Presentation Thinking™

Nvidia has long since been an inspirer of innovation with software and hardware that serves as a starting point for tech and gaming communities around the world.  Of course, they’ve been pioneers in AI as well.  CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote address at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) was called to our attention as an outstanding presentation and start-of-the-year launch for various new Nvidia products.  And dang—from Jensen’s lowkey delivery to the high-end visuals, we were impressed. Jensen’s visuals help convey the processes of densely technical products while his goofiness makes everything that is typically slick and futuristic—very approachable.  GhostRanch Technical Director, Steve Sheets, joins Mikey and Molly to ogle at the sheer screen size and how they might’ve made the magic happen. This is an episode for: tech nerds, AI enthusiasts and anyone that has to present on complicated subjects.  What’s in the Spice Cabinet?  Watch Jensen’s CES Keynote for yourself Here Explore Nvidia’s fancy new offerings  On their site! Jensen joins the guys at Acquired Watch the interview here Steve’s favorite use of AI so far? Sketching with Midjourney What do we think Jensen’s walkout song? The Star Wars Theme song - John Williams Fly Like an Eagle - Steve Miller Band

Throughout 2025, we’ll be exploring the path towards Presentation Excellence. One of the first steps to achieving such rare air is getting messaging buy-in. Without it, messaging adaption can never happen and it will have a huge impact on presentations throughout your organization.  Steve Earl, Executive Director of GhostRanch, has a rich enterprise tech background which afforded him the experience of “selling” messaging buy-in first-hand.  He shares 3 vital tips if you have also found yourself in these shoes, wondering how best to walk: 1) Think like a sales person 2) Communicate like it’s a high-stakes presentation (it is) and 3) Act like a shepherd.  You are the wise messaging wizard and it’s up to you to bring stakeholders along the journey.  This is an episode for: product marketers, stakeholders and anyone that’s had to create or sell messaging. What’s in the Spice Cabinet?  Tune into Steve’s other appearances on the ‘cast: Episode 70: Steve Earl on the work before the Presentation Starting Line Episode 141: Best of Product Marketing (so far) Advice for dialing in messaging?  I get most of my refinement from working with salespeople… I'm not a salesperson, I'm a marketer. But I felt that what really advanced the way I did messaging was by talking to the best salespeople and what was important to them And that helped get rid of the fluff, right? We mention Emma Stratton a few times Her new book, Make it Punchy, is the most fun book you’ll find on strategic messaging Steve is a fan of behavioral science + marketing Corporate Visions’ work and content does this especially well Steve’s walkout song? Beautiful Day - U2

Motivation researcher Ayelet Fishbach’s TED Talk, How to set the right goals and stay motivated, is the perfect TED Talk to kickoff your 2025 and hold fast to your resolutions.  With over a decade of experience in the “motivational psychology” space, Fishbach makes a compelling case for motivation not being a muscle you can exercise, but rather a series of factors that can be customized to help keep you going. Firstly, you have to identify the right goals, then you strip out the ego and be ready with a buddy or a “balanced goal” to help achieve what you want. Setting up an environment for success is what can keep you motivated, rather than trudging through sheer will.  Ayelet is a skilled presenter and there’s a lot to learn from both her content and delivery in this TED Talk.This is an episode for: anyone interested in goals, resolutions or who is wanting to get motivated going into the New Year! What's in the Spice Cabinet? Watch Ayelet Fishbach’s TED Talk:  How to set the right goals and stay motivated here!  Learn more about Ayelet’s work, including her books: Here!  Come join GhostRanch for STORYCAMP this July 30-31, 2025 Find out details here!

Like any good end-of-year episode, this is our 2024 “Wrapped”.  Mikey and Molly share the common themes that emerged this year in their journey with Presentation Thinking and what’s in store for 2025.  Some foot-notes: Pitchin’ Ain’t Easy: We took a deep dive into the, ahem, “Shark Tank” of the startup/venture capital world and learned about pitching.  Delivery Matters! We talked to a vocal coach about tone, inflection and stage presence. AND got more practical in how to practice presenting. Personal narrative can go a long way. From personal experiences to narrative design, implementing narrative in a natural way can impact your project or presentation.  Our diversity of guests presented new insights into age-old truths about storytelling—presentations can still be found everywhere and they’re not going anywhere.  This is an episode for: presenters, speakers and anyone just starting out with the PrezThinking pod!  What’s in the Spice Cabinet?  Our most-listened to episode this year: 105 - TED Talkin’ Yara Shahidi wants you to prioritize curiosity  Our top episode EVER: 79 - Amy Cuddy’s “Power Poses” and the Impact of Body Language  2024 Episodes to revisit for VC/STARTUP: 120 - Pitch (Deck) Perfect: A Conversation with VC Expert, Tom Fowler 125 - Mac Conwell on perfecting your personal story and pitch 2024 Episodes to revisit for DELIVERY: 130 - Leveraging your voice as presentation power with Voice Coach Michelle Siracusa  2024 Episodes to revisit for PERSONAL NARRATIVE: 108 - Harvey Lee on Leveraging Personal Experiences for Professional Growth  111 - Marcus Andrews on Crafting a New Category through Narrative Design  Walkout song of 2024? Defying Gravity from Wicked - too cliche??

