Presentation Thinking

By GhostRanch CommunicationsBusiness Marketing

Presentation Thinking episodes

December 19, 2024#151. Presentations actually are all around: Post PMA-Summit presentation style breakdown
Mikey and Molly return from visiting London for the Product Marketing Alliance (PMA) Summit and discuss the MYRIAD of amazing presentation formats they encountered.
From an all day training course to breakout sessions to a reel for the GhostRanch booth, presentations were everywhere and it’s clear this preferred B2B medium isn’t going anywhere.
As presentation creators, it’s helpful to keep tabs on these formats and see how they evolve, what’s working and what factors are important to keep in mind when designing. We share what we learned and the highlights for each style.
“If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that presentations actually are all around.”

Learn about the PMA and find an event near you:
Here!

Don’t forget to check out their Core Certified Courses!
Mikey & Molly’s fave Indian eats (what’d we miss?)
Dishoom

Tayyabs
Our walkout songs for future London presentations?
Molly - Galway Girl
Mikey - Oasis “Wonderwall”
35 min
December 12, 2024#150. How to be a better presenter—with Presentation Coach, Andrea Pacini
When we last spoke to Andrea Pacini in Episode #77, he had just published his book, Confident Presenter (which you can get a free copy of through the link in the Spice Cabinet!).
Now, Andrea has been awarded “Best Virtual Speaker” from the Speaker Awards 2024 and “Best Presentation Skills Training Specialist in the UK”—to name just a few of the accolades.
Andrea returns to the ‘cast to dig deeper into core communication fundamentals, the difference between practicing and rehearsing and frameworks that work for him. As a presentation coach, we love hearing Andrea’s perspective on everyday challenges that his clients face and how to conquer them with confidence.
Andrea is adept at making presentations accessible to everyone.
This is an episode for: Keynoters, speakers and anyone looking to improve their public speaking—in-person or virtual.

What's in the Spice Cabinet?
Get a free copy of Andrea’s book, Confident Presenter:
Here!

To make the most of the book, take the Confident Presenter Scorecard to assess your presentation skills in < 3 minutes
Where to find and follow Andrea? (He’s a killer LinkedIn follow)
LinkedIn

Ideas on Stage
Attend the next Ideas on Stage web class here!
(A few of) Andrea’s favorite people/resources for presentation inspiration?
Chip and Dan Heath’s book - Made to Stick

Benjamin Zander - “ He combines speaking and playing the transformative power of classical music.”
Benjamin Zander TED Talk - The Transformative Power of Classical Music

Daniel Priestly

John Pollack - Shortcut: How Analogies Reveal Connections, Spark Innovation, and Sell Our Greatest Ideas
A former speechwriter for Bill Clinton
Any trends in the Presentation Coaching landscape?
“I can’t not mention Artificial Intelligence… a couple of years ago, we didn't have ChatGPT and all these other tools. And these things will change. That's inevitable but what will never change are the fundamental principles of communication.”
Advice for anyone thinking they want to write a book?
”When it comes to presenting, just do it. Practice, practice, practice. Public speaking is a skill that requires knowledge and technique. It's a bit like learning how to play a new musical instrument or learning how to play a new sport. We need knowledge and technique.”

“ When it comes to writing a book, I've just finished reading On Writing by Stephen King, the book on writing. And he says that the advice he has for aspiring writers is, he sometimes is asked, ‘How do you write your books? How do you write maybe like 90,000 words for a book?’ And he says, ‘One word at a time. Just write one word at a time.’ So it's a practical level.”
Block time in your calendar to build time for a writing routine!
Andrea’s walkout song?
Don’t Stop Me Now - Queen
52 min
December 09, 2024#149. Tom Fishburne on marketing & storytelling through cartoons
Tom Fishburne has never stopped drawing. From doodling as a kid to creating comics throughout Harvard Business School, Tom knows the power of visual communication and humor.
Now, with years of marketing experience and as the creator of Marketoonist, Tom’s entire company vision is to help businesses communicate better through visual storytelling and a bit of comedic relief.
Mikey and Molly chat with Tom about the intersection of marketing and visual communication and how he’s struck a chord with marketers around the world with his simple and effective cartoons.
We examine how to keep creativity alive within the marketing process and ask Tom about his own presentation preparation and experience giving a TED Talk.

