I woke up in a fancy hotel in Canberra this morning with a few things on my mind to share with you this morning in this December 2023 edition of the Celebrant Institute newsletter. I'm so excited about AI and how it can help and change our celebrancy businesses, but then I thought about how Tesla cars have been on the market for a decade and yesterday was the first time I drove one. Massive change is hard, but it happens much like bankruptucy - very slowly, then all at once. So I'd love to hear how you're using AI, or if you're interested, or scared. Give me a vibe check on AI so I can get an idea on how to help you best in the new year.
– Josh
The 2022 Australian marriage statistics have been released and Sarah has the report on the website now.
- the most marriages in a year in Australia ever: 127,161
- the oldest median age of men and women: 32.5 for me, 30.9 for women
- the most marriage ceremonies on the one day in the year was Saturday 22/10/2022, 2,022 marriages!
Please tell me you've done your OPD? This is the month, get it done!
Our emails, your emails, are about to become a whole lot harder to get into Gmail inboxes as they start requiring a higher level of security setup on email systems. Read about the upcoming changes to GMail receiving emails here.
On Wednesday Sarah and I (Josh) are meeting with the Marriage Law and Celebrants Section of the AGD along with the other associations and networks, nows your chance to let us know if you have an issue you want raised at that meeting.
Earlier last month I emailed you about the marriage law changes in front of parliament, stay tuned to our website and this email newsletter for changes as they happen. This is the latest update.
For the third time this year I've updated my "Best PA system for celebrants" purchasing advice, so if you're shopping around, here's the current best buy for a PA system and microphone.
Prompting ChatGPT
I'll leave you with this advice from Phil of Robot Pigeon on how to learn how to prompt ChatGPT better. It's super cute to see people sharing jokes about how stupid ChatGPT is, but it's a GIGO system. Garbage in, garbage out. If you want to learn more about prompting ChatGPT really well, Phil has just launched a new course on the matter - I'm doing it too.
Here's some good advice on how to get good garbage into ChatGPT so you can get the best garbage out.
"Act as a [Role]. Provide me with a [Task] in a [Format] format."
For instance, "Act as a financial advisor. Provide me with an investment strategy for a beginner in a bullet-point list format."
Examples and Scenarios
Let's explore a few scenarios where the RTF framework can be particularly useful:
1. **Content Creation:**
- **Role:** Creative Writer
- **Task:** Write an engaging story
- **Format:** Narrative with dialogue
- **Prompt:** "Act as a creative writer. Write an engaging story about time travel in a narrative format with dialogue."
2. **Educational Material:**
- **Role:** Science Teacher
- **Task:** Explain the concept of photosynthesis
- **Format:** Simple explanations with diagrams
- **Prompt:** "Act as a science teacher. Explain the concept of photosynthesis in simple terms with accompanying diagrams."
3. **Business Strategy:**
- **Role:** Marketing Expert
- **Task:** Develop a marketing plan
- **Format:** Detailed report with key strategies and timelines
- **Cooking Inspiration:**
- **Prompt:** "Act as a gourmet chef. Suggest five quick dinner recipes for two in a list format."
- **Travel Planning:**
- **Prompt:** "Act as a travel guide. List the top ten must-visit places in Paris in a bullet-point format."
It was lovely to meet so many of you at the Easy Weddings event this last week, it's a solid reminder that us celebrants have the best job in the best industry. Thanks for doing what you do.
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