Presentation Thinking™

experience of all varieties (we’re talking Oracle, Q2 and more). The throughline of her work? Communication is everything—and she joins the pod to share her perspective on how these soft skills (like presentations!) have evolved and shifted with the growth of product management in general. From establishing clear and consistent messaging to selling a vision, April doles out many a word of wisdom. (Ahem, expert alert!!) This is an episode for: product marketers, managers, presenters & communication nerds. What's in the Spice Cabinet?Find April and connect! On LinkedIn! Via the Women in Product GroupPowerPoint or Google Slides?PowerPointProduct Marketing leader to learn from?Marty Cagan of the Silicon Valley Product Group - “he’s kinda like the Godfather of product”Check out his books and more hereApril’s walkout song? Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N’ RosesFinal words of wisdom for Presentation Nation?One thing I always tell everybody that's ever worked for me when you're presenting: nobody probably knows more about this than you. So don't stop. Like when you mess up, nobody knows. You know?...The soft skills, the presentation—it's the future. You know, it's one of the core things I look for and I know a lot of the other leaders I work alongside and have worked alongside with, look for. You can be the smartest person in the room, but if you cannot articulate what you're doing, that is a problem.

At this point in our storytelling journey, Mikey and Molly have learned a lot about the “science” of storytelling and why our brains click so well with remembering (and being moved by) narrative. However, journalist, author and teacher Will Storr’s 2018 TED Talk “The Science of Storytelling” presents something we haven’t heard yet. From understanding how our eyes are constantly evaluating for change with movements called “saccades” to understanding all stories as gossip—a means for survival and sharing of information—Will’s 6 elements of the science behind storytelling are truly unique.Will helps to understand that through our personal “hero’s journeys”, living with purpose and applying purpose to any story is the thing that brings resolve and a “eudaemonic happiness.” In other words, the pursuit of happiness in life is part of the reason that stories can resonate so well. This is an episode for: Brand managers, big thinkers and story nerds.  What’s in the Spice Cabinet?Listen to Will’s TEDxManchester yourselfTune in hereFind more of Will’s work OnlineOn InstagramHis newest book released February 2025 is called A Story is a Deal: How to use the science of storytelling to lead, motivate and persuade

The one where Mikey and Molly embody their role as “students of storytelling” by taking Aaron Sorkin’s Masterclass on screenwriting. Aaron’s writing is literally award-winning—think A Few Good Men, The Social Network, The West Wing—so this online class seemed like a more affordable option than film school.We dig into Aaron’s teaching style, his reverence for Aristotle and what can be gleaned in our presentation and marketing world from screenwriting tips. From story sequencing to letting the audience in on the secret to the importance of research (hello, win-loss interviews!)—Aaron’s advice is applicable to a broad range of mediums.This is an episode for: storytellers of all kinds, writers and of course—film nerds. What’s in the Spice Cabinet? Don’t just take our word for it! Take Aaron’s class yourselfAaron’s an Aristotle fan and so are weCheck out the classic PoeticsAaron’s walkout song? (He said it himself in class!)Dire Straits - Brothers in ArmsJoin GhostRanch at Story Camp this summer and practice your presentation skills!Learn more here

COMING THIS SUMMER to Park City, Utah—GhostRanch’s Story Camp retreat is now open to the public!! What is it? Story Camp is a small but mighty micro retreat this July 22-24th, 2025. No huge hotel crowds, we’re talking 40-50 people.Who is it for? It’s for anyone that wants to level up their presentation, storytelling and soft skills. In fact, soft skills pay bills is part of the hypothesis that brought Story Camp into existence! Molly interviews Mikey about where this idea came from and how with the rapid growth of remote work, technology and AI, we’re in a soft skills gap. The ability to tell stories, to speak in front of people and simply communicate well are all part of our everyday work and life that maintain both relationships and opportunities. After a chill hike, some socializing by the pool, getting to practice presentation skills in your own “Lightning talk” and receiving feedback from peers, you’ll also get to hear from some incredible headliners: Former White House speechwriter Terry SzuplatDesign scientist and visual communication expert Dr. Steven Franconeri Dr. Amy Cuddy—speaker and social psychologist who termed the phrase, “power poses” These expert Presentation Thinkers will be spitting their A-game for you and with a group this intimate, you’ll have 1:1 access to them! Find out more at StoryCamp.com or reach out to Mikey (mikey@ghostranch.com) and Molly (molly@ghostranch.com) with any Qs. See you up there, at “Presentation Excellence” altitude.

