Presentation Thinking™

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. Tu...

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 nu...

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 origi...

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,...

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...

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 “...

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 wh...

Whenever we talk to a product marketer, we know they’re going to relate to the “Presentation Thinking” project.  Product Marketers tend to be “Big Picture” people, excellent communicators and always end up creating slides on slides on slides.  Steve Earl joins Mikey and Molly to break down their “playlist” of the Best of Product Marketing (so far) on the ‘cast. As we each revisited a handful of th...

Nick Lafferty says early on in our conversation he was a “terrible student” in school but he’s taught and challenged himself with so many skills, it’s hard to believe. Founder of Early Exit Club —a network and newsletter for people that want to work for themselves—Nick’s experience in product marketing to paid ads has provided a unique perspective on the importance of soft skills, go-to-market str...

Rick Altman has been hosting the Presentation Summit for 22 years and this October will be his last— “at least in THIS format!” , he emphasizes.  It’s a party—eh, I mean conference—for PowerPoint enthusiasts and presentation nerds like the conference veterans Dr. Carmen Simon ( Corporate Visions ) and Mike Parkinson ( Billion Dollar Graphics ), who join us for this episode. All presentation expert...

“We do” believe that presentations are all around us—and Molly’s recent experience being an officiant for her brother’s wedding emphasized this. From creating a throughline with the ceremony story, catering to the audience and keeping the delivery well-paced, the foundations of good presenting all came up throughout this process in helping two people get married.  Ceremonies of matrimony have take...

Niro Sivanathan is an organizational psychologist that wants to help your messaging convert clearer, faster and stronger.  With his 2019 TED Talk, The Counterintuitive way to be more persuasive , Niro goes through several exercises that demonstrate how the “dilution effect” shows up in decision-making and risk-assessment across several types of scenarios. Mikey and Molly dive into his well-paced d...

Video production and livestreaming are essential parts of any modern event these days—be it a marketing conference, promotional event or university graduation.  Phil Platt is a Business Development Manager at UK-based production company First Sight Media and he’s a jack of all trades in the digital production world. With a background in film and cinema technology, Phil is a creative visual storyte...

GhostRanch hosted its third annual StoryCamp this past July, reaching new heights in Park City, Utah. StoryCamp is our annual in-person gathering where we hear from experts, learn from each other to level-up our storytelling skills and just spend nice quality time together.  This year’s theme was “More than just a pretty slide” —referring to the idea that presentation design encompasses so much mo...

Asha Alaji-Sharif is a designer by day and filmmaker by night—or dawn, if she’s getting up early to get a sunrise drone shot.  With several film projects already under her belt, the Atlanta-based creative’s latest is The Four Noble Truths , a film about her brother-in-law, Maeta, with sziocphrenia. It premiered at Voices with Impact Film Festival , a festival focused on mental health and lifting u...

Andrea Tomingas has a talent for telling one story, many different ways. From being a presentation designer at Hulu to co-founding a business, Andrea offers a unique perspective on presentations.  Having co-founded Duck Brigade over ten years ago, Andrea knows the importance of communicating a company story well, in a short amount of time.  Duck Brigade specializes in UX design, landing pages, log...

Art Novak is a copywriter, ad guy, author, teacher and an overall presentation design pioneer.  We feel lucky to know Art via his teaching days at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) because both Mikey and Allie Wilson, Creative Director at GhostRanch, had the privilege of being in his classroom.  Before recording, Art claimed he had a “problematic background” starting most of his presentati...

Tom Fishburne didn’t go to Harvard Business School to become a comic. But his ability to transform his life experiences into relatable illustrated comics was something that both helped him through college and later his marketing career.  In his 2018 TED Talk , Tom shares his experiences and highlights the power of laughing at ourselves—especially at work. Importantly, he says that comedy and humor...

Michelle Siracusa puts new meaning to the phrase “your voice is your power”. Michelle is a performer and vocal coach blending psychology with performance fundamentals to help folks be their most compelling when they speak.  From finessing tone, creating emphasis and adapting emotion per the audience you’re speaking to, vocal delivery can truly transform a presentation or talk.  Mikey and Molly wor...

Phil Waknell from Ideas on Stage is a brilliant presenter.  In his 2020 TED Talk “The 3 Magic Ingredients of Amazing Presentations” he shares his insider process into making presentations more than just information dumps. Phil actually illustrates how to make presentation “magic”! Many presenters tote their “Top 5 tricks” or “3 Things you MUST do before presenting…” but Phil Waknell takes his conc...

Lorenzo Thione is a serial entrepreneur. Having founded a handful of companies, he’s now a Co-Founder and Investor at Gaingels , a Venture Capital firm that’s focused on showing that representation and diversity in Venture Capital leads to world class returns.  He estimates he’s seen thousands of pitches in his lifetime and has (more than) a thing or two to share about the structure, the storytell...

Jessica Malnik is a marketer on-the-go. With a background in journalism, Jessica harnessed her writing skills to start her own business copywriting and has established herself as a thought leader in the marketing and content strategy space—all while working remotely.  Jessica also produces her own podcast about leading a team remotely, is a regular on the conference circuit and is starting to spea...

Do you know what your brain looks like on storytelling?  Karen Eber does! A leadership consultant on a mission to help others effectively tell their stories, Eber’s 2020 TED Talk, “How your brain responds to stories—and why they’re crucial for leaders” , dives into the neuroscience behind storytelling.  Karen proves that when used well, data can help emphasize and illustrate your points—not oversh...

McKeever “Mac” Conwell II was meant for the (pitching) stage!  While his career began in coding (“before it was cool” he says), Mac has started multiple businesses and helped shape the Maryland Social Impact Fund—the first fund for women and minorities in the country. Now, as the Founder of RareBreed Ventures , Mac’s perfected the art of storytelling and is passionate about helping others do the s...

Mohamed Danawi is many things—an artist, Founder and Director of IlloZoo , professor at SCAD—but if you were to ask one of his current students, they’d say he’s just “Mo.” SCAD alumni and GhostRanch Creative Director Allie Wilson joins the ‘cast with Mikey and Mohamed for an amazing conversation around art, visual storytelling, design trends and how to be authentic in your art.  Mohamed’s experien...