facilitator guide · for you only

Building with AI

A 60-minute, building-heavy session for about 10 adults. Goal: everyone leaves having made at least one working web app, and knowing how to make more. Success is emotional as much as technical, so keep it warm, unhurried on setup, and celebratory.

The three files

ai-workshop-deck.html — project this (or host it on Netlify and open the link). Put your name and date on the title slide first. Arrow keys or the corner buttons to advance.
participant-handout.html — print one per person; leave on the tables.
facilitator-guide.html — this page. Do not hand out.

Before you start

Mirror your laptop to the screen; check the back row can read the slides.
Confirm wifi works. Have a phone hotspot as backup.
Ask everyone to sign up at claude.ai before arriving, and keep the first 5 minutes to help stragglers log in.
If some have no device or account, plan to pair them with a neighbor who does.
Open the deck full-screen; edit the title slide with your name and date.
Print the handout, one per seat.
Do a dry run of your live demo once, so you know exactly what appears.
Keep 2 to 3 rescue prompts ready for anyone stuck (see below).

Minute by minute

0–5

Welcome & log inSettle the room, help anyone not signed in. Set the tone: "You'll build something real. You can't break anything."Slide 1

5–12

What is this + what's an appFast and friendly. Land the one big idea, don't lecture.Slides 2–5

12–18

The loop + the recipeThis is the method they will reuse all hour. Say the five ingredients out loud.Slides 6–7

18–26

Live demoBuild one app on screen with your prompt. Narrate the loop: describe, build, tweak. Show ONE tweak, then stop.Slide 8

26–44

Everyone buildsThe big block. Point to the magic card. Circulate constantly. Celebrate the first results loudly so the room relaxes.Slide 9

44–50

Make it weirder + show and tellEveryone adds one silly tweak, then turns their screen to a neighbor.Slides 10–11

50–56

Menu + habits + keep playingPoint at the handout: "It's all in here for later."Slides 12–14

56–60

Close + questionsWarm sign-off. Take questions.Slide 15

Your live-demo script

Paste thisFor a group of friends, build me a web app that splits a restaurant bill and the tip. Let me type the total, the tip percent, and the number of people, then show what each person owes in big, clear numbers. Cheerful, warm colors.

When it appears, name what you see. Then show one tweak:

Then paste thisNow add a button that rounds each person up to the nearest dollar.

Point back at the recipe slide: "Who it's for, what it does, details, how it looks, build it." Aim for 8 minutes total. Do not gold-plate it.

Rescue prompts

Hand these to anyone frozen, to get them a quick win. (The handout menu has more.)

Countdown: "Build me a web app that counts down the days to a date I choose. Big friendly text, cheerful colors."
Kind message: "Build me a web app that shows a warm, encouraging message each time I press a button. Soft, pretty colors."
Dice / picker: "Build me a web app with a big button that picks a random number from 1 to 6 and shows it large."

Facilitation tips for this group

Budget generous time for setup. Login friction is the number one time-sink; front-load it.
Pair the nervous with the confident. Peer help scales better than you running around.
Celebrate every single result out loud. Momentum here is emotional, not technical.
Say "you can't break it" early and often. Fear of breaking things is the real blocker.
Screenshots are fine. Nobody needs to save or understand the code.
Resist teaching everything. Deep question? "Great rainy-day question," and point to the handout.
Slow down your clicking and speaking. Read each slide aloud.

Troubleshooting

Can't log in: use the Claude app on their phone as a fallback, or pair them up.

Blank or odd output: "just ask again," or "tell it what you actually wanted." Re-asking fixes most things.

"Mine looks different from hers": that is normal and good. Every build varies a little.

Someone races ahead: point them at a Medium app or the make-it-weirder round.

Deck won't advance: use the arrow keys, or refresh the page.

Building with AI · facilitator guide. Made with Claude.