Presentation Thinking™

Kaarin Howard is a B2B marketing professional passionate about building webinars, among other strategic content, for your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile). With a background in marketing events and launching startups, she came into the B2B marketing world ready to wear the 5 (or 50!) hats typically thrust upon them. When Mikey and Kaarin connected on the popular marketing forum, Exit Five, we were excited to hear about the success of her and her team’s webinars. What are key components to consider? How can we collaborate and leverage partnerships? And how do you build intentional, authentic content—not just for the sake of putting out content?  This is an episode for: B2B marketers looking to freshen up their content, brand strategists and Shrek fans.  What's in the Spice Cabinet?? Do you need a B2B marketer community? Check out Dave Gerhardt’s Exit Five!  Kaarin’s walkout song? Smash Mouth’s “All Star” Where to find Kaarin?  LinkedIn 104 Marketers you should be following on LinkedIn Have kids that need some night time chill meditation? Put on Bedtime Explorers  Non-work related listening Andrew Huberman’s Huberman Lab podcast Regrets from my 20s (Kaarin’s friend!)  Parting advice from Kaarin: “Test everything. If you have an idea, but you don't know, you don't have, the data—just do it and see if it works. And if it doesn't, that's totally fine. Like, ideally, you didn't lose a lot of money on it. But you know, test and test and figure it out and just run with what what is working.”

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of viral memoir Eat, Pray, Love acknowledges in her 2009 TED Talk that her best work might very well be behind her. As an artist, however, she’s stuck with the challenge of “topping” her last work.  Why are artists and creative people burdened with these crazy-making tropes? In ancient Greece and Rome, “genius” referred to the divine entity that visited artists—not the artist themselves.  Gilbert challenges us to reframe the narrative around creativity—putting less of the burden on the individual and moreso on the energetic creative spirit that exists in all of us.  This is an episode for: Speakers working on a new presentation, Eat, Pray, Love fans, artists and anyone working through a creative block. What's in the Spice Cabinet? WATCH Elizabeth Gilbert’s 2009 TED Talk, “Your Elusive Creative Genius” Elizabeth’s walkout song? (Molly’s pick) Like a Prayer - Madonna (Mikey’s pick) Gin and Juice - Snoop Dogg LOL  Want more Elizabeth Gilbert?  Check her site here!  Or go watch Julia Roberts eat pizza in Eat, Pray Love (the movie)

Startup hubs are an amazing place for community, innovation and inspiration.  Few know this better than Jenna Blaszczykiewicz, the Senior Director of Marketing for global innovation hub based in Chicago, 1871. Jenna started her career in architecture design, shifted to the tech space and now merges all of that with marketing. Jenna is brilliant at identifying new opportunities for narrative strategy and offering that to both 1871 and many of the startups that come through its doors.  In this conversation, we chat about the Jobs to be Done framework, the intersection of tech & design and story strategy for pitch decks.  This is an episode for: storytellers, founders and startup nerds. What's sizzlin' in the Spice Cabinet?? Where to follow Jenna? LinkedIn!  Where to follow 1871?  Sign up for their newsletter for fresh insights & new events. FOLLOW along on Instagram, YouTube & LinkedIn Where does Jenna get inspo? “I would say my biggest influence truly is the outside world. I'm an explorer of thought. And you know, I'm influenced by a local art show just as much as an article in The New York Times or something like that.” Jenna’s a TikToker. Her favorite trend right now?  The RIDICULOUS Harry Potter remix that’s making the rounds. Magical or bizarre—you decide.  Jenna’s Walkout song?  Paul Simon - “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”  (Molly’s pick) Black Marble - “A Great Design” Parting words of inspiration?  “Love what you do. I think everybody loves to see somebody when they're sharing an idea that has meaning within them for that topic—and they're kind of basically giving you a snapshot of those emotions while they're giving the presentation. And I think that if you can make yourself fall in love with the content you're producing, whether it's an element of it doesn't have to be the whole thing. You can almost attach itself to the authenticity and be sort of like a conduit to really want what you're saying. And I think that amplifies the messaging. And I think it creates a lasting impact.”

