Presentation Thinking™

Like all the great stories of our time, Presentation Thinking must also have an ending.  Almost four years and 223 episodes ago, Mikey and Molly set out to become Presentation Thinking experts. We arrive at our “final” episode of this particular chapter to reflect on what we’ve learned, how we’ll put it to use and, of course, what that means for you—our fellow Presentation Thinkers. Working at wor...

Professional keynote speaker, author, and tequila enthusiast Jay Baer joins Mikey to talk about his non-traditional path into public speaking and what he’s learned about storytelling along the way. From MCing high school talent shows to helping people with their presentations, Jay was no stranger to holding a mic but it wasn’t until later in his career that he started giving talks professionally (...

When it comes to messaging, every marketer is familiar with the following concepts: alignment , adoption , and performance . But just how well your messaging gets adopted and how well it's performing with your audience is tricky to measure. Those are the questions that Austin Webb is after as a Co-Founder of Troupe.ai .  A “messaging attribution and success engine,” Troupe seeks to “know the R...

We might say that Kara Zeiberg is a tour de force …of giving historical walking tours on Boston’s Freedom Trail!  Have you ever considered how much world-building goes into a walking tour? Facilitating a group of wayward tourists through bustling Boston streets already presents tricky logistics. Presenting along the way, telling true and engaging stories—all while IN CHARACTER dang near deserves a...

As a co-host of The Presentation Podcast , one of the original inspirations for starting our own pod, Nolan Haims is like a “Founding Father” to us.  The Microsoft PowerPoint expert, data storyteller, and seasoned coach joins Mikey for a conversation around how to communicate as much as possible within short time windows and shrinking attention spans.  With 10+ years’ coaching experience (and a fo...

When Christopher Nolan released his latest film, “The Odyssey”, this summer, there was much discourse (too much?) about its historical accuracy, its casting, and how it held up against Homer’s beloved 3000 year-old epic. For us here at Presentation Thinking AKA the “Storyteller’s Study Club,” we were thinking about another book—Christopher Booker’s The Seven Basic Plots— wherein Booker lays out 7...

Montana von Fliss is a master of distillation.  From identifying a singular persona (AKA the “one”) that your talk will reach to honing your “secret sentence”, Montana’s approaches have cemented her as an iconic communication coach, keynote speaker, and maker of a millions-viewed TED Talk. In this episode, Montana joins Mikey to chat about how soft skills pay bills, the power of pretending there’s...

You’re invited!! WHO: You! Marketers! Comms leaders! C-suiters! Sales powerhouses! PMMs! Anyone feeling like an “accidental” speaker coach!  WHEN: November 3rd-6th, 2026 WHERE: Boulder, Colorado If you’ve never heard about Story Camp, well, you’re going to. Despite only being in its second annual year as a presentation skills conference, Story Camp is on track to sell out this year.  How??  Story...

If you’ve ever felt transported to a different world or time period in a museum, that’s a sign of good exhibition design and curation working together.  After finding an article written by Exhibition Designer Alya James from NYC’s Guggenheim (shoutout Substack!), our Presentation Thinking caps really started lighting up.  From strategic placements for the eye to follow, to lighting and audio/visua...

Last month, GhostRanch CEO Allie Wilson and Founder Mikey Mioduski spoke together at the Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo outside of Denver, Colorado—and had a blast! A busy exhibition hall where the audience wore headphones to better hear their presentation (think silent disco vibes), this conference setting and co-presenting together made for their most unique experience in presenting thus far. ...

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...