Elliott Rayner is a story nerd, just like us.Elliott’s “Hero’s Journey” begins in sports marketing, pivots into product marketing and lands himself as the current CMO for OWOW, a creative marketing agency. Along the way, he’s accrued a variety of storytelling skills and honed in on the science behind why storytelling clicks so well in our human brains.This science and the elements required to make it work are all part of Elliott’s talk which he now gives at marketing conferences (and even wrote an eBook on!).Elliott walks us through his favorite frameworks, how he prepares for a talk and his admiration of one of the Greek greats—you guessed it, Aristotle.This is an episode for: speakers, marketers, story scientists and Aristotle nerds.What’s in the Spice Cabinet??Where to find Elliott?On LinkedIn—DM him for his eBook! Check out Elliott’s work at OWOWElliott’s recommended reading?Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari (he wrote Sapiens!)What does Presentation Thinking mean to Elliott? ”Presentation Thinking the way when I read it is like a type of mindset that a person has where you're thinking about how it's going to end up at the end. So, if you're thinking of building a product, the way I always think about things is like, ‘How am I going to talk about this on stage?’ Or ‘How is this going to look as the final campaign?’ And so I've always got what I would call my Presentation Thinking hat is that when we're building a feature roadmap, I'm like, move that feature up because that's the one I want to present.So that's the kind of way I thought about it.”What’s Elliott’s walkout song? Borders by Sam Fender

Drag queen Pattie Gonia hits the TED stage to let us know that joy is a useful and tangible way to take action against climate change. Mikey and Molly analyze the stage, screen and story elements of Pattie’s TED Talk and are thoroughly impressed with the sparse but strategic visuals (her dress is enough to look at!) and the measured pace with which Pattie delivers. Pattie walks through perfect examples of personal storytelling framed against a bigger story of queer history and climate change. Through finding her joy in drag, she found her niche in the climate movement. How can we apply that to our own lives and work? As a drag queen, she’s a pro at keeping the audience involved and making them an active participant of the talk. It’s a joyful and inspiring 9 minutes for both climate action and presentation skills. This is an episode for: climate activists, folks in a creative rut and anyone that has a hard time slowing down while speaking. What's in the Spice Cabinet?Watch Pattie’s talk for yourself Here on TED - Why Joy is a Serious Way to Take ActionFollow Pattie online and catch her singing on tour!  Pattie Gonia website - there’s merch too! Are you free July 23-24 and want to improve your own Story, Stage and Screen skills? Come join us for Story Camp! Find out more about the Park City retreat here

This episode was recorded before the Delta crash in Toronto on February 17th, 2025. We are extremely grateful that everyone is okay. Delta made a surprising appearance at CES 2025 (Consumer Technology Show)—a tradeshow typically showcasing explicitly tech brands and the latest consumer innovation.With The Sphere in Las Vegas as its setting, Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian delivered a memorable pep rally centered around celebrating Delta’s 100 years in business and a myriad of tech product/partnership announcements. GhostRanch Creative Director Allie Wilson joins Mikey and Molly to analyze the stage, screen and story elements of this ambitious talk. From the epic visuals to the 4D components, we can’t help but wonder if Delta’s Sphere appearance is raising the bar for product presentations everywhere. This is an episode for: product/tech launch nerds, presenters and anyone racking up those Delta SkyMiles.What's in the Spice Cabinet??See the Delta CES keynote for yourself: Here People are talking about this online. Learn more about people’s first-hand experiences here & here!What do we think Ed should walk out to? (That is, if Lenny Kravitz isn’t there next time)   Creed - Higher Frank Sinatra - Fly Me To The Moon The “UP” theme song - “Married Life”Interested in practicing presentations with incredible and inspiring people? Check out StoryCamp, July 23-24, 2025

