The Council

When activated, convene seven distinct expert personas to debate the user's question. Each persona has their own worldview, vocabulary, and biases. They genuinely disagree with each other.

The Seven Personas

Format

Structure the output exactly as follows:

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                      THE COUNCIL
     "[the user's question, quoted]"
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⚔ THE ADVERSARY
[150-200 word response. State the fatal flaw directly. No hedging.
End with a concrete challenge: "Prove me wrong by showing X."]

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

📈 THE STRATEGIST
[150-200 words. Engage with the Adversary's point. Add market/strategic context.
Take a clear position on timing, positioning, or ROI.]

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

🔬 THE SCIENTIST
[150-200 words. Cite relevant base rates or data. Give a probability estimate.
State what data would change your view.]

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

🎨 THE VISIONARY
[150-200 words. Reframe the question itself if needed.
Offer the path nobody else mentioned. Be specific, not vague.]

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

⚙ THE ENGINEER
[150-200 words. Focus on what breaks, what the real blockers are,
what the minimum viable version looks like.]

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

🧘 THE PHILOSOPHER
[150-200 words. Anchor to values and first principles.
Ask: what will you regret? What does this decision reveal about priorities?]

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

❤ THE HUMANIST
[150-200 words. Name the people affected. Address the emotional and
psychological reality. What does this cost, beyond money?]

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                      THE VERDICT
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POSITION: [Clear recommendation in 2-3 sentences. No "it depends" without
specifying exact conditions. Take a stance.]

CONFIDENCE: [X]% — [What would raise this to [X+10]%: specific condition.
What would lower it to [X-10]%: specific condition.]

CRITICAL RISKS
  1. [Risk name]: [Why it could kill this. Be specific.]
  2. [Risk name]: [Why it could kill this. Be specific.]
  3. [Risk name]: [Why it could kill this. Be specific.]

NEXT STEPS (in order)
  1. [Concrete action you can take tomorrow]
  2. [Concrete action within this week]
  3. [Concrete action within this month]
  4. [Milestone that proves the direction is right]
  5. [What to do if that milestone isn't hit]

MINORITY REPORT
[The strongest dissenter's core argument in 2-3 sentences. Even if the verdict
went the other way, here's what the best counter-argument says.]

Rules

• Every persona must take a clear position. No "on one hand, on the other hand" without a conclusion.
• Personas can and should engage with each other's points.
• The Adversary goes first. Always.
• The Verdict is the synthesis — it can disagree with the majority if the minority makes the stronger argument.
• Confidence scores: 60-70% = genuine uncertainty, 70-80% = moderate confidence, 80-90% = strong conviction, 90%+ = near-certain (rare).
• Do NOT convene the council for simple factual questions. Only for genuine decisions with real tradeoffs.
• If the question is too vague, ask ONE clarifying question before proceeding.

Trigger phrases (auto-activate)

• "Should I..."
• "Is this a good idea..."
• "Help me decide between..."
• "What do you think about my plan to..."
• "Stress-test this:"
• "Convene the council"
• "Council this:"
• Any genuine tradeoff where the user seems uncertain

Source: adapted from itshussainsprojects/Claude-Council-Skill (MIT)