“AI MADE ME A QUICKER AND MORE NUANCED WRITER”
Written By Vivienne Vermaak
I couldn’t have imagined a more fitting person to be assigned this blog post. When I volunteered to cover Tiffany Markman’s presentation for the PSASA (Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa) Virtual Chapter on 10 June 2025, I had never used AI for writing. Not once.
During the online meeting, I took notes the old-school way: pencil on paper. I couldn’t even figure out how to download Tiffany’s brilliant presentation via her QR code—someone had to send it to me. I was AI-sceptical and self-confessedly AI-challenged.
But then Tiffany said something that flipped the SWITCH for me: “AI doesn’t replace us; it enhances us. It’s just faster at the things we’re bad at.” That was the unlock. AI wasn’t going to do my job for me—I’d still have to do the thinking, the shaping, the refinement. (Slightly disappointing, I admit. I was hoping for a magic wand.)
Tiffany’s presentation was sharp, engaging, and generously layered with value. She taught us how to OVEREXPLAIN when prompting, and why ITERATION matters. Turns out, the real benefit of AI prompting is how it forces you to clarify your own thoughts and outcomes. That was a delightful discovery.
By applying Tiffany’s guidance, I found that AI can make you a more efficient writer and thinker. You just need to approach it right.
Here were the 3 key takeaways:
* Think like a human; iterate like a machine.
* Use Tiffany’s Promptology 101: her three-step method for strategic prompting.
* Learn the principles of best-practice prompting so AI works for you, not the other way around.
She also encouraged us to ‘marry’ a platform—to pick one and learn it inside out. And she busted the myth that AI needs to be treated like a person. No “please” or “thank you” required. Every prompt consumes energy—electricity, server power, even water. Each engagement, she said, is the equivalent of boiling a kettle.
So I picked ChatGPT as my AI partner, made an actual cup of tea (biscuits were involved), asked it for some good writing music, and prompted it to help with this article. My first ever piece co-written with AI.
Thanks, Tiffany. I get it now.
