storytelling with data podcast

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storytelling with data podcast: #57 storytelling with YOU Oct 16, 2022

Show notes

Cole sits down with husband, Randy Knaflic, for a fun chat about her new book, storytelling with you: plan, create, and deliver a stellar presentation. They discuss why building capability and confidence presenting is especially important for those in technical roles, overcoming challenges communicating to mixed audiences, navigating the writing process, and more. Tune in to learn what jazz improvisation has in common with presenting and gain appreciation for the art of the introduction—including specific steps you can take to craft the story of you.

related links:

Follow Vidya: Twitter (@vsetlur) | LinkedIn | Tableau Research
Follow Bridget: Twitter (@WindsCogley) | LinkedIn | TableauFit blog
Book: Functional Aesthetics for Data Visualization
Article: Honoring Kelly Martin, including the “Birdstrike Redoux” visualization
Article: The Ishango bone, an early mathematical tool
Paper: “The medium is the message” by Marshall McLuhan
Article: “Light vision” by Margaret Livingstone (regarding isoluminance in Monet)

Book: Mind in Motion by Barbara Tversky

storytelling with data: #54 storytelling, folklore, and data with Joshua Smith Jun 17, 2022

Show notes

Data storyteller Mike Cisneros sat down with Iron Viz champion, Tableau Visionary, and self-described “data jackalope” Joshua Smith to talk about how folklore—the study of how information is communicated, primarily through informal means—provides us a fascinating lens through which to examine how data visualization has evolved and continues to develop, both as a discipline and as a community of practitioners. You’ll learn how “best practices” emerge, transform and persist (or are discarded) over time, how informal communication and culture can have unexpected effects on how our work is received, the inextricable links between belief and “objective” data, and how a storyteller can position themselves to be most effective.

Several folklorists were mentioned in the course of this discussion.

Dan Ben-Amos defined folklore as “Artistic communication in small groups.”
Lynne S. McNeil defined it as “Informally transmitted traditional culture.”
Alan Dundes identified many forms of folklore
William Bascom specified the four functions of folklore: it lets people escape from repressions imposed upon them by society e.g.: tall tales; it validates culture, justifying its rituals and institutions to those who perform and observe them; it is a pedagogic device which reinforces morals and values and builds wit; and it is a means of applying social pressure and exercising social control
Richard Bauman explored performance theory and audience evaluation
Andrea Kitta explored the strength of personal narrative

Book | Info We Trust by RJ Andrews
Project | Makeover Monday
Article | Nancy Duarte - “Like Yoda You Must Be”
Article | Lilach Manheim & Mike Cisneros - “Beyond the hook: Building information experiences for attention and engagement”
Visualization | Robert Janezic - “Music Memories”

storytelling with data: #53 Shashank Kalanithi interviews Cole May 18, 2022

Show notes

Recently, Cole chatted with senior data analyst Shashank Kalanithi for his YouTube channel, where he helps people break into the world of analytics. Listen to this repost of their conversation—you’ll hear Cole reflect on a wide range of topics, from why technical experts should double down on communication skills, to the ideal tech stack, to advice for undergrads, graduate students, and those transitioning into a career in data. Tune in also to be among the first to hear details about Cole’s new book!

Follow Shashank’s YouTube channel
Watch the original conversation
Practice & exchange feedback: SWD community
Article: data doesn't speak for itself
Article: audience matters
Article: audience, audience, audience
Article: what tool should I use?
Podcast: goals like Google
Podcast: data viz research with Steven Franconeri

storytelling with data: #52 you asked... Apr 26, 2022

Show notes

Through our workshops, we get the rare opportunity to meet thousands of people every year, across a huge variety of industries, companies, and roles. We never know what kinds of questions we’re going to be asked. In this episode, SWD storyteller Mike Cisneros highlights a few recent notable questions, ranging from chart choices, to design, to presentation. The range of topics may be broad, but the commonality among everything discussed here is that they’re answers to questions you asked.

Attend an upcoming workshop: storytellingwithdata.com/workshops

(use promo code PODCAST10 for 10% off the registration fee)

Hans Rosling: 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes (BBC)

Hans Rosling: The best stats you’ve ever seen (TED talk)

Video: Animating data

Blog: Left-aligning chart titles

Blog: The right amount of detail

SWD community exercise: optimize your output

SWD community exercise: storyboard YOUR project

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Additional voice content: Jennifer Schumi

Additional music: “Destiny” by ASHUTOSH

https://www.ashutoshmusic.com/music

Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en_US

storytelling with data: #51 the path to trusted advisor Apr 01, 2022

Show notes

How can you position yourself—and your team—to be a valued analytics consultant by your stakeholders and clients? Cole talks with Simon Rowe, the newest data storyteller on the SWD team, about his experience and tips for building productive partnerships. Tune in to hear about the journey from reactive to proactive data analytics, including practical strategies you can employ to avoid missteps, build relationships, and have greater impact in your work. Related links:

Follow Simon: Twitter | LinkedIn

storytelling with data: #50 data viz research with Steven Franconeri Feb 17, 2022

Show notes

“I want to be able to show it and say, doesn’t that feel good? And you know what? We actually know it works well, it’s not just your intuition.” In this episode, Cole talks with Northwestern University professor and director of the Visual Thinking Lab, Dr. Steven Franconeri. Hear about research that helps us understand and harness the limits of our visual system and how it can be translated into practical terms to help you design better graphs and dashboards. Cole and Steve discuss several recent studies, how to bridge the chasm between academia and practitioners, some of the unsolved problems of data visualization, and more. Related links:

Follow Steve: Twitter | LinkedIn | Faculty page
The Visual Thinking Lab
Journal: Psychological Science in the Public Interest
Paper: The Science of Visual Data Communication: What Works, single page summary
Paper: Declutter and Focus: Empirically Evaluating Design Guidelines for Effective Data Communication
Paper: Visual Arrangements of Bar Charts Influence Comparisons in Viewer Takeaways
Paper: Measures of the Benefit of Direct Encoding of Data Deltas for Data Pair Relation Perception
Uncertainty: FiveThirtyEight’s 2020 Election Forecast
Book: The Thinking Eye, the Seeing Brain (James Enns)
Book: Visual Thinking for Design (Colin Ware)
People mentioned: Lace Padilla, Jessica Hullman, Jeff Zacks, Priti Shah, Christie Nothelfer, Cindy Xiong, Matt Kay

storytelling with data: # 49: become a data viz superstar Jan 05, 2022

Show notes

Establish yourself as a well-respected data visualization practitioner. Cole shares five points that will help you do it. Tune in to hear tips and tactics for setting good goals, learning, evaluating your work, influencing others, and getting the support you need to become—or help members of your team become—a data visualization and storytelling superstar, followed by Q&A.

Subscribe to the SWD YouTube channel
Watch become a data viz superstar part 1 to see Cole illustrate a progression along the graph spectrum
Listen to podcast episode 14: learning data viz
For more on OKRs, listen to podcast episode 13: goals like Google
Download the Big Picture worksheet
Join the SWD community; share your goal in your member profile

storytelling with data: # 48: the challenges of change Dec 07, 2021

Show notes

Have you encountered challenges in your attempts to drive change with data visualization? In this episode, Cole talks with SWD’s newest data storyteller, Amy Esselman, about the difficulties that can arise when you try to impact people’s perceptions and behaviors. You’ll hear about Amy’s research on the status quo bias and her encounters with it in real life. Tune in also for a conversation about the human side of data, developing empathy for those you aim to influence, and practical strategies for overcoming common barriers to change.

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