storytelling with data podcast

Latest Episodes:

storytelling with data podcast: #67 storytelling withOUT data May 24, 2023

Show notes

Graphs and slides are often the first tools we reach for when we need to communicate with data—but when might storytelling withOUT data yield better results? Cole outlines numerous scenarios for alternative approaches, sharing examples from clients, workshops, and her books.

From boardgames to baby pics, tune in to learn about humanizing data, when low fidelity solutions work best, the Picture Superiority Effect, and much more.

related links:

Book: let’s practice!
Book: storytelling with you: plan, create, & deliver a stellar presentation
Register for debut storytelling with you virtual workshop (use code PODCAST10 for 10% off)
Organize a workshop for your team or organization
Access resources for university instructors
Learn via video on the SWD YouTube channel

storytelling with data podcast: #66 Designing in Light and Dark May 15, 2023

Show notes

Mike and Alex discuss the advantages and drawbacks of designing visualizations with light and dark backgrounds, using examples from SWD community members to highlight where each approach can be preferable. Then, they dive into history and discuss the staying power of some famous graphs. What makes them memorable—and how we might be able to elevate them, using modern tools and perspectives?

Listening time 27:06 | related links:

Challenge: Light and dark backgrounds
Viz: Rob Reid’s gun ownership viz
Viz: Rishi Selva’s newspaper homage
Tool: Datawrapper
Tool: Accessible Colors
Viz: Mike Cisneros’s Last Words viz
Challenge: Remake a famous graph
Challenge: Making or missing the mark
Join data storyteller office hours by going premium in SWD community
Learn via video on the SWD YouTube channel

storytelling with data podcast: #65 EMPHASIZE it! Apr 27, 2023

Show notes

Cole draws on a recent experience that underscored the power of thoughtful EMPHASIS. Tune in for practical tactics to create contrast visually and verbally, whether for important numbers or words, focusing attention within your table or graph, or communicating clear emphasis through how you speak and move. Cole and colleague Simon also address related questions on tips for virtual presentations, eliminating filler words, preparing content for someone else to present, and more.

Listening time 41:54 | related links:

Register for Chicago masterclass on May 5th (use code PODCAST10 for 10% off)
Order storytelling with you: plan, create, & deliver a stellar presentation
Access resources for university instructors
Join data storyteller office hours by going premium in SWD community

Learn via video on the SWD YouTube channel

storytelling with data podcast: #64 beginner mistakes in data viz Apr 17, 2023

Show notes

You'll probably make a few mistakes when learning to visualize and communicate data. That's okay! It's all a part of the learning journey and can be preferred since we often learn more from our mistakes than our successes. SWD storyteller Alex embraces her early missteps as she takes a trip down memory lane to share where she went wrong and what she learned.

Listening time 18:11 plus intro/outro | related links:

Podcast episode: data viz research with Steven Franconeri
Research article (Visual Thinking Lab): Declutter and focus
Steve Wexler’s article: Should you use dashboards to tell stories?
Video: sample presentation with chart animation
Workshops: 2023 calendar (use special code PODCAST10)

storytelling with data podcast: #63 bad news and good feedback Apr 02, 2023

Show notes

SWD storytellers Elizabeth and Mike join forces to tackle some thorny questions about connecting with your audience: how do you know if you’ve done a good job, and what if you have to deliver bad news? In light of a recent “partner up!” challenge in the SWD community, they explore the benefits of working together with colleagues, friends, strangers, and even family members, while sharing some lessons learned from their own collaborative experiences.

Listening time: 34:00 Related links:

Website: SWD challenge
Article: stop, collaborate and listen (to your audience)
Workshops: 2023 calendar (use special code PODCAST10)
Order storytelling with you
Get sample content from Cole’s new book

storytelling with data podcast: #62 tension in data stories Mar 02, 2023

Show notes

Tension is a key component of story—and can be used in powerful ways to communicate in a business setting. In this episode, Cole talks tension: what it is, why you should care, and how to identify and use it in your data stories and beyond. Tune in also to hear common questions related to communicating with tension and their answers, plus related resources that will improve your next graph or presentation.