This is an episode for: Marketers of all kinds and people that doodle in meetings.

What's in the Spice Cabinet?
Where to find Tom:
Marketoonist - hire him to keynote!

Shoot him a message on LinkedIn
For the marketing colleagues in your life, Tom’s book is a perfect Christmas gift:
Your Ad Ignored Here
If you want to see (or have seen) Tom’s TED Talk, tune into Mikey and I’s breakdown of it:
Episode 131 on Presentation Thinking here

And Tom’s TED Talk, The power of laughing at ourselves at work, is here!
Books & resources that Tom goes to for inspiration?
Russell Davies - author of Everything I Know About Life I Learned from PowerPoint

Gary Larson’s “The Far Side”

Jean-Jaques Sempé - French cartoonist known for New Yorker covers

Hilary Price - creator of “Rhymes with Orange”
Advice for someone who’s looking to get more creative?
“Don’t be afraid to draw…even stick figures, sometimes, can be more compelling than a dense PowerPoint slide…If you want to communicate an idea, do a 'back of the envelope' sketch and share that with somebody before you have a fully baked PowerPoint presentation that looks like it's final.”
Tom’s walkout song?
Jack White - Seven Nation Army
45 min
November 28, 2024#148. PrezTHANKING: What we’re thankful for in the presentation community
It’s that time of year again (Thanksgiving in the United States) where Mikey and Molly gather the most epic Spice Cabinet and stuff it full of things they’re thankful for in the presentation community.
And we’re not just talking about nutmeg or pumpkin spice!
From inspirational people to PowerPoint tools to our trusty editor, Will Kommor, this is a short episode with a tall list of resources.
Tune in, turkeys!
This is an episode for: presentation designers, speakers and friends and fans of the pod.

What’s in the Spice Cabinet? (What are we thankful for?)
From Mikey…
A feature:
Selection pane. I think it wasn’t around until maybe like 2016, 2017? I really don’t know.
An animation breakthrough:
Morph transition (really thanks to Apple Keynote for magic move and for PPT trying to catch up. Google Slides, come on man)
PPT Mentors / sharing in general:
Glen Abrahams for showing me how to nudge objects granularly in PPT back in like 2014 – it felt so clunky before, was like 10px at a time. But he was like, “dude just hold control and then do it.”
My wife!
Megan has really let me pursue this passion, there’s no GhostRanch without her. She’s doing amazing stuff for Women for Riley, a children’s hospital in Indiana - check it out!
From Molly…
Fave tool for transcription and re-listening to meetings?
Descript
Some fave people on the pod this year:
Michelle Siracusa - voice coach extraordinaire!

Rick Altman - creator of Presentation Summit!
A newsletter
Punchline Copy’s Lianna Patch
A framework
The GhostRanch Pitch Planner
An “Aww” moment
Thankful for a company like GhostRanch that encourages you to ask questions!
25 min
November 22, 2024#147. Connecting our Left & Right Brain for holistic presenting
We’ve all heard the idea that being a “left brain” person means you’re logical and a “right brain” person means you’re creative—but did you know that’s a bit of a myth?
Like most myths, it’s based in some truth:
The left side of our brain processes more analytical information while the right side tends to hold emotions and nuance. However, a study in 2017 at Duke University confirmed that the number of neural pathways that connect the two sides contributes to someone being more creatively capable.
In other words, the more we can connect and holistically bring together our Right & Left Brains, the better our creativity and communication can be.
Mikey and Molly, on their journey to be better presenters, apply this to the foundations of visual storytelling and how best to communicate within a slide platform.

This is an episode for: Neuroscience nerds, presenters and anyone that wants to be a better communicator.

