The Context That Changes Everything: Why Your AI Prompts (and Life) Need Better Setup

The difference between "role" and "acting as" in AI prompting can transform vague responses into laser-focused advice

Two decades ago, I set out to plan the perfect celebration for my husband's 40th birthday. I wanted it to be big: family, friends, decorations, the whole production. I spent weeks pouring myself into the details—menus, décor, even the story we'd tell to get him to the venue without tipping him off.

The cover story was that we were headed to the horse races, dinner, and a full night out. On the way, we "had to stop" at a local club to pick up a friend. That stop, of course, was the real destination: a surprise party with everyone waiting inside.

But when he walked in, instead of delight, I saw him freeze. Shock, disappointment, maybe even irritation flashed across his face. He's never been a big fan of surprise parties, and to make matters worse, we had been talking with friends about a road trip for months. He thought that night was finally it. In one moment, all my careful plotting collided with his unspoken hopes.

Here's what I realized was actually happening. The party itself wasn't the problem—the people, the venue, even the surprise element could have worked. My real mistake was context. I had built a story that fit my imagination of "perfect," not his reality. I gave him the wrong setup for the experience I wanted him to have.

The irony is, it wasn't the element of surprise that failed. It was how I framed the evening. If I'd simply said, "We're meeting a friend at the club," the reveal would have landed completely differently. Same party, same people—but the path into it mattered everything.

That lesson has stayed with me for twenty years: context shapes meaning. Whether you're planning a milestone celebration or giving instructions to an AI, the framing determines whether you get magic or disappointment. You can't just drop someone—or something—into a role and expect the outcome to align with your world.

Why AI Gives You Generic Answers Instead of Useful Advice

Most solopreneurs and creators I work with struggle with the same issue I had at that party: they're asking for what they want without providing the context for how to deliver it.

With AI, this shows up as generic, surface-level responses that feel like they came from a manual instead of a thinking partner. You ask for marketing advice and get textbook strategies. You request help with a business decision and receive one-size-fits-all frameworks.

The real problem isn't that AI can't help you—it's that you're giving it a role without defining how to act within that role. Just like I gave my husband the role of "party guest" without the context that would make him comfortable in that role.

What I've learned the hard way: There's a massive difference between telling AI "be an expert" and telling it "act as an expert who's speaking to someone in my specific situation." That distinction changes everything.

How Role vs Acting As Completely Changes AI Responses

After my birthday party disaster, I started paying attention to how context shapes every interaction. In my business, when a client would ask for website advice, I learned to ask: "Are you trying to impress your industry peers, or connect with customers who've never heard of you?" Same expertise, completely different approach.

When I started working with AI tools, the same pattern emerged. I'd ask for help with content strategy and get generic social media tips. But when I started experimenting with more specific framing, everything changed.

I realized AI has two levels of instruction, just like people do. There's the overarching role—the expertise and personality it brings to the conversation. Then there's the specific lens or function within that role—how it should apply that expertise for your particular situation.

Here's the breakthrough that changed how I prompt: Instead of just saying "act as a marketing expert," I started saying "your role is a marketing expert, and you're acting as a strategist helping a solopreneur who's overwhelmed by all the conflicting advice online." Suddenly, the responses became specific, actionable, and actually useful.

The same way my husband needed the right context to enjoy his party, AI needs the right context to give you advice that actually fits your world.

Let me show you exactly how this works. I created a simple test using something everyone can relate to: preparing an onion for cooking. Watch this short video where I demonstrate three different ways to ask the same question and get three completely different levels of advice.

First, I simply asked: "Your role is a chef. Tell me the best way to prepare an onion for sautéing." The response was generic—choose the onion, cut it, and follow the basic steps.

Then I added context: "Your role is a chef, and you're acting as a teacher for a home cook who's just beginning cooking lessons." Now the response started with knife safety and broke down every step in beginner-friendly language.

Finally, I shifted the context again: "Your role is a chef, and you're acting as someone training restaurant staff." The response immediately focused on speed, consistency, and volume—completely different priorities for the same basic task.

Same expertise, three different applications. The chef's knowledge didn't change, but the context determined which part of that knowledge was most relevant.

The Exact Prompting Framework That Gets Specific Results

Here's the exact framework I use now for every AI interaction:

The Two-Layer Prompt Structure:

• Layer 1 (Role): "Your role is [expertise/personality]"

• Layer 2 (Acting As): "You're acting as [specific function] for [specific audience/situation]"

Copy-paste examples you can use immediately:

For business strategy:

"Your role is a business consultant. You're acting as a thinking partner for a solopreneur who's feeling stuck between too many good ideas and needs help prioritizing."

For content creation:

"Your role is a content strategist. You're acting as an editor helping someone who has great ideas but struggles to organize them into clear, actionable posts."

For technical help:

"Your role is a web developer. You're acting as a patient teacher explaining to someone who's comfortable with basics but gets overwhelmed by advanced tutorials."

The Context Multiplier: Once you get a response, you can instantly shift the context without starting over. Just say: "Now act as [new specific function]" and watch how the same information gets reframed for a different need.

Pro tip: Save your best role + acting combinations in a simple document. I keep mine in Notion and simply copy and paste the setup that works for different types of questions.

Why Context Matters More for Solopreneurs Than Anyone Else

This isn't just about getting better AI responses—it's about getting help that actually fits your reality as a solopreneur or creator.

Most business advice assumes you have a team, a big budget, or endless time to implement complex strategies. But when you give AI the right context about your actual situation, it adapts its expertise to your constraints and advantages.

Just as I needed to plan the party around my husband's personality, not my own preferences, you need AI advice that takes into account your business model, available time, and specific challenges.

This approach works because it mirrors how the best human advisors operate. They don't just share what they know—they filter their knowledge through an understanding of who you are and what you're trying to accomplish.

Try This 15-Minute AI Context Experiment Today

Pick one area where you've been getting generic advice—whether from AI, online articles, or even well-meaning friends.

Instead of asking "How do I improve my marketing?" try this specific approach:

Step 1: Define the role: "Your role is a marketing strategist with experience helping service-based solopreneurs."

Step 2: Add the acting context: "You're acting as a consultant helping someone who has a solid reputation locally but wants to expand their reach without losing the personal touch that makes their business special."

Step 3: Spend 15 minutes asking follow-up questions within that same context setup.

Notice: How different the advice feels when it's filtered through your specific situation instead of generic best practices.

The goal isn't just better answers—it's advice you can actually implement without feeling like you're trying to fit into someone else's business model.

From Generic AI Responses to Personalized Business Guidance

That birthday party taught me something I use every single day: the difference between what you want to give and what someone needs to receive often comes down to context.

Twenty years later, my husband still brings up that party—not as a disaster, but as the night he learned how much thought I put into making him happy, even when I got the delivery wrong. The intention was right; the framing just needed work.

The same is true with AI. The capability is already there. The knowledge exists. What's missing is the bridge between generic expertise and your specific world.

When you start treating AI like a thinking partner who needs context rather than a search engine that should magically understand your situation, everything changes. You stop getting advice that sounds impressive but doesn't fit your life, and start getting the kind of guidance that actually helps you move forward.

What's your version of my party planning mistake? Where are you asking for help without providing the context that would make that help actually useful?