What do Led Zeppelin, Queen, and AC/DC have to do with Harry Styles, Olivia Rodrigo, and Billie Eilish?

More than you’d think. Listen closely and you’ll hear it.

Zeppelin’s blues riffs echo through the clean pop minimalism of “As It Was.” There’s swagger beneath the polish. The same tension between restraint and release that powered “Whole Lotta Love.”

Queen’s signature layered harmonies resurface decades later in Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license.” The stacked vocals in her chorus build emotional weight, Queen’s layered harmonies translated for Gen Z heartbreak.

And the pulse that drives Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy”? It’s AC/DC’s DNA. Those tight, percussive power chords, stripped down and reimagined for a bedroom studio instead of a stadium.

None of these artists are copying. They’re remixing. They’ve built on familiar scaffolding and made it their own.

That’s how creativity works. Not by inventing from nothing, but by reshaping what already moves people.

Business presentations follow the same logic.

When leaders try to be “original,” they often over-engineer their message. They cram in new jargon, invent frameworks no one remembers, or pack slides so full of novelty that audiences struggle to find the thread.

But the best communicators (the ones whose ideas actually stick) work like great musicians. They start with something familiar: a recognizable rhythm, a structure that already lives in the audience’s mind.

A clear tension and release.

A repeating chorus that reinforces the message.

A bridge that shifts tone just when attention might fade.

Structure doesn’t limit creativity; it enables it.

Our brains crave predictability. According to research on predictive processing at Stanford, the brain is constantly forecasting what’s about to happen. When information fits an existing pattern, it rewards us with a small hit of dopamine, providing the satisfaction of “I knew that.” When it doesn’t, we feel friction.

Educational psychologist Richard Mayer’s schema theory explains why: people learn more effectively when new ideas connect to frameworks they already understand. Familiar structures lower cognitive load, freeing attention to focus on meaning rather than mechanics.

So, when you build a story around something recognizable, say, a simple three-act arc or a pattern of call-and-response, you make it easier for your audience to process, remember, and act on your message.

That’s not a lack of originality. That’s good design for the brain.

There’s an even deeper reason familiarity connects: it synchronizes us.

At Princeton University, neuroscientist Uri Hasson and his team discovered something called neural coupling: the phenomenon where a listener’s brain activity starts mirroring the speaker’s during storytelling. In some cases, the listener’s brain even begins to predict what the speaker will say next.

That predictive alignment feels like rapport. It’s what happens when a concert crowd moves in unison to a beat, or when a presentation suddenly “clicks” and everyone in the room leans forward.

Familiar patterns like verse and chorus in music, or problem and resolution in story, make that synchronization easier. The audience’s brains recognize the rhythm and align with it, anticipating what’s coming instead of resisting it.

It’s actually chemistry.

If you’re leading a team or pitching an idea, start by asking: what rhythm will my audience recognize?

The structure doesn’t need to be new. It just needs to feel natural.

Familiar form creates psychological safety. It tells your audience: you’ve been here before and you know how to follow this. And once they relax, their brains can sync with yours. That’s where trust is born.

The next time you prepare a presentation, don’t open PowerPoint. Open your music app.

Find a song that moves you and study its structure. Notice how it builds tension, releases it, repeats its hook. Then use that rhythm to design the flow of your talk.

If you want a place to start, read Orchestrate Your Next Presentation. It’ll help you translate musical form into story flow.

Because originality isn’t the goal.

Connection is.

And nothing connects faster, or lasts longer, than what feels familiar.

Simpler navigation. Sharper storytelling. And a whole lot more fun to explore.

You’ll find:

🔥 Every Life After Decks newsletter

🧠 Tools, frameworks, and resources for better storytelling

✍ Workshop details and booking links

💬 A clearer look at how GatherRound helps leaders ditch decks and tell stories that stick.

Take a look around, and then let’s talk about building a workshop for your leadership team.

🔥 Hi, I’m Eric, and every week, I share insights, observations and tools so you can ditch decks and light a fire in your high-stakes presentations. If you like what you see here, follow me on LinkedIn.