Presentation Thinking

Tamsen Webster knows how to get to the heart of things, or rather—the Red Thread.

A strategic messaging expert and TED Talk aficionado, Tamsen has been working with brands and individuals to hone a talk, craft a message and get to the ROOT of a mission for almost 25 years.

Mikey and Molly are already big fans of her book, Find Your Red Thread: Make Your Big Ideas Irresistible. In this episode, we go through one of Tamsen’s fantastic tools “The Conversational Case” and we’re sure it’ll help you with your messaging and goals as much as it helped us.

This is an episode for: Strategic messaging folks, brand experts, storytellers & TED Talk enthusiasts

You gotta fight. For your right. To paaaaaarty!! ...AND present your story exactly how you want.

The Beastie Boys Story is a documentary on Apple TV that is truly a masterclass in presenting.

Mike D & Adam Horowitz of the Beastie Boys are recorded in front of a live audience with music, visuals and even the occasional prop aiding them throughout the telling of the raucous story that is their legendary band.

From their goofy live antics, to the cinema-level visuals to the candid delivery—it’s a presentation that feels fully authentic and unique to the BBoys’ brand.

This is an episode for: presentation enthusiasts, music documentary lovers and Beastie Boys fans.

What we learned starting a presentation podcast and where (we hope) it’s going.

This episode’s “Year in Review” peels back the curtain so we can tell you EXACTLY how many regular listeners we have, which episodes came out on top and how many nicknames Mikey has gifted the ‘cast.

It’s been a journey—From figuring out what the heck to talk about, to getting folks to interview, to avoiding over-enunciating into our microphones. 

And we can’t wait to keep growing our listening community (#PresentationNation!) into the New Year.

This is an episode for: podcasters, creators & people that love Spotify Wrapped

When Mikey is asked to return to his college Alma Mater and present to a club for business leaders, he is posed with the challenge: How do you engage & inspire young people with a presentation?

Thus began the pod’s first endeavor into a motivational presentation. We discuss the story Mikey shared, how he prepped and exactly how many laughs he got.

"Is this deck ready to pitch?" As Captain Ron says:“Best way to find out is to get her out on the ocean. If anything’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen out there.”

Consider this one step closer on Mikey’s journey to the TED Talk stage.

This is an episode for motivational speakers, presenters & people that work with young people.

Life is better in color - and presentations are more strategic with it, too.

Associate Creative Director Lindsay Hadley AKA our resident “Color Commentator” joins the pod to discuss palettes, Pantone and the impact color can make on any project.

How much is too much color? How do you find a memorable color combo? And what can Pantone’s Color of the Year tell us?

Join this “Color theory 101” to paint your next presentation strategically.

Episode #47 is for color nerds, designers & people that follow Pantone’s Color of the Year.

You’ve probably heard of motivational speaker & “guru” Simon Sinek.

Mikey and Molly dive into Sinek’s early 00s TED Talk, How Great Leaders Inspire Action.

It’s inspiring, of course. It’s also a masterclass in great presentation skills.

His use of repetition, a simple diagram and even—dare we say—the lack of slides are all perfectly executed.

Whether you’re a Simon skeptic or stan, there’s a lot to take away from this famous TED Talk.

Aimée Mazara calls herself a Visual Journalist.

Based in the Dominican Republic, her illustrations take on a dynamic watercolor-esque quality—you can feel the movement of the streets; the markets.

Focusing on everyday life scenes, Aimée tends to start conversations with locals for inspiration. Her art has even been a method for fundraising and raising awareness for a neighbor in need.

It was so much fun to hear about her process, her inspiration and hilariously—how she used PowerPoint to present the context of the “faceless doll” from the Dominican Republic to a client.

This is an episode for illustrators, storytellers and people that love Humans of New York.

Note: This episode is in English + Spanish. For English translation, listen to THIS version of the episode.

Aimée Mazara calls herself a Visual Journalist.

Based in the Dominican Republic, her illustrations take on a dynamic watercolor-esque quality—you can feel the movement of the streets; the markets.

Focusing on everyday life scenes, Aimée tends to start conversations with locals for inspiration. Her art has even been a method for fundraising and raising awareness for a neighbor in need.

It was so much fun to hear about her process, her inspiration and hilariously—how she used PowerPoint to present the context of the “faceless doll” from the Dominican Republic to a client.

This is an episode for illustrators, storytellers and people that love Humans of New York.

Note: This episode is in English + Spanish with English translation recorded over Spanish.

Molly reports back after attending this year’s STORY Conference in Nashville—a self-explanatory event about, well, storytelling.

This immersive conference experience took us to Neverland—complete with fairy dust, Lost Boys running around and a mermaid in the fountain.

From Narrative Strategists at NASA to the writer of Beauty and the Beast, the variety and caliber of speakers was stunning. This was the perfect place to learn how to be a better presenter, storyteller and simply get inspired.

Consider us fans of STORY and we can’t wait to see where they go next.

This is an episode for speakers, frequent conference attendees & everyone who needs a bit of inspiration.

Illustrator Derek Abella might call himself “a silly little guy who draws”, but his creative work has garnered national and cultural significance.

With soft lines, beautiful gradients and blended shapes, Derek’s work makes otherwise hard-to-depict subjects approachable AND beautiful.

We discuss his creative journey as an artist and peel back the curtain on his process—with a lot of valuable takeaways for presenters, editorialists & creatives alike.

His work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal & Google.

This is an episode for visual storytellers, folks in the editorial world & people that get pumped about the ~process~.