The "rubber duck" prompt technique

Explain your problem to Claude like it's a rubber duck — except this duck talks back. Instead of: "Fix this bug" Try: "I'm going to explain a bug to you. Don't write any code yet. Just ask me clarifying questions until you fully understand the problem." This forces YOU to articulate the problem properly. Half the time you figure out the bug yourself mid-explanation. The other half, Claude's clarifying questions reveal an assumption you didn't know you were making. Stolen from pair programming. Works even better with AI because it never gets bored.