What a role can tell you
“Act as an analyst” can be a useful way to request a style of thinking. It may encourage a more structured answer or surface different questions.
The label alone does not tell the model what this person needs, what they know, or what the decision could cost them. That missing context limits the review.
Add the situation that makes the perspective relevant to your work.
From a title to a useful seat
The work: A plan to introduce a new internal reporting tool.
A generic role: “Review this as a manager.”
A specific seat: The team lead who must keep weekly reporting accurate while five people learn the new tool. They have limited training time and are responsible for resolving errors.
The specific seat directs attention to questions about training, the transition period, and ownership. It still does not prove what that team lead thinks.
The next move: Ask the real team lead to check those assumptions before finalizing the plan.
Three rules for choosing the chair
- Start with one. Give one perspective enough attention to reveal something useful.
- Follow the action. Choose the person who must buy, approve, use, implement, or live with the result.
- Consider the cost of being wrong. Look for the seat where an overlooked assumption would matter.
Use the Context Card to record the situation. Then review the work through a Room Report and sort what you hear.
Earn the next perspective
After the first review, ask what remains unanswered. If the team lead raises a technical migration question, a technical owner may be the right Next Chair.
If the question is still unclear, improve the Ask or the context before adding more roles. More output does not necessarily resolve the uncertainty.
Keep the order: review, sort, verify what matters, then rewrite.
How is an Empty Chair different from a role prompt?
A role prompt asks AI to respond as a type of person. An Empty Chair ties the review to a specific situation and outcome. It also makes you sort the observations and check important assumptions before rewriting. Naming the role is only a beginning.