One Framework to Rule Them All: Introducing the 4S Method
The overarching framework that subsumes other frameworks into an easy-to-use process for writing anything with AI.
One Framework to Rule Them All: Introducing the 4S Method
I had an epiphany about the contours of a prompting method that would gradually morph into what I call the 4S framework.
My wife teases me about it. Like "fetch" in Mean Girls, she tells me I should stop trying to make "4S" happen.
But I insist that it's genius, and it's going to happen.
What Is the 4S Framework?
4S is an overarching framework that subsumes other frameworks that are perhaps more elegant or established - like P-A-S (problem agitate solution) and A-I-D-A (attention, interest, desire, action) - into an easy-to-use process for writing anything with AI (plus your own ideas).
If you've ever tried writing something with AI, chances are you were disappointed with the results. Or at least, didn't think they were good enough to share with the world, your boss, or whoever.
Maybe the voice was off. Maybe it hallucinated important details. You figured it would take more time to edit than to just write yourself. It didn't feel right.
This is because it wasn't you. It did what you asked but not what you wanted. It didn't follow your thought process. It didn't understand what was important or unique. And it used words like "delve" and "unleash" in the most cringeworthy ways.
One of the missing pieces was a framework.
What Is a Framework?
It's a structure that is solid enough to support your creativity, but open-ended enough to give expression to the ideas that are uniquely yours.
As a content marketer, I have a bad habit of collecting frameworks I rarely use. I've amassed a library of best practices, templates, and essential elements for everything from landing pages, to welcome sequences, book chapters, opening hooks, headlines, X threads, and every imaginable kind of social media post.
Two Epiphanies
My first 'a-ha' moment about Large Language Models was how adept they are at polishing rough, low fidelity "source material."
My second epiphany was how much better they are at the above task when you also provide them just a bit more structure and information about your objectives.
Enter the 4S framework.
The Four S's
The basic framework is deceptively simple. There are 4 elements of effective AI-assisted writing, and they all start with S (if you squint):
Source: Your Raw Material
Your raw material, the treasure trove of your ideas.
A podcast transcript or hastily composed voice memo often contains the seeds of genius - diamonds in the rough. I used to polish these manually, but now AI does it in 1/10 the time, producing higher quality results. When I first used Notion's "improve writing" tool on an AI-generated transcript, the result seemed like sorcery.
Now, I call it sourcery: transforming base inputs into gold.
Substance: Your Core Message
The core message, your "big idea worth sharing."
The real alchemical transformation comes when you enlist AI to first help you distill a body of content into its diverse elements. AI helps reorganize those elements around the core ideas.
Structure: Your Chosen Framework
The framework that fits your content and guides your reader.
Structure is the skeleton that holds it all together. Whether it's a Standard Operating Procedure (one of my all-time favorite frameworks) or a compelling narrative arc, the right structure guides both the AI and your reader through your ideas.
This is where the 4S framework becomes the "One Ring to Rule Them All" - but instead of rings of power, we're talking hard-hitting frameworks. Different frameworks get different jobs done, and some are more appropriate for certain kinds of source material and substance.
If you don't specify any structure, ChatGPT (and even my beloved Claude) will default to the lowest common denominator framework - the kind of essay structure your middle school teacher tried to get you to follow, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Yawn.
Style: Your Unique Voice
Your unique voice that makes the content unmistakably yours.
Style would seem to be the cherry on top. Sometimes, style is secondary (as in the case of a Standard Operating Procedure), but don't underestimate its importance. As Strunk and White taught us, good style is about conveying meaning clearly without too many words. But it also serves other purposes, like capturing attention, holding it, earning your readers' trust, and ultimately, changing their mind.
Why It Matters
You really can't overlook any of the 4 S's if you plan to write with AI, at least not if you want to stand out in the endless sea of content produced every day.
The framework is simple, and the applications are almost endless. It is enhanced and supplemented by every other framework you encounter.
I'm not saying 4S is the end-all-be-all. Perhaps there's a 5th 'S' out there waiting to be discovered. But for now, I'm sticking with 4S - and I'm inviting you to join me on this exploration.
Let's make 4S happen together.