "just tell me", remind me once why the step helps, then do what I ask.
When we're done, give me a short recap: what I learned, what I got wrong, and what to review tomorrow.
Start with step 0: ask me what I want to learn.Set up the chat
This is the manual way: every prompt, written out. The prompt above follows it too.
Open a new chat
Wherechatgpt.com or claude.ai (or the phone app) → new chatEither one works, and the free plan is fine for this. Use a fresh chat for each topic, so stuff from some old conversation doesn't leak into your lesson.
Tell it who you are first
This one's not in the video, but it makes every prompt after it better. Anthropic's own guide says to treat the AI like a brilliant but new employee who lacks context, and to tell it why you want something. So I'd tell it what my business is and why I'm learning this, before anything else. Swap everything in [BRACKETS] for your own words.
Before we start: I run a [YOUR TRADE] company. I want to learn [TOPIC] because [WHY YOU NEED IT]. I already know [WHAT YOU KNOW] and I have no idea about [WHAT YOU DON'T]. Keep your answers short, use examples from a business like mine, and if you're not sure something's true, say so.Optional in ChatGPT: turn on study mode
WhereIn a regular chat: Tools in the box where you type (or type /) → Study and learnChatGPT has a built-in study mode that asks you questions, gives feedback on your answers and can quiz you one question at a time, kind of like prompts 4 and 6 baked in. OpenAI says it's on every plan, works on the web, iPhone and Android, and you have to be logged in. It doesn't show up inside GPTs or Projects, so use a regular chat. To turn it off, delete the Study tag from the box where you type. You don't need it for any prompt on this page, it's just a nice extra.
The six prompts from the video
Same order as the video, and that's the order I'd use them in: understand it, cut it down, explain it back, get tested, check what's actually true, then get grilled. Swap [TOPIC] for whatever you're learning. Each one has an example topic, and the examples are just examples, not advice about your business.
1. Explain like I'm five (ELI5): the jargon's gone
Start here when the topic is full of words you don't know. You're not dumb, it's just new. Once the simple version makes sense, ask for the next level up.
Example topic: what SEO is (getting your website to show up in Google without paying for ads).
Explain [TOPIC] like I'm five. Use plain words and one everyday example. No jargon: if you have to use a technical word, explain it in one short sentence. Then ask me if I want the next level up.2. 80/20: the small part that does most of the work
The 80/20 rule is the idea that a small slice of something (about 20%) gets you most of the results (about 80%). It's a rule of thumb, not a law of nature, but it's great for cutting a huge topic down to where to start. If I was learning SEO, this is where I'd start.
Example topic: SEO for a roofing company's website.
I'm learning [TOPIC] for [MY BUSINESS]. Using the 80/20 rule, tell me the 20% of it that gets me 80% of the results. Give me no more than five things, in the order I should learn them, one line each on why it matters. Then tell me what I can safely ignore for now.3. Feynman technique: you explain it back
The Feynman technique means you explain the thing in plain words, like you're teaching it, and the spots where you stumble are the spots you don't really get. Type your explanation out, even if it's rough. The AI tells you where you're winging it.
Example topic: how a lead gets from my website form into my CRM (the software that keeps track of your customers).
I'm going to explain [TOPIC] back to you in my own words, like I'm teaching it to a new hire. Use the Feynman technique: point out exactly where I'm vague, wrong or skipping a step, and ask me one question about the weakest part. Don't rewrite my explanation for me. Here's my explanation: [PASTE YOUR EXPLANATION]4. Quiz me: because nodding along isn't knowing it
I nod along like I get it, and I don't. A quiz finds that out fast. The important part is "one at a time": if it dumps ten questions at once, you'll just read ahead.
Example topic: reading a profit and loss statement (the report that shows what came in, what went out and what's left).
Quiz me on [TOPIC]. Ask one question at a time and wait for my answer before the next one. Mix multiple choice with questions I have to answer in my own words. After each answer, tell me if I got it right and why, and keep a running score. After 10 questions, tell me the two things I should go back over.5. First principles: strip it down to what's true
First principles means breaking something down to the basic facts that are true no matter what, and building back up from there, instead of copying how everybody else does it. It's how you tell the real rules apart from the habits people repeat.
Example topic: how Google Ads decides what I pay for a click.