What’s in the Spice Cabinet??
Check the science
Duke University study from 2017

Left Brain vs. Right Brain Dominance (VeryWellMind)
On the GhostRanch blog
The “Whole Brain” approach to Presentation Excellence
Neuroscience walkout song
Mikey’s take: Alright Guy - Todd Snider

Molly’s take: The Middle - Jimmy Eat World
Want more Presentation Thinking in your inbox?
You can subscribe to our newsletter here!!
27 min
November 15, 2024#146. TED Talkin’: Malcolm Gladwell shares what he got wrong with The Tipping Point
Malcom Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point, was a bestseller—a popular book that discussed the elements of virality well before things “went viral” online. The sub-title reads “How little things can make a big difference” and explores how and why trends in fashion, culture and life come and go.
With Gladwell’s new book on the horizon, Revenge of the Tipping Point, he revisits topics from his original book. And Malcolm is now publicly addressing a controversial theory he credited towards reducing crime in NYC called “Broken Windows Theory”.
“Broken windows is the theory that Small crimes are invitations for large crimes – if you let people get away with little things then you are signaling that it’s okay to cross the line into bigger things. So what do you do? You don’t let people get away with the little things.”
NYPD’s harsh interpretation of this theory in the 90s and 00s led to harmful “stop and frisk” policies that largely affected communities of color.
While Malcom never explicitly mentions “stop and frisk”, his direct linking of “Broken Windows” to the reduction of crime in the 90s and early 00s led many to false conclusions—that would later be disproved in a landmark case in 2013.
He returns to the TED stage to apologize and take accountability.

This is an episode for: anyone that needs to give an apology presentation and fans of Malcolm Gladwell (& haters!)

What’s in the Spice Cabinet?
Watch the TED Talk
“The Tipping Point I Got Wrong”
Tune into our TENTH ever episode for a Tipping Point book review
Listen here!
Malcolm’s podcast, Revisionist History, also revisits this subject
Listen here
An amazing org cleaning up vacant buildings
Clean and Green Philly
For the first time ever…
We don’t think a walkout song is appropriate for an apology presentation.
31 min
November 07, 2024#145. What GhostRanch learned from Presentation Summit
It’s no secret that we’re fans of Presentation Summit—the first conference in the world dedicated to presentations, storytelling and PowerPoint. We’ve chatted with its founder, Rick Altman, previously in episodes 139 & 71.
2024 is the final year of “PreSum”, as it’s lovingly called, and several folks from GhostRanch attended for its Last Hurrah.
Creative Directors Jeff Carter, Allie Wilson, Sr. Designer Laura Waskovich and Technical Director Steve Sheets all join the pod to let us know everything they learned at the summit and who you should be following for presentation inspiration.
From technical PowerPoint tricks to learning from storytelling leaders to the camaraderie of the presentation community, this episode is chock-full of resources and a dish-all after the final PreSum party.
This is an episode for: anyone who wants to make and give better presentations and friends and family of PreSum.

What's in the Spice Cabinet?
Learn more about Presentation Summit and what’s next for the community
Here
Inspiring Presentation People to follow?
Richard Goring - Director of BrightCarbon, an amazing presentation agency.
Dr. Carmen Simon
Julie Terberg - Featured on our ‘cast Episode #118
Sally Zimney - Author of Speaking Story
Nolan Haims’ podcast, The Presentation Podcast
Taylor Krunquist’s Nuts and Bolts Speed Training
Everyone’s walkout song?
Jeff Carter - Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball
Steve Sheets - Greta Van Fleet’s Highway Tune
Allie Wilson - ELO’s Evil Woman
Laura Waskovich - Travis Scott ft. Beyonce’s DELRESTO
Molly - Donna Summer’s Bad Girls
Mikey - King Harvest’s Dancing in the Moonlight
45 min
October 31, 2024#144. Onsite event experience in Nashville with Sr. Designer Collin Herko
Senior Presentation Designer Collin Herko AKA “Herk” joins the ‘cast to discuss his recent onsite event experience in Nashville for one of our favorite clients.
This included everything from live site edits to how a big conference process goes down with AV design, teleprompters and more.
With the event being in Nashville and Collin being a former Nashvillian, we also talked about the history and influence of “Hatch Show Print” style that the client specifically wanted to incorporate into this project.
As Collin emphasizes, it’s one thing to design a beautiful slide on your 15 inch desktop—it’s a whole different experience to see it on the big screen at an event helping bring the story to life.
This is an episode for: presentation designers, anyone that works events and Music City lovers.

What's in the Spice Cabinet?
Check out the OG Hatch Print Style
It’s a real print shop in Nashville!

