Presentation Thinking™

GhostRanch Communications
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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 Excellence AND www.StoryCamp.com — A soft skills symposium in Park City, July 23-24, 2025

  1. #186. Behind-the-scenes with event pro Cameron Magee: The importance of rehearsals

    2D AGO

    #186. Behind-the-scenes with event pro Cameron Magee: The importance of rehearsals

    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 for their varying needs as an “event production partner.”  Cameron joins the ‘cast for the first of a several installment series taking an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the intersection of presentations, production and events.  While no two days look exactly the same in the event business, rehearsals are a consistent priority for Cameron and his team. Our discussion dives into the importance of rehearsal time, to-do’s and don’ts for event speakers (both beginners and pros!) and what to expect from the production team if it’s your first time speaking at an event. This is an episode for: speakers of any kind, event professionals and anyone that gets intimidated by the tech side of events. What's in the Spice Cabinet? Hire Cameron and his team! And learn more about their production work here: avad3 Fave speakers: Terry Szuplat, former speechwriter for Obama Podcast recommendations For business? 2 Bobs—with David C. Baker and Blair Enns For faith? First15  “This book changed my life” Anything by Dan Sullivan - Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork Cameron’s walkout song?  Brooks & Dunn - Brand New Man

    45 min
  2. #185. TED Talkin’: Sugata Mitra’s quietly powerful challenge to education norms

    OCT 31

    #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 example in how kids can self-organize and essentially teach themselves anything with access to the internet. And no, that’s not a bad thing at all.  He first tried this in remote areas in India and has since replicated it all over the world. Sugata’s conclusions from these experiments vary, but they all challenge traditional education teachings.  Mikey and Molly dive into Sugata’s quietly powerful stage presence, minimal visuals and storytelling skills to understand how he’s accrued some of the most famous TED Talks ever.  This is an episode for: People that give talks that challenge norms and anyone with an interest in education. What’s in the Spice Cabinet?? Hear & see Sugata for yourself Watch the talk we get into here, The Future of Learning (2018) Watch Sugata’s other TED Talks here Interested in his research on education and the internet?  Follow Sugata online here His latest book - The School in the Cloud: The Emerging Future of Learning Sugata’s Walkout song (according to Molly)? We Don’t Need No Education - Pink Floyd

    33 min
  3. #184. Presentation Book Club: Ivan Wanis Ruiz is re-writing the rulebook

    OCT 23

    #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 police interrogators to study the neuroscience of why people absorb information the way they do. This is counter to a lot of public speaking advice out there, learning only from experts, gurus and elite keynoters.  Ivan brings in simple truths like acknowledging you might never not be nervous during a presentation—so how can you work around that? Understanding our limitations and digital-age attention spans is something we need to evolve with, not against.  All of Ivan’s ideas circle back to the one core goal of any presentation which is to create curiosity—to get the audience asking for more (following you online, ordering a product, asking for demos, etc.).  Through clear case studies and tactical tips that hold up to today’s world of rapid content creation and AI-generated thoughts, Ivan’s book reads like a relevant kick-in-the-ass towards presentation excellence. This is an episode for: Leaders, managers, webinar creators/hosts, and presenters of any variety (especially those that get nervous).  What’s in the Spice Cabinet?  Read for yourself (or listen via Audiobook!) End Boring: A Tactical Approach to Public Speaking and Communication Want more of Ivan? Tune into our previous episode with Ivan, #180 - Ivan Wanis Ruiz is here to revolutionize your public speaking Follow him on LinkedIn And his company, Public Speaking Lab Ivan’s reccos? Unexpected book reccos:  Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan & Anne Druyan Thirteen Steps to Mentalism by Tony Corinda Propaganda by Edward Bernays Great speakers: James Baldwin Gil Scott-Heron

    50 min
  4. #183. Founder Krislam Chin’s creative approach to teaching creative work

    OCT 9

    #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 teaching such a creative craft, how students transition their concepts into presentations and the value of learning how to present creative work so that concepts can sell. She also shares the ethos around Hello World in allowing students to lead client projects and understand the ins and outs of a professional creative process.  This is an episode for: creative leaders, teachers and designers of all kinds. What's in the Spice Cabinet? Follow Krislam’s work (she does professional development workshops on the regular LinkedInHello World Studio - they have monthly gatherings! Join them.Krislam’s favorite LA things? Bookstores!  Village Well Skylight Books Arcana Culver City Steps In-N-Out Favorite books, resources? Anything published by Victionary  AIGA  LA Design Festival Favorite font? “I’m a serif girlie. Out the box, I have to give it up for Baskerville…that and then there’s also Garamond as a second choice.” Walkout song? This Is What It Sounds Like - from the K-Pop Demon Hunters Soundtrack

    47 min
  5. #182. TED Talkin’: Listen up! Sound researcher Julian Treasure teaches us how to be heard.

