PODCAST · business
Presentation Thinking™
by GhostRanch Communications
Mikey and Molly have been beckoned by the gods to become legendary storytellers — a call impossible to refuse. Join our heroes as they dive deep down the rabbit hole, documenting their findings as they scour all industries and disciplines in search of outside insights, inside outlooks, and, well, anything and everything there is to know about the making (and delivery) of better presentations. This is Presentation Thinking™ Brought to you by www.GhostRanch.com — b2b marketers' partners in Presentation ExcellenceANDwww.StoryCamp.com — A soft skills symposium in Park City, July 23-24, 2025
Episodes
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#222. Keynote speaker and story collector Jay Baer
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...
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#221. How to measure GTM messaging
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...
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#220. World-building on a walking tour
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....
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#219. Nolan Haims wants your presentation to pack a punch
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...
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#218. What’s the shape of “The Odyssey”?
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...
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#217. Montana von Fliss moves millions by finding her “one”
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...
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#216. Story Camp ‘26 is almost here. Join the mountain magic.
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...
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#215. How do museums present their stories?
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...
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#214. How to speak and stand out at a conference—no matter the environment
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...
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#213. Presentation Book Club: The Science of Storytelling
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…
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#212. Steve Jobs Introduces the iPod 2001—and changes music forever
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...
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#211. Andrea Pacini is a Timeless Presenter—and you can be too
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...
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#210. TED Talkin’ with Montana Von Fliss: Stand out with a “silent sentence”
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),...
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#209. The virtual presentation help book you’ve been waiting 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...
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#208. TED Talkin’: Angus Fletcher on the power of plot twists
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…
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#207. The big value of short films
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...
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#206. How to inspire students at your Alma Mater
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...
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#205. Harnessing humor with hilarious copywriter, Lianna Patch
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…
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#204. Book Club: Save the Cat! (Part 2)
“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…
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#203. Book Club: Save the Cat! (Part 1)
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...
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#202. Tell an SKO story with Kaitlyn Hines
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…
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#201. TED Talkin’: How framing is used in the science of storytelling
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...
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#200. Transform your presentation into a performance with Carmen Sederino
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…
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#199. Storytelling, going stale and Super Bowl commercials
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...
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#198. Study shows: debate training increases confidence
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...
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#197. Studying every Steve Jobs keynote ever: Damage Control at MacWorld (1997)
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...
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#196. TED Talkin’: Why Sir Ken Robinson has the most-viewed TED ever
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...
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#195. “Some Guy From the Crew” Part 3: Budgeting & building a team
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...
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#194. Planning & Presenting for an Offsite
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...
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#193. 2025 Wrapped: B2B & storytelling trends
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...
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#192. Steve Jobs (2015) film: A story told in product launches
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...
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#191. Filmmaker Gerard Clarke on creating visual stories worth telling (and selling)
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,...
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#190. Unlock the unknown of your product (and customer) with PMM Langley Barth
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,...
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#189. PrezThanking 2025: What we’re thankful for (and how it can help you too)
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…
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#188. “Some Guy From the Crew” Part 2: Live events with Cameron Magee
Our previous episode (#186) with Cameron Magee covered the importance of rehearsals and the lead-up to an event or conference. This time, we’re talking about what’s going on AT the live event. Continuing our “Some Guy From the Crew” series, Cameron Magee joins the podcast again to discuss live...
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#187. Studying every Steve Jobs keynote ever: Introducing iMac (1998)
Mikey and Molly might be the first-ever students of storytelling to embark on a curious journey of studying every talk and keynote that Steve Jobs has ever done. When discussing the greatest speakers of all time, the general B2B world typically includes Steve Jobs somewhere in the list and we nod...
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#186. “Some Guy From the Crew” Part 1: The importance of rehearsals with Cameron Magee
Cameron Magee knows the ins and outs of an event’s backstage area. Having led his production and AV company, avad3, for almost 15 years, they’ve produced over a thousand events all over the country. Trusted by Walmart, The White House and many more—Cameron is passionate about serving these events...
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#185. TED Talkin’: Sugata Mitra’s quietly powerful challenge to education norms
Sugata Mitra is one of the few people to have five TED Talks. Why? He’s a perfect combination of scientific, challenging norms and soft-spoken charm. As a theoretical researcher with an interest in education and the role of the internet, Sugata’s “Hole in the Wall” experiment has become a famed...
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#184. Presentation Book Club: Ivan Wanis Ruiz is re-writing the rulebook
Ivan Wanis Ruiz is ready for us to never be bored during presentations again. Returning to the podcast for a Book Club style episode we dive into his book, End Boring: A Tactical Approach to Public Speaking and Communication. For his research, Ivan speaks with buskers, professional wrestlers and...
