Hey folks,

Most professionals spend hours every week reading things they don’t actually need to read fully.

Reports.
Meeting notes.
Research papers.
Strategy documents.

The real goal isn’t reading.

It’s understanding what matters.

That’s where Gemini is unusually good. It can process large amounts of context and extract structure, risk, and meaning, if you ask the right way.

Here are 10 prompts I use to turn long documents into usable insight.

1️⃣ The Executive Brief Prompt

Prompt:

Read the document and create a concise executive brief with:

• Core objective
• Key conclusions
• Critical supporting evidence
• Why this document exists
• Recommended next action

Assume the reader has zero context.

Why this is powerful:
You instantly understand the purpose of the document.

2️⃣ The “What Actually Matters” Prompt

Prompt:

From this document, extract only the information that would materially impact decisions. Ignore background, explanations, and filler.

Explain why each extracted point matters.

Why this works:
Removes 80% of unnecessary reading.

3️⃣ The Risk Extraction Prompt

Prompt:

Analyse this document and identify:

• Explicit risks mentioned
• Hidden or implied risks
• Weak assumptions
• Areas of uncertainty

Rank risks by potential impact.

Why this works:
This is what most people miss when reading manually.

4️⃣ The 5-Minute Version Prompt

Prompt:

Rewrite this entire document into a version that can be read in 5 minutes without losing critical meaning.

Keep only high-signal information.

Why this works:
Turns long documents into usable ones.

5️⃣ The Decision Impact Prompt

Prompt:

Based on this document, answer:

• What decisions does this support?
• What decisions does this influence?
• What decisions does this not help with?

Why this works:
Connects information to action.

6️⃣ The Hidden Assumptions Prompt

Prompt:

Identify assumptions this document depends on that may not be explicitly stated.

Explain how those assumptions affect reliability.

Why this works:
Surfaces fragility.

7️⃣ The Timeline and Change Prompt

Prompt:

Extract all timeline-related information and explain:

• What has already happened
• What is expected to happen
• What depends on future events

Why this works:
Clarifies sequence and momentum.

8️⃣ The Signal vs Noise Prompt

Prompt:

Separate this document into two sections:

Section 1: High-value insights
Section 2: Supporting or low-value information

Explain why.

Why this works:
Helps prioritise attention.

9️⃣ The One-Page Intelligence Report Prompt

Prompt:

Turn this into a one-page intelligence report with:

• Situation summary
• Key findings
• Strategic implications
• Recommended next steps

Why this works:
Transforms information into intelligence.

🔟 The “Explain Like I Joined Yesterday” Prompt

Prompt:

Explain this document as if I just joined the organisation yesterday and need to understand it quickly.

Avoid jargon.

Why this works:
Removes assumed knowledge.

Curated Prompt Library

Kickstart any task with our Curated Prompt Library, packed with ready-to-use prompts for everyday work. You can also create your own custom prompts, save them privately, and share them with your team, so everyone stays consistent, faster, and on the same page.

How to Share ChatGPT Conversations with Clients (Read-Only Link)

Cheers,

Keval, Editor