Presentation Thinking™

Many have written about the shape of stories, archetypes, what stories do to the brain. But none have connected all these puzzle pieces in such a coherent and useful way as Will Storr’s The Science of Storytelling (2021).  Will guides us section by section, understanding how character-driven stories are more memorable, why the brain tracks for changes constantly, flawed characters are most human a...

Continuing our journey in analyzing every Steve Jobs keynote ever given, Mikey and Molly re-visit the talk that would change the way we consume music forever—the introduction of the iPod in 2001.  Steve utilizes a classic Problem and Solution strategy in showing the various ways which 2001 offered music listening experiences (remember flash drives!?) and which route Apple endeavored to improve upo...

When you hear the phrase “timeless presenter”, you might think of MLK, Steve Jobs, Oprah... For us at Presentation Thinking, we’re adding Andrea Pacini to that list.  Andrea Pacini is the head of Ideas on Stage UK and a decorated presentation coach with a slew of cool awards . Having already had a few epic conversations together on the pod , we were excited to hear all about Andrea’s latest book,...

Montana Von Fliss exudes confidence…even if she’s not actually feeling confident. How?  Like any good actress and executive speaker coach, she’s got a secret sauce—or, silent sentence—to share with us Presentation Thinkers.  In her 2025 TED Talk called How to Be Confident (even if you’re not) , Montana runs through her tried and true tips for oozing confidence on any stage. Things like pausing for...

Rick Altman has been around PowerPoint since its inception. As an early adapter of graphics and publishing software and later the founder of the Presentation Summit, Rick’s experience with presentations has amounted to an expert-level body of experience. The latest installment comes with his new book, Crush Your Next Virtual Presentation: A Modern Guide for the Modern Communicator. Seeing a seriou...

Angus Fletcher is the ultimate Presentation Thinker.  Currently the Professor of Story Science at Ohio State University’s “Project Narrative”, the world’s leading think-tank for the study of how stories work, Angus started out in neuroscience, realized the brain isn’t data-driven, got into the story science and walked away with a PhD in Literature from Yale. (Phew!) He worked in Hollywood, helped...

While the biggest Oscar buzz is reserved for flashy celebs and viral moments, a category usually overshadowed by those little golden statues is “ Best Animated Short Film.” Animated shorts provide a masterclass in highly efficient storytelling, interesting visuals and proof that a film's runtime doesn't have to be over 2 hours to win an award ( THERE, I said it!! ).  Ranging from silly to...

What type of presentation podcast would we be if we didn’t discuss the actual presentations that we gave?? We’ve been tracking Mikey’s Road to the TED Talk since the inception of this podcast—and a few weeks ago, he got one step closer.  Invited to speak at his Alma Mater, DePauw University in Indiana, Mikey infused today’s liberal arts pupils with a manifesto keynote in letting your creative purs...

World’s funniest conversion copywriter Lianna Patch and founder of Punchline Copy joins Presentation Thinking (again!) to revisit our conversation from the early days of the podcast (Episode #39).  We get into what’s changed in the presenting world, what’s constant, and her latest talk called “ Stage Presence in a Can.”  We also discuss the ways AI is affecting both copywriting and presenting and...

“What can screenwriting teach us about presentations?” That’s the question Mikey and Molly continue to answer in Part 2 of their Book Club style episodes on Blake Snyder's famous Save the Cat! Screenwriting book. In this episode, they break down Snyder’s 15 beats of storytelling and equate each to a “Beat Sheet for Business Storytelling.” A “beat” can be interpreted as a slide or handful of sl...

If you’ve ever been in a film studies class, you might’ve heard of Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat! billed as one of the ultimate guides to screenwriting.  As students of storytelling, Mikey and Molly finally dive into this 2005 guide to see what’s still useful for storyboarding, visual storytelling strategy and how to keep an audience engaged throughout a film or presentation. Now, you may be wonderi...

As SKO (Sales Kickoff) season falls behind us in the calendar year, GhostRanch reflects on the amazing opportunities provided to us by clients to support their large-scale SKO storytelling.  THEMES are a common storytelling device for SKOs because they can help introduce a new product or hone in on an area of focus while still tying into an over-arching brand story.  Such was the case for Associat...