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#183. Founder Krislam Chin’s creative approach to teaching creative work
Founder of Hello World Studio and Professor of Graphic Design at Mt. San Antonio College in California, Krislam runs their graphic design program, inspiring new waves of creators stepping into our visual storytelling world. Krislam joins Presentation Thinking to discuss her favorite parts about...
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#182. TED Talkin’: Listen up! Sound researcher Julian Treasure teaches us how to be heard.
Listen up! Julian Treasure is a communication expert and sound researcher, interested in harnessing the power of voice and sound for speakers, listeners and learners. His TED Talk, How to speak so that people will want to listen, from 2013 is one of the most-viewed TED Talks of all time (a measly...
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#181. What can music videos teach us about visual storytelling?
Stories and messages are best remembered with visuals. We’ve used countless examples of iconic movies to demonstrate this concept. But what about music videos? After the VMAs (Video Music Awards) were held a few weeks ago, it got us thinking about classic arcs, story shapes and how they might…
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#180. Ivan Wanis Ruiz is here to revolutionize your public speaking
Ivan Wanis Ruiz thinks bios are boring—but we’ll do our best to introduce this founder of Public Speaking Lab and the guy challenging all the presentation advice you’ve ever been taught. Ivan’s background brings a little bit of everything. Event MCing, acting, marketing, finance and presently a...
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#179. The power of visual storytelling with “Chief Doodler” Hayley Langsdorf
Visual thinker, founder and “Chief Doodler” Hayley Langsdorf can capture more with a sharpie than any bulleted list of meeting notes. If you’ve never heard of a “live scribe”, neither had Hayley a few years ago. This is someone that sketches out important ideas from board meetings or keynotes at…
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#178. Building Story Camp: a retreat for presentation development and nostalgic camp joy
Originally built as the GhostRanch company retreat, Story Camp has been brewing for a few years. It’s a concentrated three day series where the company gets to focus, relax and level up on presentation skills. This summer was different - we set our sights to invite clients and the public to join…
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#177. Dr. Christopher Cummings on the high stakes (and universal value) of risk communication
Dr. Christopher Cummings may have started his career in the classroom but he would eventually find himself in the “COVID-19 war room” during the global pandemic in 2020. A high stakes job you may never have considered, Chris is a behavioral theorist and Research Social Scientist. He’s in the...
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#176. Dr. Steven Franconeri tells data stories—and you can too
Dr. Steven Franconeri is a leading speaker and teacher on data storytelling, a professor at Northwestern University and the Founder of Becise - a platform helping people transform their data into compelling narratives. (Steven ALSO just so happens to be one of our guest speakers of our first-ever...
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#175. Making marketing magic with Jimi Gibson
Jimi Gibson is the VP of brand communication at Thrive Internet Marketing Agency, TEDx speaker and also, a magician (amazing combo, right?). After starting a career in magic as a young kid receiving Merlin’s Mail-Order Magic, Jimi was introduced to marketing through an advertising agency. He...
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#174. TED Talkin’: Ben Wellington’s NYC data story
If you’ve ever had to stare at a data set and wonder how to make meaning of it, this is for you. Ben Wellington is a teacher, researcher and the creator of a little blog called “I Quant NY”. With the release of NYC Open Data, there were hundreds of data sets newly available to the public for…
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#173. Presentation Party Time: Scott Hull and the importance of human-made stories
You’re Invited…to Presentation Party Time! Presentation Party Time is a deep-dive type episode dedicated to a specific project so that we can understand the inception, development and execution of the presentation process. For this episode, it’s a sales deck GhostRanch worked on with Scott Hull +...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Mikey and Molly have been beckoned by the gods to become legendary storytellers — a call impossible to refuse. Join our heroes as they dive deep down the rabbit hole, documenting their findings as they scour all industries and disciplines in search of outside insights, inside outlooks, and, well, anything and everything there is to know about the making (and delivery) of better presentations. This is Presentation Thinking™ Brought to you by www.GhostRanch.com — b2b marketers' partners in Presentation ExcellenceANDwww.StoryCamp.com — A soft skills symposium in Park City, July 23-24, 2025
HOSTED BY
GhostRanch Communications
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Presentation Thinking™ have?
Presentation Thinking™ currently has 168 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Presentation Thinking™ about?
Mikey and Molly have been beckoned by the gods to become legendary storytellers — a call impossible to refuse. Join our heroes as they dive deep down the rabbit hole, documenting their findings as they scour all industries and disciplines in search of outside insights, inside outlooks, and, well,...
How often does Presentation Thinking™ release new episodes?
Presentation Thinking™ publishes regularly with 168 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Presentation Thinking™?
You can listen to Presentation Thinking™ on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Presentation Thinking™?
Presentation Thinking™ is created and hosted by GhostRanch Communications.
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