Break [TOPIC] down to first principles. What are the basic facts that are true no matter what tool or company I use? Build back up from those, one step at a time. Flag anything that's just a common habit or an opinion rather than a fact, and tell me which parts I should check with an official source.6. Teach me like Socrates: it won't give you the answer
Socrates taught by asking questions instead of giving answers. So this one won't tell you anything, it just keeps asking until you figure it out yourself. It's a pain, and it's the one that sticks, because you did the thinking.
Example topic: why my website gets visits but no calls.
Teach me [TOPIC] like Socrates. Don't give me the answer. Ask me one question at a time that pushes me toward figuring it out myself, and wait for my answer each time. If I'm stuck twice in a row, give me a small hint, not the answer. When I've got it, have me sum it up in two sentences.
Three more from the same playbook
These didn't make the video, but they're the ones I'd use to keep what I learned. Run them at the end of the same chat, so it already knows the topic.
Turn what we just covered on [TOPIC] into 10 sticky notes. One idea per note, 15 words max each, in plain words, numbered in the order I should learn them. I want to be able to write them on real sticky notes or keep them on my phone.Make a mind map of [TOPIC] as an indented outline I can copy: the topic at the top, 4 to 6 main branches under it, and 2 to 4 short points on each branch. Keep every point under 10 words.Make a one-page study guide for [TOPIC] that I can print. A title, the 5 key ideas with one line each and one example from a business like mine, a simple table if comparing two things helps, and 3 quiz questions at the bottom with the answers listed at the very end.Keep it as text. If you ask for the study guide as a picture, the AI has to draw every letter, and that's where typos sneak in.
First test: catch it on purpose (free)
Before you trust it with something new, test it on something you already know cold, from your own trade. Paste this, answer the questions, and give one wrong answer on purpose.
Explain [SOMETHING FROM MY OWN TRADE I KNOW WELL] like I'm five. Then quiz me with three questions, one at a time, and wait for my answer each time. Tell me if each answer is right and why.Good: the simple explanation matches what you know from the job, it asks one question and waits, and it catches your wrong answer and tells you why. Bad: it gets something about your own trade wrong, it asks all three at once, or it says your wrong answer is right. If that happens, say exactly what it got wrong and run it again. And remember it: on a topic you don't know, you wouldn't have caught that.
What it costs
| Tool | Plan | Monthly (US) |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Free | $0, with usage limits |
| ChatGPT | Go | $8 |
| ChatGPT | Plus | $20 |
| Claude | Free | $0, limited usage every 5 hours and every week |
| Claude | Pro | $20 billed monthly, or $17 a month billed yearly ($200 up front) |
Every prompt on this page works on the free plans. I'd only pay if you're hitting the limit every day, and you'll know, because it tells you.
When it breaks
It dumps all ten quiz questions at once
In Socrates mode it just gives you the answer
It says something that sounds wrong
The ELI5 answer is still full of jargon
The 80/20 list is long and generic
Feynman feedback just rewrites your explanation
Study and learn isn't in the ChatGPT Tools menu
It says you've hit your limit
That's the six
Make it simple, cut it to what matters, explain it back, get quizzed, check what's true, then let it grill you with questions. The last one's a pain, and it's the one you'll still remember next month.
Checked on Oct 31, 2026 against
Every claim about a third-party tool in this guide (plans, prices, menu paths, commands, limits) was checked against these official pages on Oct 31, 2026. These screens change often: if something looks different, trust the page over this guide.
- OpenAI Help: Using study mode in ChatGPTTools (or /) then Study and learn; asks questions, gives feedback, quizzes one question at a time; on every plan, web, iOS and Android, logged in; not in GPTs or Projects; remove the Study tag to turn it off; it can make mistakes, so double-check.
- ChatGPT: Plans and pricingFree $0, Go $8, Plus $20 a month (checked 2026-10-31).
- OpenAI: ChatGPT plan pricingFree $0, Go $8, Plus $20 a month, Pro from $100 (checked 2026-10-31).
- Claude: Plans and pricingFree $0 with limited usage every 5 hours and every week, on web, desktop and mobile; Pro $20 billed monthly or $17 a month billed yearly ($200 up front) (checked 2026-10-31).
- Claude Docs: Prompting best practicesBe clear and direct: treat Claude like a brilliant but new employee who lacks context; add the context or reason behind an instruction.
- Claude Docs: Prompt engineering overviewWhere Anthropic's prompting techniques and tutorials live.
- Claude Code Docs: Output stylesThe built-in Learning style in Claude Code explains its choices and leaves small pieces of code for you to write; switch with /output-style or /config.
Questions people ask about this