Mikey and Molly return from visiting London for the Product Marketing Alliance (PMA) Summit and discuss the MYRIAD of amazing presentation formats they encountered.  From an all day training course to breakout sessions to a reel for the GhostRanch booth, presentations were everywhere and it’s clear this preferred B2B medium isn’t going anywhere. As presentation creators, it’s helpful to keep tabs on these formats and see how they evolve, what’s working and what factors are important to keep in mind when designing. We share what we learned and the highlights for each style.  “If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that presentations actually are all around.” Learn about the PMA and find an event near you: Here! Don’t forget to check out their Core Certified Courses!  Mikey & Molly’s fave Indian eats (what’d we miss?) Dishoom Tayyabs  Our walkout songs for future London presentations?  Molly - Galway Girl Mikey - Oasis “Wonderwall”

When we last spoke to Andrea Pacini in Episode #77, he had just published his book, Confident Presenter (which you can get a free copy of through the link in the Spice Cabinet!).  Now, Andrea has been awarded “Best Virtual Speaker” from the Speaker Awards 2024 and “Best Presentation Skills Training Specialist in the UK”—to name just a few of the accolades.  Andrea returns to the ‘cast to dig deeper into core communication fundamentals, the difference between practicing and rehearsing and frameworks that work for him. As a presentation coach, we love hearing Andrea’s perspective on everyday challenges that his clients face and how to conquer them with confidence.  Andrea is adept at making presentations accessible to everyone.  This is an episode for: Keynoters, speakers and anyone looking to improve their public speaking—in-person or virtual.  What's in the Spice Cabinet? Get a free copy of Andrea’s book, Confident Presenter: Here! To make the most of the book, take the Confident Presenter Scorecard to assess your presentation skills in < 3 minutes Where to find and follow Andrea? (He’s a killer LinkedIn follow) LinkedIn Ideas on Stage Attend the next Ideas on Stage web class here! (A few of) Andrea’s favorite people/resources for presentation inspiration?  Chip and Dan Heath’s book - Made to Stick Benjamin Zander - “ He combines speaking and playing the transformative power of classical music.” Benjamin Zander TED Talk - The Transformative Power of Classical Music  Daniel Priestly John Pollack - Shortcut: How Analogies Reveal Connections, Spark Innovation, and Sell Our Greatest Ideas A former speechwriter for Bill Clinton Any trends in the Presentation Coaching landscape? “I can’t not mention Artificial Intelligence… a couple of years ago, we didn't have ChatGPT and all these other tools. And these things will change. That's inevitable but what will never change are the fundamental principles of communication.” Advice for anyone thinking they want to write a book?  ”When it comes to presenting, just do it. Practice, practice, practice. Public speaking is a skill that requires knowledge and technique. It's a bit like learning how to play a new musical instrument or learning how to play a new sport. We need knowledge and technique.” “ When it comes to writing a book, I've just finished reading On Writing by Stephen King, the book on writing. And he says that the advice he has for aspiring writers is, he sometimes is asked, ‘How do you write your books? How do you write maybe like 90,000 words for a book?’ And he says, ‘One word at a time. Just write one word at a time.’ So it's a practical level.”  Block time in your calendar to build time for a writing routine!  Andrea’s walkout song?  Don’t Stop Me Now - Queen

