Mike Parkinson and Jody Wissig joined the CreativePro Podcast to discuss their unexpected paths from designers to presentation strategists. Like Mike, Jody is a designer, strategist, and trainer. 

Their journeys show how it’s not always a straight path into the presentation industry. Side adventures can give us skills to help us become even better presentation designers. 

• Hear how Jody’s very first presentation on a kindergarten playground set the tone for a lifetime of storytelling.
• Follow Mike’s winding path from fine art to bioengineering to comic books before he ever opened PowerPoint.
• Learn why Jody sometimes shows 300+ slides in a 45-minute presentation, and how audiences never notice.
• Hear Mike describe AI as a Friction Fixer or Accelerator. It is part of the process, not the product.
• Listen as both designers share how AI is already part of their daily process, what it helps them do, and why the human element still matters.
• Catch their honest fears and hopes for AI—including how far they think avatars might go.

How did you start working with presentations? Was it your job right out of school? Or did you start your career in a completely different industry? 

Watch or listen to the podcast and join the discussion. Find inspiration in others’ journeys and inspire your fellow creatives with your own.

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Join Mike, Jody, and other presentation strategists and experts at CreativePro’s online conference.

The 6th annual Presentation Design Conference is the essential how-to event for anyone who creates, designs, or delivers presentations.

Whether you build decks for clients, teams, classrooms, or conferences, this event will help you design slides that inform, inspire, and get results.

Across four days of practical, expert-led sessions, you’ll learn how to turn content and visuals into powerful stories that connect with audiences. From mastering PowerPoint’s most essential tools to refining your design workflow, you’ll gain the skills to simplify complex information and make every presentation look its best.

Register at the CreativePro conference website today!