Presentation Thinking GhostRanch Communications

Michelle Siracusa puts new meaning to the phrase “your voice is your power”.

Michelle is a performer and vocal coach blending psychology with performance fundamentals to help folks be their most compelling when they speak. 

From finessing tone, creating emphasis and adapting emotion per the audience you’re speaking to, vocal delivery can truly transform a presentation or talk. 

Mikey and Molly work through several exercises live with Michelle to put into practice the small-but-mighty shifts in tone and emphasis that you can implement into your own work.

Being able to use your voice in the most effective way is not only great for performers but anyone in business as well. Whether you’re a keynote speaker or stepping into a leadership role where you’ll have to start giving more presentations, Michelle’s work can help you. 

This is an episode for: performers, speakers, voiceover geeks & leaders of all kinds.



What’s in the Spice Cabinet?? 

Where to find more Michelle 


Lina Rose Studios


LinkedIn



Reccos for vocal/presentation/performance improvement?


Take an improv class! 


Look up intentional verbs and their uses!


Find characters or people that you love and really look at what you like about how they speak/present 


Read some children’s books to see how you naturally emphasize and delivery animated stories



Fave director/movie/etc.?


Watch the things that make you feel alive that really excite you and try to absorb as much as possible.



Walkout song?


I Wanna Dance With Somebody - Whitney Houston



Parting words for Presentation Nation?


Follow your heart and follow the ideas and concepts that you’re most passionate about and the things that excite you. I think that’s the best way to come into who you want to be or who you should be and really find your power when we show up in that positivity and with that excitement, I feel like it’s so catching.

Phil Waknell from Ideas on Stage is a brilliant presenter. 

In his 2020 TED Talk “The 3 Magic Ingredients of Amazing Presentations” he shares his insider process into making presentations more than just information dumps. Phil actually illustrates how to make presentation “magic”!

Many presenters tote their “Top 5 tricks” or “3 Things you MUST do before presenting…” but Phil Waknell takes his concept a step further. He presents a brilliant tool, “The Audience Transformation Roadmap”, wherein the basic 3 ingredients he offers early in the talk are alchemized into a flow-chart that helps to map out which content goes where. 

Better still, the example he uses is the very talk that he’s giving in real time on the TED stage. 

It’s very meta—a presentation about presentations. But Mikey and Molly are seriously impressed and excited to use this new tool (you will be too!).

This is an episode for: presenters of all kinds. Don’t miss it. 



What’s in the Spice Cabinet?? 

Where to find more of Phil’s work


Ideas on Stage


His book! Business Presentation Revolution


LinkedIn


We loved this bio about Phil



Check out Episode #77 with Ideas on Stage Presentation Coach, Andrea Pacini


Listen here!



What do we think Phil’s walkout song is?


Do you believe in magic? - The Lovin’ Spoonful (Molly’s pick)
Three is a magic number - Bob Dorough (Mikey’s pick)

Lorenzo Thione is a serial entrepreneur. Having founded a handful of companies, he’s now a Co-Founder and Investor at Gaingels, a Venture Capital firm that’s focused on showing that representation and diversity in Venture Capital leads to world class returns. 

He estimates he’s seen thousands of pitches in his lifetime and has (more than) a thing or two to share about the structure, the storytelling and the presentation strategy of a pitch deck.

In addition to this skillset, Lorenzo is a Tony-award winning producer and advocate for theater arts. As anyone in the pitching/startup space will tell you, presenting is a performance and Lorenzo has blended and balanced these two worlds beautifully throughout his career. 

This is an episode for: founders, theater enthusiasts and anyone that needs help pitching.

What’s in the Spice Cabinet?? 

Find more Lorenzo and follow his work!


Gaingels


Allegiance - Lorenzo’s first produced work! 


LinkedIn



Favorite speakers? Presenters? Thinkers?


Sam Harris from the Making Sense podcast



Favorite musical or play? 


The Last 5 Years (for the score)


The Inheritance (fave play)


The Lion King (just a general favorite) “Quintessentially everything that’s right about theater”


Hadestown (fave to be moved by)



What’s your walkout song? 


