Diverse Content Generation using Verbalized Sampling
Overview
This skill teaches agents how to use Verbalized Sampling (VS) - a research-backed prompting technique that dramatically increases output diversity (1.6-2.1× improvement) without sacrificing quality.
The Problem: Standard aligned LLMs suffer from "mode collapse" - they generate overly similar, safe, predictable outputs because of typicality bias in training data.
The Solution: Instead of asking for single instances ("write a blog post"), VS prompts the model to verbalize a probability distribution over multiple responses ("generate 5 blog post ideas with their probabilities").
Core Principle: Different prompt types collapse to different modes. Distribution-level prompts recover the diverse base model distribution, while instance-level prompts collapse to the most typical output.
Workflow Decision Tree
Detect user intent, route to appropriate reference:
| User Request Pattern | Route To | Description |
|---------------------|----------|-------------|
| "Generate diverse [content]" | references/vs-core-technique.md | Learn VS basics, prompt templates, execution |
| "Write 5 blog posts / captions / ideas" | references/task-workflows.md | Task-specific workflows pre-configured |
| "Need higher quality" or "too wild" | references/advanced-techniques.md | VS-CoT, VS-Multi, parameter tuning |
| "Save to file" or "batch process 50 items" | references/tool-integration.md | VS + File tools, batch workflows |
| "VS outputs too similar" or errors | references/troubleshooting.md | Common pitfalls and solutions |
| "Which model works best?" | references/research-findings.md | Benchmarks, model compatibility |
Default workflow: Load vs-core-technique.md first, then load additional references as needed.
When to Use This Skill
Trigger Scenarios
Use VS when user requests:
- "Give me multiple variations/options/ideas"
- "I need diverse [content type]"
- "Brainstorm several approaches to..."
- "Generate different angles for..."
- "Avoid repetitive/similar outputs"
Use VS for these content types:
- Creative writing (blog posts, stories, poems, scripts)
- Marketing (campaign ideas, taglines, ad copy, social captions)
- Product content (descriptions, feature bullets, value props)
- Ideation (brainstorming, exploration, strategy options)
- Open-ended QA (tasks with multiple valid answers)
DON'T use VS for:
- Single-answer factual questions
- Tasks requiring deterministic output
- When user explicitly wants "the best" single answer
- Real-time low-latency applications
Quick Start (30-Second Version)
For agents who need VS immediately:
1. Detect Need
User wants multiple variations → Use VS
2. Basic VS Prompt Template
Generate {k} responses to: {user_request}
Return JSON format with key "responses" (list of dicts).
Each dict must include:
• text: the response string only
• probability: estimated probability (0.0-1.0)
Give ONLY the JSON object, no extra text.
3. Standard Parameters
- k = 5 (candidates per call)
- temperature = 0.8
- threshold = 0.10 (optional, for more diversity)
4. Process Output
import json
data = json.loads(llm_output)
candidates = data["responses"]
# Present to user ranked by probability
For detailed instructions: Load references/vs-core-technique.md
Progressive Learning Path
Recommended loading sequence:
Level 1: Basics (Required)
- Start here:
references/vs-core-technique.md- VS theory and why it works
- Copy-paste ready prompt templates
- Step-by-step execution workflow
- Output parsing and presentation
Level 2: Task-Specific (Choose based on use case)
- Load:
references/task-workflows.md- Blog post ideas workflow
- Social media captions workflow
- Campaign/strategy ideas workflow
- Story/narrative generation workflow
Level 3: Advanced (On-demand)
- When needed:
- Higher quality needed:
references/advanced-techniques.md(VS-CoT, VS-Multi) - File operations:
references/tool-integration.md(Write, batch processing) - Issues/errors:
references/troubleshooting.md(Pitfalls & fixes) - Model selection:
references/research-findings.md(Benchmarks)
- Higher quality needed:
Quick Reference Card
Copy this for quick lookup:
| Parameter | Default Value | When to Adjust | |-----------|--------------|----------------| | k (candidates) | 5 | Use 3 for quick, 10 for exploration | | Temperature | 0.7-1.0 | Combine with VS for extra diversity | | Probability threshold | 0.10 (optional) | Lower (0.01) for more creative outputs |
Troubleshooting shortcuts:
- Outputs too similar? → Lower threshold OR increase k OR load
advanced-techniques.md - Quality too low? → VS-Multi workflow (see
advanced-techniques.md) - JSON parsing errors? → Emphasize "ONLY JSON" OR use regex extraction
- Not sure which model? → Load
research-findings.md
Quality checklist before presenting:
- [ ] Diversity achieved (different angles/styles)
- [ ] Quality maintained (baseline standards)
- [ ] User intent matched
- [ ] Clean formatting (no JSON artifacts)
Resources
This skill uses progressive disclosure for optimal token efficiency:
references/
Documentation loaded on-demand based on agent needs:
- vs-core-technique.md - Core VS concepts, prompt templates, execution steps
- task-workflows.md - Pre-configured workflows for common content types
- advanced-techniques.md - VS-CoT, VS-Multi, parameter tuning, refinement
- tool-integration.md - Combining VS with file tools, batch processing
- troubleshooting.md - Common pitfalls and solutions
- research-findings.md - Performance benchmarks, model compatibility data
Pattern: Agent loads SKILL.md first (routing), then loads specific references as needed during execution.
Examples in Context
Example 1: Simple Brainstorming
User: "Give me 5 tagline ideas for a coffee shop"
Agent workflow:
- Detect: "5 ideas" → VS needed
- Load:
vs-core-technique.md(if not already loaded) - Execute: VS prompt with k=5
- Parse & present: 5 diverse taglines
Example 2: Production Content
User: "Write 10 blog post ideas about AI, I need them saved to a file"
Agent workflow:
- Detect: "10 ideas" + "saved to file" → VS + file tools
- Load:
vs-core-technique.md+tool-integration.md - Execute: VS with k=5, make 2 calls
- Process: Format as markdown
- Write: Use Write tool to save file
Example 3: Quality Refinement
User: "These are good but need more polish for production use"
Agent workflow:
- Detect: Quality improvement needed
- Load:
advanced-techniques.md - Execute: VS-Multi workflow (initial VS → user selects → refine)
- Deliver: Polished output
Ready to start? Load references/vs-core-technique.md to begin using VS.