Collin’s fave: Johnny Cash

Country Music Hall of Fame Hatch Show Experience
Collin’s design inspo?
Storm Thorgerson, inspired by the recent film Taken By Storm

Aaron Draplin
Tools to try out?
Collin’s a big Figma enthusiast so if you’re in need of a freebie new tool to mess with, look no further.
Nashville Reccos?
Black Dynasty Ramen - Herk’s cousin opened it!

Layla’s or Robert’s - classic honky tonks amid the craze of Broadway
Collin’s walkout song?
Mess Around by Ray Charles (in Planes Trains and Automobiles!)
41 min
October 24, 2024#143. TED Talkin’: DK gives the public speaking lesson you never had
DK is a creative director and presentation coach and is on the TED stage to give us the lesson in public speaking that none of us ever received.
We love a simple framework and accessible advice to enhance presentation skills and DK really delivers. Sharing his journey growing up with speech impediment to becoming a speaker coach builds a brilliant rapport with the audience as he leads up to his “jedi mind trick” that can help anyone transform their nerves into confidence onstage.
DK also moves (literally) through common body language pitfalls that we should avoid and offers up his own “soft rockstar pose” to help plant a firm foundation for your body in any presentation capacity.
This is an episode for: anyone that has to public speak, beginner keynoters and people that like studying body language.

What’s in the Spice Cabinet?
Watch DK’s TED Talk, The public speaking lesson you never had
Here
Learn more about DK’s work…
His website with the clever URL (just a ‘D’ and a ‘K’.com)

His book, Speaking with Purpose

Creative Welly
Need help getting started on your next presentation
Download GhostRanch’s FREE Pitch Planner
Need someone to MAKE your next presentation?
Email us. :)
Presentation Thinking’s “tips n tricks” playlist
Episode 130: Leveraging your voice as presentation power with vocal coach, Michelle Siracusa

Episode 86: TED Talkin’ - Catherine Molloy & (Sub)Conscious communication

Episode 79: TED Talkin’ - Amy Cuddy’s “Power Poses” and the impact of body language

Episode 77: Presentation Coach Andrea Pacini on presenting, confidently
DK’s walkout song?
According to Molly - Star Wars theme song OR More Than a Feeling by Boston

According to Mikey - Metallica’s Enter Sandman
34 min
October 17, 2024#142. TED turns 40. How founder Richard Saul Wurman’s “horizontal” learning perspective helped it become what it is today.
You ever wonder about the origin story of TED talks?
As TED turned 40 this year, TED founder Richard Saul Wurman and current head of TED Chris Anderson sat down together to commemorate and reflect on the iconic event that promotes very simply: ideas change everything.
It was no surprise that Richard is a fascinating fellow with countless “TED moments” to share (did you ever hear about the time when he cut off a speaker’s tie onstage?).
An architect turned data designer turned author turned conference curator—Richard’s done a bit of everything. And that “horizontal learning” perspective really informs the uniquely un-sponsored TED conferences. With no agenda and nothing to sell, Richard proves that we can all learn from technology, entertainment and design—anything well outside of our own crafts.
Mikey and Molly tune into this conversation and found many parallels to our own Presentation Thinking project. Just as Richard pulled together technology, entertainment and design, there’s no “single” industry or space for storytelling and presenting—they really are all around us.

This is an episode for: Speakers and keynoters, anyone in need of inspiration and TED fans of all ages.

What’s in the Spice Cabinet??
Listen to the interview with TED founder Richard Saul Wurman and Head of TED Chris Anderson
Tune in here.
Learn more about Richard
He’s got books on books on interviews…

Archinect interview: What is truly good about AI, nobody has probably thought of yet
Attend a TEDx event!
Find a TEDx event near you
What do Mikey and Molly think Richard’s walkout song might be?
Mikey - Rikki Don’t Lose that Number by Steely Dan

Molly - Le Freak by CHIC
32 min

About Presentation Thinking

From the publisher's feed

Mikey and Molly have been beckoned by the gods to become legendary storytellers — a call impossible to refuse. Join our heroes as they dive deep down the rabbit hole, documenting their findings as they scour all industries and disciplines in search of outside insights, inside outlooks, and, well, anything and everything there is to know about the making (and delivery) of better presentations. This is Presentation Thinking™