Listening time 35:00 | related links:

Article: a quick presentation makeover
Article: the structure(s) of story
Article: when tension is high, get to the point
Book: storytelling with you
Book: let’s practice!
Exercise: build the tension
Resource: big idea worksheet
Video channel: SWD YouTube
Video series: storytelling with cole
Video: dashboard to data story makeover
Video: record yourself
Video: create a storyboard
Video: focus attention in data viz
Video: avoid these 5 slide mistakes
Video: the final presentation
Video: don’t keep me in suspense (open to premium)
Workshops: 2023 calendar (use special code PODCAST10)
University: instructor resources

storytelling with data podcast: #61 AI, quantified self, and fingernails Feb 10, 2023

Show notes

SWD storytellers Simon and Mike offer their thoughts on how the recent advancements in AI tools may transform the way we analyze and communicate with data. They also discuss some of their favorite entries and interesting themes from the most recent SWD challenge on the quantified self.

related links:

Website: SWD challenge
A year of fitness by Evelina Judeikyte
Number of steps in 2022 by Iris van Bussel
Reads 2022 by Kirti Vardhan Rathore
My 10 Years of Book Reading by Sibi Maran
Cook more, eat less meat: Is my good resolution for 2023 being kept? by Line Ton That
Water Usage by Rob Reid
Personal Carbon Footprint by George-Alexandru Gavrilovici
Meditation Tracking + Blue Sky Goals by Sarah Stern
A Year of Disc Golf by Bryan Boyle
By the time you finish reading this sentence… by Zen Faulkes
Lizzy’s Goodreads by Shane Reynolds
Order storytelling with you
Get sample content from Cole’s new book

storytelling with data podcast: #60 scale with purpose with Brendan McGurgan Jan 11, 2023

Show notes

Have a listen to this cross-cast of Cole’s conversation with Brendan McGurgan, host of the ScaleX Insider Podcast and author of Simple Scaling: Ten Proven Principles to 10x Your Business. They discuss scaling organizations and dive deep into the topics of audience, the big idea, storyboarding, using tension to engage your audience, plus tips for improving how you present through practice.

related links:

Follow Brendan: LinkedIn | Website | Youtube
Book: Simple Scaling: Ten Proven Principles to 10x Your Business
Podcast: ScaleX Insider Podcast
Order storytelling with you
Get sample content from Cole’s new book

storytelling with data podcast: #59 questions in dataviz with Neil Richards Nov 30, 2022

Show notes

Why don’t we use triangles in charts more often? Can design considerations come before we have the data? Do we take data visualization too seriously? Author, speaker, and data literacy advocate Neil Richards raises (and occasionally answers) these and other questions in his new book, Questions in Dataviz: a Data-Driven Process for Data Visualization. In this episode, Neil stops by the podcast to talk about the value of creativity, personal passion projects, experimentation in data visualization, and whether dataviz can change the world.

related links:

Follow Neil: Twitter | Website | Tableau Public (portfolio)
Book: Questions in Dataviz
Podcast: Alli Torban’s Dataviz Today
Project: Makeover Monday
SWD challenge: https://community.storytellingwithdata.com/challenges
Project: Viz for Social Good
Project: Andy Kirk’s The Seinfeld Chronicles
Viz: US county hexmap
Viz: Pet ownership in the UK
Project: Data Visualization Society
Project: Information is Beautiful Awards
Get sample content & order storytelling with you: storytellingwithyou.com
University instructor resources: storytelling with data.com/university
SWD YouTube channel: storytellingwithdata.com/youtube

storytelling with data podcast: #58 don’t! (and what to do instead) Nov 05, 2022

Show notes

Cole shares a number of data visualization and communication questions that could be answered simply with the word, “Don’t!” From breaking axes and presenting boxplots to unfamiliar audiences, to providing unsolicited feedback to a colleague, and more—you’ll learn why generally not to take these actions, plus hear ideas on what you might do instead.

related links:

Video: the ins & outs of boxplots
Video: transform the teleprompter slide
Blog post: how many words should I put on my slide?
Blog post: unsolicited feedback
Get sample content & order storytelling with you: storytellingwithyou.com
Nov 17 virtual workshop: storytellingwithdata.com/workshops (use discount code: PODCAST10)
University instructor resources: storytelling with data.com/university
SWD YouTube channel: storytellingwithdata.com/youtube

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