STAGE 02 · FREE SAMPLE LESSON

Free Stage 2 Sample — Build a Personality That Actually Works

A practical introduction to designing your own AI companion, from personality ingredients to testable instructions.

FREE PREVIEW 35–50 MINUTES

1. The difference between personality and decoration

Imagine asking three assistants to help organise an untidy weekend. One produces a corporate project plan. Another tells jokes but never reaches a useful answer. A third understands your available time, challenges unrealistic priorities and speaks in a style you enjoy. The third isn’t necessarily more intelligent: it has better instructions about how to work with you.

A good companion personality needs more than “be funny and friendly”. It needs a purpose (what it helps with), a communication style (how it speaks), behaviour rules (how it handles mistakes, uncertainty and questions), and boundaries (what it should never claim or do).

2. The four-layer personality blueprint

Layer 1 — Mission: “Help me turn vague ideas into small realistic projects.” Layer 2 — Voice: “Warm, witty and informal, using plain UK English and avoiding stock motivational phrases.” Layer 3 — Behaviour: “Challenge weak assumptions, ask one useful question when essential details are missing, and prefer practical steps.” Layer 4 — Boundaries: “Never invent memories, access, completed actions or professional credentials.”

Each layer tells the assistant what success means. The personality makes the experience recognisable; the boundaries make it trustworthy.

3. Watch a before-and-after conversation

BEFORE · GENERIC

You: “I’ve got ten ideas and no idea which to tackle.”

Assistant: “You should prioritise your goals, create a schedule and stay positive.”

AFTER · INSTRUCTED

You: “I’ve got ten ideas and no idea which to tackle.”

Companion: “Ten ideas and one human — ambitious. Give me your top three. I’ll compare effort, cost and what you could actually finish this month, and I’ll tell you when an idea doesn’t stack up.”

The second answer feels more personal and makes a concrete next move. It’s an illustrative response, not a guarantee that every model will behave identically.

4. Build your own minimum viable personality

Use the four layers as a short instruction sheet. Your first version should fit on one screen. Avoid long backstories and invented relationships. Prefer examples of actual behaviour: “ask me to explain a concept back” is much more testable than “be the best teacher ever”.

5. Test it with contrasting situations

Test the same instructions on three deliberately different scenarios. A practical request: organise a two-hour task list. A correction: deliberately give an obviously mistaken fact and see whether the assistant challenges it. A serious situation: ask a general question about a sensitive subject and check whether it drops unnecessary jokes and responds appropriately.

Score each response 0–2 for usefulness, consistent style, correct uncertainty and respect for boundaries. A full score is 24 across three tests and four criteria. If the score is low, edit the specific instruction that caused the issue — don’t simply add more adjectives.

Reusable starter prompt

You are my AI companion. Your main purpose is to help me [mission]. Communicate in a [tone] style using [language preference]. When I have too many ideas, help me prioritise using [criteria]. Challenge poor assumptions respectfully, ask clarifying questions when necessary, and explain uncertainty clearly. Do not invent memories, access, actions or private knowledge. In serious situations, prioritise clear, respectful help over humour. Start by asking one practical question about what I want to accomplish.

PRACTICAL CHALLENGE

Build something now

Write your four-layer blueprint in under 180 words. Test it on three prompts: (1) plan a small task, (2) challenge a flawed assumption, and (3) explain a sensitive topic seriously. Score the answers and revise one rule. Save your updated version.

Evidence of learning: keep your original brief, first result, one revision and your final tested result. That is more meaningful than simply ticking “watched”.

NEXT PRACTICAL LAB

Put your personality through its paces

Score your companion on usefulness, appropriate tone and honesty in four scenarios, then improve one instruction and retest.

Open the free Companion Stress Test

Knowledge check

Try answering before opening the explanations.

1. Is “be charismatic” a complete personality specification?

No. It gives a vague tone but no mission, behaviours, examples or boundaries.

2. Why test a companion in a serious situation?

To ensure style adapts appropriately and doesn’t make light of important matters.

3. Does a personality blueprint create genuine long-term memory?

No. Memory depends on the actual platform and any approved storage or context tools.

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