Tom Fishburne has never stopped drawing. From doodling as a kid to creating comics throughout Harvard Business School, Tom knows the power of visual communication and humor.  Now, with years of marketing experience and as the creator of Marketoonist, Tom’s entire company vision is to help businesses communicate better through visual storytelling and a bit of comedic relief.  Mikey and Molly chat with Tom about the intersection of marketing and visual communication and how he’s struck a chord with marketers around the world with his simple and effective cartoons.  We examine how to keep creativity alive within the marketing process and ask Tom about his own presentation preparation and experience giving a TED Talk.   This is an episode for: Marketers of all kinds and people that doodle in meetings. What's in the Spice Cabinet? Where to find Tom: Marketoonist - hire him to keynote!  Shoot him a message on LinkedIn For the marketing colleagues in your life, Tom’s book is a perfect Christmas gift: Your Ad Ignored Here  If you want to see (or have seen) Tom’s TED Talk, tune into Mikey and I’s breakdown of it: Episode 131 on Presentation Thinking here And Tom’s TED Talk, The power of laughing at ourselves at work, is here!  Books & resources that Tom goes to for inspiration?  Russell Davies - author of Everything I Know About Life I Learned from PowerPoint Gary Larson’s “The Far Side” Jean-Jaques Sempé - French cartoonist known for New Yorker covers Hilary Price - creator of “Rhymes with Orange” Advice for someone who’s looking to get more creative? “Don’t be afraid to draw…even stick figures, sometimes, can be more compelling than a dense PowerPoint slide…If you want to communicate an idea, do a 'back of the envelope' sketch and share that with somebody before you have a fully baked PowerPoint presentation that looks like it's final.” Tom’s walkout song?  Jack White - Seven Nation Army

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. Tune in, turkeys!This is an episode for: presentation designers, speakers and friends and fans of the pod. What’s in the Spice Cabinet? (What are we thankful for?) From Mikey… A feature:  Selection pane. I think it wasn’t around until maybe like 2016, 2017? I really don’t know. An animation breakthrough:  Morph transition (really thanks to Apple Keynote for magic move and for PPT trying to catch up. Google Slides, come on man) PPT Mentors / sharing in general:  Glen Abrahams for showing me how to nudge objects granularly in PPT back in like 2014 – it felt so clunky before, was like 10px at a time. But he was like, “dude just hold control and then do it.” My wife!  Megan has really let me pursue this passion, there’s no GhostRanch without her. She’s doing amazing stuff for Women for Riley, a children’s hospital in Indiana - check it out!  From Molly… Fave tool for transcription and re-listening to meetings?  Descript Some fave people on the pod this year: Michelle Siracusa - voice coach extraordinaire!  Rick Altman - creator of Presentation Summit! A newsletter Punchline Copy’s Lianna Patch  A framework The GhostRanch Pitch Planner  An “Aww” moment Thankful for a company like GhostRanch that encourages you to ask questions!  

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 number of neural pathways that connect the two sides contributes to someone being more creatively capable.  In other words, the more we can connect and holistically bring together our Right & Left Brains, the better our creativity and communication can be.  Mikey and Molly, on their journey to be better presenters, apply this to the foundations of visual storytelling and how best to communicate within a slide platform. This is an episode for: Neuroscience nerds, presenters and anyone that wants to be a better communicator. What’s in the Spice Cabinet?? Check the science Duke University study from 2017 Left Brain vs. Right Brain Dominance (VeryWellMind) On the GhostRanch blog The “Whole Brain” approach to Presentation Excellence Neuroscience walkout song Mikey’s take: Alright Guy - Todd Snider Molly’s take: The Middle - Jimmy Eat World  Want more Presentation Thinking in your inbox?  You can subscribe to our newsletter here!!

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 original book. And Malcolm is now publicly addressing a controversial theory he credited towards reducing crime in NYC called “Broken Windows Theory”.  “Broken windows is the theory that Small crimes are invitations for large crimes – if you let people get away with little things then you are signaling that it’s okay to cross the line into bigger things. So what do you do? You don’t let people get away with the little things.” NYPD’s harsh interpretation of this theory in the 90s and 00s led to harmful “stop and frisk” policies that largely affected communities of color.  While Malcom never explicitly mentions “stop and frisk”, his direct linking of “Broken Windows” to the reduction of crime in the 90s and early 00s led many to false conclusions—that would later be disproved in a landmark case in 2013.  He returns to the TED stage to apologize and take accountability.  This is an episode for: anyone that needs to give an apology presentation and fans of Malcolm Gladwell (& haters!) What’s in the Spice Cabinet? Watch the TED Talk “The Tipping Point I Got Wrong” Tune into our TENTH ever episode for a Tipping Point book review Listen here! Malcolm’s podcast, Revisionist History, also revisits this subject Listen here An amazing org cleaning up vacant buildings Clean and Green Philly  For the first time ever… We don’t think a walkout song is appropriate for an apology presentation.