the-boring-answer-detector

The Boring Answer Detector

AI (and tired humans) default to the safe, average, textbook answer — technically correct and utterly forgettable. This audits your plan or draft for exactly those lines: the generic advice, the predictable framing, the thing anyone would say. Then it pushes each toward something specific, surprising, or actually yours. It's a bland-o-meter with a fix attached.

What This Skill Produces

• The boring-line flags — the specific parts that are generic, predictable, or textbook
• Why each is forgettable — what makes it the average answer (it applies to anyone; it's advice everyone's heard; it says nothing false but nothing new)
• A sharper version — a more specific, concrete, or non-obvious alternative for each
• The keepers — the parts that are already sharp, so you don't over-edit

Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:

• The content — the plan, draft, pitch, or idea to scan (paste it)
• The goal — what it's for and who it's for (specificity depends on audience)
• How bold — sharpen-but-safe, or make-it-provocative
• Anything fixed — parts that must stay as-is

Framework: Flag The Average, Sharpen It

1. Spot the generic tells. Advice that applies to literally anyone, framings everyone uses, hedged non-statements, and "best-practice" boilerplate are the boring parts.
2. Name why it's flat. For each, say what makes it forgettable — usually it's true but says nothing specific to this situation.
3. Sharpen with specificity. The cure for generic is concrete: a real detail, a number, a named tradeoff, a strong stance, or a non-obvious angle.
4. Push one or two toward surprise. Where it fits, replace a safe line with a genuinely non-obvious take.
5. Leave the good parts alone. Flag what's already sharp so the edit doesn't flatten it or over-spice everything.

Output Format

Scanning: [the content] · for [audience]

| Boring line | Why it's flat | Sharper version |

|---|---|---|

| "[generic line]" | [applies to anyone / cliché / hedged] | "[specific, concrete, or surprising rewrite]" |

Already sharp (keep): [the strong parts].

Overall: [how generic it is + the one change with the most impact].

Quality Checks

• [ ] Flags the genuinely generic/predictable lines, specifically
• [ ] Explains why each is forgettable
• [ ] Offers a concrete, sharper alternative for each
• [ ] Pushes at least one toward the non-obvious
• [ ] Identifies what's already good so it isn't over-edited

Anti-Patterns

• Calling everything boring including the good parts.
• "Make it punchier" with no specific rewrite.
• Swapping one cliché for another.
• Over-spicing until it's gimmicky instead of sharp.

Example Trigger Phrases

• "Is my plan too generic? Sharpen it."
• "This draft feels bland — flag the boring bits."
• "Why does my pitch sound like everyone else's?"
• "Spot the clichés in this and fix them."
• "Make this less textbook and more specific."