15 slide decks, 2 designers and a couple of days—What is it like to work on-site as a presentation designer?? GhostRanch designer Tamara Jarvi is here to share her experience with us! Tamara recently joined a GhostRanch client at an amazing event to help pull off over a dozen decks she and her team worked on.  From last-minute edits and additions to fonts breaking down from PC to Macs, we discuss what she learned and why this kind of in-person experience is beneficial to any designer.  This is an episode for: presentation designers or aspiring designers, people that work live events and anyone that enjoys a good interview. What's in the Spice Cabinet? Tamara’s walkout song?? 1, 2 Step by Ciara Tamara’s podcast reccos? Think Fast, Talk Smart - conversations on professional life and creativity from Stanford professor Matt Abrahams My Favorite Murder - self-explanatory  The Quickie for Designers - design inspo and insights!  Fave designer? Scotty Russell - he’s got a podcast too!  Advice for other designers wanting to go on-site? “I found that people want to trust you because well, they don't really have time not to. So basically, they want to trust your expertise. So pretty much just show up like the badass that you are and do your best. Give your best answers and it'll go well.”

From Abercrombie & Fitch to Twitter, companies around the globe have rebranded again and again—for better or worse.  Mikey & Molly dive into the good, the bad and the ugly of rebrands to understand WHY a company might rebrand and analyze the opportunities for shifting a brand story.  While a simple logo change might be the perfect design update to keep up with the times, swapping a little blue bird recognized around the globe with a black ‘X’ could lose billions in brand recognition. (Not that we’re calling anyone out…) This is an episode for: Brand messagers, narrative strategists & people still calling Twitter…Twitter.

Every year, TechCrunch brings out some of the most impressive innovators to their “Startup Battlefield”—a competition for startups to win up to $100,000 and serious clout.  Lucky for us, the 6 finalists (out of over 200+ startups!) are filmed and available online for us to hyper-analyze their pitch decks—so that’s exactly what Mikey and Molly did.  We get particularly into Biotics AI, which (spoiler alert) became the WINNER and is doing amazing things with AI to detect abnormalities in ultrasounds during pregnancies.  Startup competitions are always a great place to get inspired, motivated and challenge juuust how much information you can pack into 6 minutes and a handful of slides.This is an episode for: Startup enthusiasts, tech nerds and anyone who could learn from pitching.

Paleoanthropologist Genevieve von Petzinger is entranced by the engraved signs and symbols found in caves all over the world. She has spent years researching this ancient visual communication and in her 2015 TED Talk, Why are these 32 symbols found in ancient caves all over Europe?, von Petzinger shares what she’s learned.  Her research catalogs the first ever collection of 32 signs and, stunningly, tracks the same symbols across countries throughout a 30,000 year period starting with the ice age.  Mikey and Molly analyze Genevieve’s presentation and reflect on the evolution of what “Presentation Thinking” is all about—visual communication and storytelling. This is an episode for: speakers, scientists, communication nerds & cave drawing enthusiasts.

Description If you know the name “Brené Brown”, chances are you associate the word “vulnerability” with it.  Brené’s 2010 TED Talk, “The Power of vulnerability”, became one of the most-viewed TED Talks ever—and it launched her into a higher level of recognition in her career.  A self-titled “storyteller researcher” with a social work background, Brené studies human connection and what commonalities exist for all of us. When her discoveries around vulnerability expose her own issues with being vulnerable, it changes the trajectory of her studies forever.  Mikey & Molly sift through the details of what it is about Brené’s TED Talk that makes it so memorable, strategic and, well, vulnerable.  This is an episode for: Professional speakers, therapists and Brené Brown fans.

Apple has long-since stood out in the tech world in its product announcements and presentations. Steve Jobs’ keynotes created a genuine “you had to be there” atmosphere and set the bar high for the brand story that Apple was to embody. The loss of Steve Jobs and arrival of COVID forced them into a more produced, pre-recorded format, one such event premiering in September of this year.   Mikey and Molly dig into what makes people follow Apple presentations more than any other brand, the pros of pre-cording and what was SO good and once-in-a-lifetime about Steve’s in-person 2007 presentation introducing the iPhone. This is an episode for: Apple loyalists, tech nerds and brand storytellers.

As certified TED Talk enthusiasts and amateur speaker coaches, Mikey and I thoroughly enjoyed Catherine Molloy’s 2022 TED Talk on conscious communication, “Think before you speak, hacking the secret of communication.”  Catherine Molloy is a communications expert who walks the walk in her delivery. There are intentional pauses, NO talking from the screen or talk track and plenty of great storytelling moments.  Catherine believes that through intentional communication and mindful awareness of our body language, we can solve a lot of the world’s problems.  We go through this TED Talkin’ episode and give you 3 things we loved and 3 things we’d do differently for Catherine’s talk. This is an episode for: body language nerds, TED Talk enthusiasts and professional speakers looking to level-up.