Upload material that is in your own voice and that you would be comfortable having your twin discuss with anyone who talks to it: books, talks, sermons, lecture notes, newsletters, frameworks, and above all your own written answers to the questions you are asked most. Leave out anything confidential, anything about identifiable other people, anything you do not own, and anything you would not say in public.
The rule
A twin answers from its material to anyone who asks. It does not have a creator-configured list of off-limits topics today. So the decision about what the twin may talk about is made at upload time, by you. If you would not want a stranger to hear the twin discuss it, do not give it to the twin.
What works best
Material in your own words, on the subjects people come to you for. By kind of creator:
- Authors: the full text of your books, essays, newsletters, interviews. Readers will ask about meaning, characters, choices and what you think now.
- Coaches: your frameworks, workshop material, client-facing handouts, recorded talks. Clients will ask how you would approach their situation.
- Faith leaders: sermons, teaching series, written reflections, guidance you are comfortable sharing publicly.
- Teachers and professors: lecture notes, slides, syllabi, study guides, worked examples. Students will ask for the explanation again, differently.
- Investors, buyers and other Gatekeeper creators: what you look for, your criteria, the questions you always ask, examples of strong and weak answers.
The single most valuable thing to write
Sit down and answer, in your own words, the thirty or forty questions you get asked most. Not polished essays; the way you would actually answer in conversation. This does more for a twin than almost any other material, because it is exactly the kind of answer people will ask for, in exactly your voice. It is also the best place to put what you think now, which may differ from what you wrote ten years ago.
What to leave out
- Confidential material. Client files, counseling notes, unpublished work you are not ready to discuss, internal business documents.
- Other people's information. Anything that identifies a congregant, client, student or colleague. Your twin should talk about your thinking, not about third parties.
- Material you do not own. Other authors' books, articles you did not write, course material licensed to you. Train the twin on your work, not on your bookshelf. See Who owns what.
- Things you would not say in public. Drafts, rants, half-formed positions. The twin will present them as your view.
- Anything that could be mistaken for professional advice you are not licensed to give. A twin is never a substitute for medical, legal, financial or crisis help, and your material should not invite it to act like one.
Quality over quantity
A thousand pages that repeat themselves add little. Fifty pages that cover the questions people actually ask, in your voice, add a lot. If the twin gives a vague answer on some topic, that is the signal to add material on that topic specifically.
Revisit as you go
Read the conversations your audience shares in normal mode. Where the twin was thin, add. Where it discussed something you would rather it did not, remove the material that led there. Nothing you upload is permanent.
Common questions
Should I upload my whole book or just a summary?
The whole book, if you are comfortable with readers discussing all of it. A twin answers from specific passages, so the full text produces far better answers than a summary.
Can my twin discuss things I didn't upload?
It has nothing of yours to draw on for those topics, so it will either say it does not have your view or give a general answer. Treat what you upload as the boundary of what the twin should discuss.
Can I remove something after I've uploaded it?
Yes, at any time. Because your material is used as context rather than trained into a model, removing it takes effect on the next conversation.