Collette Ramage is a PMM expert and career coach with some seasoned presentation chops. Molly met Collette as her teacher for a Product Marketing Alliance certification course and knew we had to ask her aboard the ‘cast. Every Product Marketer’s journey is different but not many begin in biomedical science! Interested in the technical aspects of business, Collette found her way to a marketing track and eventually product marketing as the career itself was being developed. Collette shares her perspective on the unique pressures that PMMs face, how to get buy-in with the sales teams and why you might (but shouldn’t!) feel Imposter Syndrome as a PMM. Oh, and of course the importance of storytelling in the product marketing and presentation world. This is an episode for: product marketers, coaches/teachers or anyone who might need a bit of career advice.What’s in the Spice Cabinet? Where to find Collette:LinkedIn!Collette’s recommended resources?I listen to a lot of behavioral psychology and consumer psychology because I’m very much competitive in sales enablement so I want to understand how to play to people and I want to think about that. Harvard Business ReviewCheck out their leadership series!Anything byClayton E. Christensen on HBRCoach the Person, Not the Problem - Marcia ReynoldsThe Coaching Habit -Michael Bungay StanierWildcard adviceCollette signed up for a screenwriting class! -I did a small one years ago and that was very transformational. Favorite speaking inspoMarcus AndrewsAny TED Talk! Collette’s walkout song? Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger (she’s obsessed with Rocky)

Messaging expert Emma Stratton joins the ‘cast to discuss her book,Make it Punchy,her POV on strategic messaging and how you can stop dreading writing it. As an English major that started in editing and later B2C copywriting, Emma arrived in the B2B tech space wondering where all the creativity had gone. (And how all this jargon showed up!)Make it Punchyserves as a humorous workbook with frameworks to employ and clear case studies to learn from. Mikey and Molly go through some of our favorites with Emma such as “Value-Benefits-Feature” (VBF) that is dang-near-guaranteed to make both marketing and sales teams happy. We also dive into how Emma feels about presentations, how she preps and creates them!  Emma is now the founder of Punchy—a consulting and training firm for positioning—and speaks all the time on the subject. Check out where to follow her work below.This is an episode for: brand strategists, B2B copywriters and all strategic messaging folks.What's in the Spice Cabinet??Buy Emma’s book! Make it Punchy: How to write simple tech messaging that wins hearts, minds and marketsCheck out more of Emma’s work: Punchy—Emma’s consulting and training firm - podcast coming soon! OnLinkedInEmma’s recommended reading?On Writing Well by William ZinsserAnythingApril DunfordYou Are A Badass At Making Money by Jen SinceroEmma’s walkout song? Move On Up - Curtis Mayfield

Hattie the PMM took tech layoffs seriously and then made herself irreplaceable. Now, she’s on a mission to support other product marketers to do the same thing. Helping demystify and prove massive value to the often misunderstood “product marketing” space, Hattie has successfully branded herself on LinkedIn as “Hattie the PMM”—talk about a genius use of keywords!  Hattie was kind enough to join us and share her experiences, her perspectives and some hot takes she’s been posting on LinkedIn for the last year. She views product marketing as “the best way of solving a jigsaw puzzle within tech and software.”  Hattie is kicking off a community for product marketers and the founders members launch closes SOON be sure to sign up and follow along for support in your own journey. This is an episode for: product marketers, folks in need of an online community and anyone starting their own business. What’s in the Spice Cabinet?  Find Hattie (and all of her genius insights) On LinkedIn On YouTube Join her Product Marketers community—founders members launch closes SOON so sign-up ASAP! ProductMarketers.com! A few of Hattie’s favorite PMM things (and people): A book on creating more compassion…for yourself. Good for you and soft skills! Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff We’re Not Marketers podcast Eric, Zach and Gab from this podcast are great PMM inspo! Tamara Grominsky Emma Stratton Jason Oakley Hope Chauland Hattie’s walkout song?  (the song from Karate Kid!)