Dr. Nat Kendall-Taylor is a psychological anthropologist—meaning, he studies the way that culture influences how we think. One such concept in his field of expertise is called “framing”: how variations in the way that we present information can lead people to drastically different outcomes and behaviors.  In the business world, we might know this as strategic messaging. Who are we talking to? How...

Carmen Sederino is here to help you figure out what to do with your hands onstage.  Carmen may have been a shy kid, but through theater and performing she grew to love the stage. After excelling in a career as a Brand Manager for years, Carmen found herself as the point person that supported whoever would be giving the next presentation.  An “a-ha” moment arrived in Carmen realizing how valuable h...

It’s that time of year—where brands spend a big chunk of their advertising budget for 30 seconds of your attention during the biggest game of the year: the Super Bowl.  While Bad Bunny might’ve secured himself as the Halftime highlight, we were keen to see which brand stories stuck out during commercial breaks.  After covering some of the most noteworthy Super Bowl ads in Episode #54 , we pick up...

If you were part of the debate club in school, chances are you might be more confident or have stronger leadership skills than the average person.  Corporate leadership training and workshops have long gone stale. Managers are wondering what motivates and increases both confidence and leadership skills?   A group of researchers from MIT conducted a study in 2025 that measured the effectiveness of...

We’re on a mission to watch every Steve Jobs keynote ever and we’re deep down the rabbit hole now.  To understand the context of this talk at MacWorld in 1997, Steve Jobs had recently returned to Apple after some drama (you can listen to our episode on the “Steve Jobs” film to learn more - linked below) and was working to get Apple back on track.  This particular keynote was one in which some “dam...

It’s clear why Sir Ken Robinson’s 2006 TED Talk is THE most popular TED Talk of all time.  The author, researcher and coach posits an ultimate question, “Do schools kill creativity?”, that still circulates the TED stage in new ways today.  With no slides or props, Robinson provides a masterclass in keeping an audience engaged, utilizing humor and strategic pacing.  Robinson’s storytelling skills a...

Cameron Magee, Founder of the avad3 event production company, returns for the final installment of our “Some Guy from the Crew” trilogy peeling the curtain back on everything you need to know about planning events.  For this episode? We’re talking openly about money: what you can get for your budget, general allocations for event sizes Small, Medium and Large and what unanticipated costs people of...

During the first week of December 2025, GhostRanch Communications hosted its 10 year anniversary offsite retreat in Santa Fe, New Mexico!  In honor of turning a decade old, founder and CEO of GhostRanch Mikey Mioduski has some wisdom to share about how to plan, host and present at an offsite retreat.  While this particular case study is for a company with a relatively small number of employees, Mi...

End of the year means a look back at the 12 months and many more episodes that made up the Presentation Thinking pod in 2025.  Mikey and Molly peel back the curtain on their Spotify Creator Wrapped with analytics and analysis on how we’ve grown in three years and where we’re headed.  Of course, we recap the top five episodes of the year, best resources for you to carry on into 2026 and our walkout...

The 2015 film Steve Jobs is the perfect overlap of three key areas of interest for Presentation Thinking: Steve Jobs’ life and presentation skills Aaron Sorkin’s writing and storytelling (he wrote the script) Aristotle In our quest to watch every keynote Steve Jobs ever gave, we realized the 2015 Danny Boyle-directed film centers around 3 important product launches in Jobs’ life. A 3 act structure...

Gerard Clarke is going to be your next favorite filmmaker.  As a director and creator based in Atlanta, Gerard has been involved in a countless variety of projects both creative, commercial and a blend of both.   He joins the ‘cast to discuss his experience in pitching (and selling) creative work, building out a visual story and the process that went into his latest short film, 500 Seconds to Tell...

PMM, Navy vet and overall cool guy Langley Barth joins the pod after Mikey and him connected at a Product Marketing Alliance summit in San Francisco (shoutout PMA!).  Langley is full of GREAT PMM advice—from becoming a subject matter expert on your product to getting to know the customer journey, he’s an expert at guiding conversations that “unlock the unknown unknowns.” Langley also shares how hi...

Our third annual installment of “PrezThanking” brings you a Spice Cabinet brimming with presentation resources, tech tips, people to follow and highlights from this year in recording. Dig in with your pie and ice cream to this short n spicy episode. What’s in the Spice Cabinet? Presentation TOOLS n TIPS we’re thankful for  Riverside technology! NOT AN AD but we’re loving it Audacity - forever free...