After nearly 35 years in the marketing, advertising, communication and presentation industries Mike has successfully developed programs that allow him to effectively teach what he has learned to others. His programs are designed to pair real-world situations with presentation strategies that are proven and effective.
Mike is also the creator of the National Speaker’s Association’s Last Story Standing Competition. Launched in the spring of 2024 – Mike created and produced the first annual Last Story Standing National Storytelling competition in Denver, Colorado.
Mike started his career as a marketing executive in a regional Travel Agency. During that time, he was charged to help their sales team with a new presentation, as competitors were starting to gain ground on the company. For the next 5 years his efforts grew the company over 20% per year.
Two years later he broke out as an entrepreneur, launching a company that built professional presentations for sales, training, and events. His company, ProClix Interactive, Inc., also developed websites virtually at the inception of the internet.
In 2002, he merged his company with a leading regional advertising agency to develop their interactive, multi-media presentation and internet marketing product offering.
20 years later, after working with clients in the entire spectrum of marketing and communications, Mike left the advertising game and developed powerful leadership training workshops and keynote programs to share the experiences he had throughout his career. His objective is to motivate people to action while educating them about the tools and skills necessary to ensure their ability to evolve with a minimal learning curve.
Mike Brian’s books—Motivating Behavior with Transactional Storytelling and Presenter Evolution—represent the culmination of more than four decades spent crafting powerful stories and designing high-impact presentations. From entrepreneurs building their businesses to corporate executives leading teams in Fortune 100 companies, the strategies Mike shares help professionals communicate ideas more clearly, connect more deeply with their audiences, and influence meaningful outcomes.
At the core of both books is Mike’s proprietary development system known as Cadencing. This rhythm-based framework helps people strategically organize their stories and presentation content so they engage both the informational and emotional objectives of their audience. Rather than simply delivering information, Cadencing teaches communicators how to structure their message in a way that makes it more memorable, persuasive, and impactful.
Great communication isn’t just about facts—it’s about connection. Human beings process information through both logic and emotion, and we have been conditioned since childhood to trust our emotions when making decisions. When a presentation fails to engage the emotional side of the audience, its impact is limited. People want to feel something. The role of a great storyteller or presenter is to move their audience—so the message doesn’t just get heard, it gets remembered and acted upon.
Penna Powers is a leading regional Marketing, Advertising and Communications company headquartered in Utah. Mike has been fortunate to be an owner/partner with this firm for 20 years. He merged his multi-media company (ProClix) with them in 2002 following a project they collaborated on for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
He retired from the agency in December 2022 and embarked full-time on his speaking and coaching career.
“My partners, leadership team and staff are an amazing group of the smartest, most creative people on the planet. Listed below are some of our accomplishments and a video about the agency produced in 2022 by the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce for an awards banquet where Penna Powers was honored as the Small Business of the Year in Utah.”
Penna Powers Holiday Cards were legendary and had their fair share of exposure with the local news stations.
Clients anticipated them every year.