I’m Coming Out - Diana Ross



Final piece of advice for Presentation Nation?

“I think the single most important piece of any endeavor has always been my network. And so I tell people: tend to your network. Tend to it as if it were a garden. Find out how you can be of help and support what is it that they need. Just like your plants will need something. And then, you know, it'll be able to kind of bloom and fruit and give you the fruits of it.”

Jessica Malnik is a marketer on-the-go.

With a background in journalism, Jessica harnessed her writing skills to start her own business copywriting and has established herself as a thought leader in the marketing and content strategy space—all while working remotely. 

Jessica also produces her own podcast about leading a team remotely, is a regular on the conference circuit and is starting to speak on panels!  

Jessica and Molly met at a conference in Austin but she already knew Mikey from a LinkedIn group which just goes to show how involved in her communities she is. If you’re in need of some fresh content strategy or inspiration to start your own business, tune in ASAP. 

This is an episode for: founders, writers, content marketers and anyone wanting to or working remotely. 



What's in the Spice Cabinet??

Where to find more Jessica?


Her site - sign up for the newsletter! 


Her podcast, Remote Work Tribe 


LinkedIn



Jessica’s favorite speakers, presenters & TED Talks: 


Jesse Cole - Owner of the Savannah Bananas!


Ann Handley - Author of Everybody Writes


Tim Urban - Wait but Why?


Brene Brown’s The Power of Vulnerability 



Preferred pods & media resources:


TropicalMBA


Bootstrapped Web


My First Million


Acquired FM


The Exit Whisperer


exitfive



What’s her walkout song? 


Blinding Lights - The Weeknd

Do you know what your brain looks like on storytelling? 

Karen Eber does! A leadership consultant on a mission to help others effectively tell their stories, Eber’s 2020 TED Talk, “How your brain responds to stories—and why they’re crucial for leaders”, dives into the neuroscience behind storytelling. 

Karen proves that when used well, data can help emphasize and illustrate your points—not overshadow them. 

Having studied the “shape” and patterns that make a good story GREAT, this talk was particularly satisfying for Mikey and Molly to dissect—not to mention, Karen’s A+ presentation skills. There’s something in here for everyone.

This is an episode for: the neuroscience + storytelling niche, TED nerds and leaders of all kinds.



What's in the Spice Cabinet??

Find more Karen!


On LinkedIn


On her site



Downloadables


Karen’s brilliant Lead with Story Guide



We can’t wait to read Karen’s book!


The Perfect Story: How to Tell Stories that Inform, Influence & Inspire 



Molly’s take on Karen’s walkout song? (inspired by Legally Blonde)


Perfect Day by Hoku

McKeever “Mac” Conwell II was meant for the (pitching) stage! 

While his career began in coding (“before it was cool” he says), Mac has started multiple businesses and helped shape the Maryland Social Impact Fund—the first fund for women and minorities in the country.

Now, as the Founder of RareBreed Ventures, Mac’s perfected the art of storytelling and is passionate about helping others do the same. He and Mikey discuss Mac’s journey to where he is now, his secret formula for what to include (and what to leave out) of a pitch and how anyone can improve their pitching skills.  

Spoiler alert—it has to do with storytelling. 

This is an episode for: startup nerds, anyone that has to pitch and storytellers of all kinds.



What's in the Spice Cabinet??

Want more of Mac?


Follow him on LinkedIn



Checkout RareBreed Ventures!


RareBreed website



Mac’s walkout song?? 


Make Way for the King - Ohana Bam



What’s cool in Baltimore?


Good food? Black Swan


Good tea? TeaVolve


Crabs n seafood? Captain James Landing OR Mama’s on the Half Shell



Parting advice for people that pitch?

When you're doing presentations like this—whether it's for sales or for investment—it's still a numbers game.

So get comfortable in rejection. It's not the end of the world. 

I'm not going to say it's never—but it's almost never personal. These are business interactions. So when somebody gives you a no, it's not a referendum of you as a human. It's a referendum on business, but not on you as a human. And the sooner you can realize that and manage that, the better you'll be throughout a process like that.