    OCT 2

    #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 47 million views and counting on YouTube).  Upon first listen you might think “huh”—he gave me a few lists about ways that we misuse the voice, how powerful it actually should be and a handful of “tools” of the voice in order to execute our meaning more strategically. Big whoop. But Mikey and Molly are here to recognize the storytelling that Julian employs is extremely powerful. He first sets up the world as is: the “deadly sins” of misusing speech and language—we’re all familiar with these and it builds rapport. Then he presents an idealized utopian vision with his acronym “H.A.I.L.”—the promised land for better use of language. But how do we get there? Well, next he provides the tools to unlock the “Happily Ever After.”  Julian studies intricacies of how our brain takes in sound—down to details like the architecture of open-office plans and classrooms. So it's rare to see such complex subjects so well executed in under ten minutes. Julian’s stage presence, pace and masterful economy of language (ie: says a lot in just a few words) have all earned him a spot as one of the most viewed TED Talks ever.  This is an episode for: speakers, sound/audio nerds and anyone just wanting to communicate more effectively. What’s in the Spice Cabinet?  Watch Julian Treasure’s famous 2013 TED Talk: How to speak so that people will want to listen Check out Julian’s books and other work on communications and sound research Here Keep going down the rabbit hole! Julian’s 4 other TED Talks: The 4 Ways sound affects us (2009) Shh! Sound health in 8 steps (2010) 5 Ways to listen better (2011) Why architects need to use their ears (2012) Julian’s walkout song? (according to Molly) The Sounds of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel

    31 min
  6. #181. What can music videos teach us about visual storytelling?

    SEP 25

    #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 show up in our favorite music videos. Songs already tell stories themselves but when paired with a memorable dance, schtick or cultural moment, it makes the message that much stickier. To tackle this episode, Molly brings in a few friends of the pod: filmmaker Asha Alaji-Sharif and Account Coordinator, Bridget Welch. From Madonna to Michael Jackson to Miley Cyrus—we dive into the most popular, most controversial and most memorable music videos of all time.  Music videos do indeed carry their own kinds of story archetypes that we can learn from in the B2B world.  This is an episode for: product marketers who like pop culture, music fans and anyone dealing with their nostalgia for MTV of the 80s & 90s. What’s in the Spice Cabinet? The “Best Of” lists we reference: Rolling Stone: The 100 Greatest Music Videos Business Insider: 60 of the Most Iconic Music Videos of All Time A handful of the heavy-hitter music videos we get into detail  Michael Jackson - Thriller Madonna - Vogue a-ha - Take on Me Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball Kendrick Lamar - Alright OK Go - Here It Goes Again Britney Spears - …Baby One More Time Her iconic VMAs performance (2001) Beyonce - Formation Where to study the “shapes” of story: Christopher Booker’s 7 Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories Our personal picks for fave music video Asha: Beyoncé, Shakira - Beautiful Liar Bridget: Taylor Swift - Love StoryMolly: Boygenius - True Blue

    39 min
  7. #180. Ivan Wanis Ruiz is here to revolutionize your public speaking

    SEP 19

    #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 founder and coach have all contributed to his adaptable presentation skillset—and he’s determined that the best and most memorable presenters don’t necessarily follow traditional public speaking advice. From leveraging basic conversational networking skills to zero-ing in on how to keep audiences engaged in virtual webinars, Ivan emphasizes a much more natural approach to the ways we present and how we absorb information. This is an episode for: keynoters, people that have to give presentations (but don’t want to) and anyone growing bored of virtual webinars.  What's in the Spice Cabinet? Find more of Ivan: On LinkedIn At Public Speaking Lab Get his BOOK, End Boring: A Tactical Approach to Public Speaking and Communication Our episode featuring Dr. Steven Franconeri: #176 - Dr. Steven Franconeri tells data stories—and you can too Ivan’s YouTube recommendations for what we can learn from Gen Z content creators: Jenny Hoyos Fave wrestler?  Macho Man All-time favorite speaker? Watch Sugata Mitra’s TED Talks Ivan’s walkout song?  Method Man - Bring the Pain

    53 min
  8. #179. The power of visual storytelling with “Chief Doodler” Hayley Langsdorf

    AUG 30

    #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 a conference in real-time.  Having studied English literature and worked in communications, Hayley maintains that visual thinking has been a core piece of the way she’s been able to process and understand the world around her. After realizing how live sketching could contribute to corporate communications, she founded her own company, Thoughts Drawn Out. Hayley joins the ‘cast to discuss storytelling and memory, what she provides for clients, her TED Talk experience, AI and more. This is an episode for: visual thinkers, NON visual thinkers and anyone that doodles in meetings. What's in the Spice Cabinet?? Watch Hayley’s 2019 TED Talk:  Visual Storytelling: Drawing out our collective intelligence Mikey and Molly talk about it in Episode #171 Find and follow more of Hayley’s work: Thoughts Drawn Out Find Hayley on YouTube for behind the scenes information and visual storytelling tips  LinkedIn Favorite speakers & creators? Beau Miles Business of Story podcast with Park Howell Podcaster? Rich Roll Building a deck: PPT or Google Slides? “PowerPoint gets a bad rep but it’s still quite universal…I find PowerPoint to be the most accessible way to build stuff that people can continue to play with and manipulate and use and craft.”  Favorite childhood story?  Oh the Places You’ll Go! Dr. Seuss “I was also a big Roald Dahl fan” Walkout song? Thunderstruck by AC/DC

    47 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

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, 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 Excellence AND www.StoryCamp.com — A soft skills symposium in Park City, July 23-24, 2025

Information

  • Creator
    GhostRanch Communications
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    185
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © GhostRanch Communications
  • Show Website
    Presentation Thinking™

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