Presenting at Applied AI Live
A guide for guest presenters at Applied AI Live events. Everything you need to know to prepare, what to expect, and how to make your session valuable for the audience.
What Is Applied AI Live?
Applied AI Live is a recurring workshop series for people who want to make money by practically applying AI to real business problems. Each event draws engineers, business owners, and tool builders who are in the trenches doing this work.
The vibe is collaborative, not performative. Think working session, not conference keynote. People come to learn real things from real practitioners.
Your Role as a Guest Presenter
You've been invited because you're doing the work. The audience wants to learn from your experience: what you've built, how you landed clients, what went well, and what didn't.
This is not a sales pitch. It's not a product demo. It's a practitioner sharing their playbook with other practitioners who want to follow a similar path.
There are always two main segments you'll participate in:
- Case study talk (~30 minutes): Your prepared presentation
- A second segment (~30 minutes): This varies by event. It could be a topic discussion (a group conversation on a focused engineering topic) or a live architecture session (a real business owner presents a problem and you architect a solution on the spot). The organizer will let you know which format your event is using.
Preparing Your Case Study Talk
This is the core of your presentation. Pick one or two real projects and walk the audience through them.
What to cover
- How you landed the client. Was it a referral? Cold outreach? An event connection? Be specific. This is one of the most valuable things you can share.
- What the problem was. What was the client struggling with? What did their operations look like before you got involved?
- What you built. The technical approach, the tools you used, the architecture decisions you made. Get into the details.
- What you learned. What surprised you? What would you do differently? What advice would you give someone taking on a similar project?
Making it actionable
The audience is full of aspiring applied AI practitioners. They want to follow in your footsteps. Ask yourself: if someone in the audience wanted to replicate what I did, what would they need to know?
Real numbers help. Real tool names help. Specific client types help. Generalities ("I built an AI solution for a company") don't give people enough to work with.
Format
Slides are encouraged. Architecture diagrams, before/after metrics, and code snippets all help the audience follow along.
Please send your slides as a PDF about a week before the event. The organizer embeds your slides into a custom presentation system with a built-in question QR code. When you're presenting, audience members scan the QR to submit questions in real time, so there's no need for hand-raising or awkward Q&A pauses.
You don't need a polished deck. A handful of slides with diagrams and key points is plenty. The talk itself should still feel conversational.
Pseudonymous clients
If client confidentiality is a concern, feel free to use pseudonymous names. Change the company name, change the industry slightly. The audience cares about the approach and the lessons, not the specific company.
The Second Segment
The second segment varies by event. The organizer will tell you which format yours is using.
Option A: Topic Discussion
Some events feature a focused engineering topic that's relevant to practitioners right now. You'll receive a briefing on the topic at least two weeks before the event.
This isn't a second presentation. It's a group conversation. The host will pose questions, you'll share your perspective, and the audience will participate too.
You don't need to be an expert on the topic. You're being asked because your hands-on experience building real systems gives you a valuable lens. The goal is to connect your practical experience to the broader engineering question.
How to prepare: Read the topic briefing when you receive it. Think about how your work relates. Jot down a few thoughts or stories that connect. That's enough.
Option B: Live Architecture Session
Some events feature a live architecture session. A real business owner presents an actual problem they're facing, and you architect a solution on the spot using a whiteboard. The audience learns by watching.
You'll receive a problem brief at least one week before the event so you can think through the problem ahead of time. The session itself is a dialogue between you and the business owner, not a solo presentation.
How to prepare: Read the problem brief thoroughly. Sketch a few ideas ahead of time if that helps you think. But don't over-prepare. The value is in the live problem-solving, not a rehearsed answer. For more detail, see the Live Architecture Session playbook.
Practical Tips
Keep it conversational. The best presentations at Applied AI Live feel like you're telling a friend about a project over coffee. Not reading from a script.
Specifics beat generalities. "I used Claude with a custom tool-calling setup to automate their invoice processing" is more useful than "I used AI to automate their workflow."
Stories bring slides to life. Use your slides to show the architecture or the numbers, but let the narrative carry the talk. A well-told story about a real project sticks with people more than bullet points.
Talk about what went wrong. Failures and pivots are some of the most valuable things you can share. The audience learns as much from what didn't work as from what did.
Don't oversell yourself. The audience already respects you for being on stage. You don't need to convince them you're impressive. Just be honest about your experience.
Timeline
Here's what to expect in the weeks before the event:
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| ~2 weeks before | You receive a briefing with the event topic and any context you need |
| ~1 week before | Send your slides (PDF) to the organizer; quick check-in to confirm logistics |
| Day of | Arrive early, meet the team, get comfortable with the space |
The Audience
Three types of people will be in the room:
| Type | What they want from you |
|---|---|
| Applied AI Practitioners | How to land clients, what tools to use, how to scope and deliver projects |
| Business Owners | What's actually possible, what good AI implementation looks like |
| Tool Builders | Practitioner feedback on tools and frameworks |
Most of the audience falls into the first category. They want actionable advice they can apply to their own work.
Logistics
- Mic: A handheld mic will be provided. The room may be 50-100+ people.
- Screen: A display is available if you want to show slides or diagrams.
- Whiteboard: Available for the topic discussion segment if you want to sketch ideas.
- Recording: Events are typically recorded. Let the organizer know if you have concerns.
Further Reading
- Applied AI Live (full playbook) for the complete event format and structure
- Case Study Interviews for how we think about practitioner stories