Being able to introduce yourself eloquently and in a way that captures and keeps your intended audience’s attention is a hugely important thing. Yet, we don’t commonly devote a lot of time or thought to planning how we do this. In this episode, Cole shares the process that she and the storytelling with data team used to create their intros, plus shares the steps you can use to form your own inspirational introduction. She also addresses listener questions on dot plots, the audience constraint, and tips for slowing down when presenting.

Mentioned Links:

Workshops: storytellingwithdata.com/custom-workshops

Worksheet: the Big Idea worksheet

Exercise: storyboard YOUR project

Article: the structure(s) of story

Exercise: craft your intro

Challenge: let’s plot with a dot

Article: what is a dot plot?

Resource: SWD chart guide

Podcast: it’s for THEM

Conversation: slowing it down

Video: presenting data

Ask a question: start a community conversation

Current challenge: visualize your resume

Live podcast with Jon Schwabish: register

Virtual event (1/26): become a data viz superstar

Go premium! premium community membership

How can you get people’s attention on what you want to share and drive the action you seek? Carefully consider your audience. In this episode, Cole dives deep on audience, discussing ways to identify who they are and prioritize their needs, strategies for approaching the challenging but common case of the mixed audience, and tips for getting to know an unfamiliar audience. She also addresses listener questions on grad school, gauging data storytelling success, and innovation in data visualization.

LINKS:

Book: storytelling with data: Let’s Practice!

Exercises: community.storytellingwithdata.com/exercises

Worksheet: the Big Idea worksheet

Webinars: storytellingwithdata.com/webinars

Conversation: contemplating grad school

Conversation: efficacy of data storytelling

Challenge: xenographics

Challenge: critique then (re)create

Virtual event (12/14): member makeovers

Go premium! premium community membership

When communicating data in a meeting or presentation, YOU play a very important role. How can you talk about your data in a way that makes others want to listen? Tune in to this special episode, excerpted from a recent virtual event, about presenting data. Cole shares practical tips for rehearsing aloud, planning how you’ll start and end, harnessing the power of your voice, and the important role of feedback for refining your presentation skills.

LINKS:

Become an SWD community premium member

Video: presenting data

More resources at storytellingwithdata.com

A xenographic is simply a chart type not seen before, and in this episode, Cole talks with data journalist and designer Maarten Lambrechts, creator of xeno.graphics. They discuss having an open mindset for weird graphs, pushing boundaries to elevate graphicacy, and the value of bringing strange data visualizations mainstream. Tune in to also hear about Maarten’s experience as a data visualization freelancer, the important role of the online portfolio, and how a relentless focus on the end user helps drive smart data visualization design.

LINKS:

Follow Maarten: @maartenzam | maartenlambrechts.com

Explore: xeno.graphics 

Tools: RAWGraphs, R (ggplot), Javascript, D3

Graphics: NYT graphics, Washington Post, Financial Times, FiveThirtyEight, Die Zeit, Berliner Morgenpost

Upcoming conferences: IEEE VIS (Oct 25-30), S-H-O-W (Nov 27-28)

With days defined by distraction, how can we solve big problems and make time for what matters? Cole talks with technology designer and author of Sprint and Make Time, John Zeratsky, about the power of focus for getting things done. John details the design sprint process perfected at Google Ventures—detailing the value of “working alone, together” to generate better ideas, the benefits of prototyping and testing with real customers, particularly when the stakes are high, and much more. He also shares patterns uncovered from successful sprints that can be applied to everyday work. Tune in to learn why we shouldn’t rely on willpower to focus, how to create barriers to distraction, and the satisfaction you can reap by proactively designing your day.

MENTIONED LINKS:

Follow John: @jazer | johnzeratsky.com

Book: Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems & Test New Ideas in Just Five Days

Book: Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day

Online course: The Official Sprint Bootcamp (discount code SWD20)

“Creativity is not stopping at the 1st or 2nd or 3rd iteration. Let’s create a ton of spaghetti and throw it at the wall—eventually something will stick.” Cole talks with illustrator, designer, and facilitator, Catherine Madden, about the power of drawing to think, define, generate ideas, collaborate, and ensure all voices are heard. Catherine shares tactics that get everyone sketching, from doodle birds to Sh*tty First Draft Parties, and discusses why pencils are on her forbidden materials list. They also chat about the value of the shared display, plus more pragmatic tips and tools for effectively facilitating in a virtual setting.

LINKS:

Follow Catherine: @catmule (Twitter) | @catmule (Instagram) | catherinemadden.com

Learn with Catherine: catherinemadden.com/learn

Tutorial: how to display your iPad in Zoom 

Video: displaying webcam so iPad is not the shared display

Select images from Catherine (including visual thinking download)

Tools mentioned: Paper, Mural

Course: Foundations of Data Equity

“Visualization is a game of decisions.” In this episode, Cole chats with data visualization consultant, teacher, researcher, and author, Andy Kirk. Hear about topics ranging from what can be learned from cartoons and other unexpected sources of inspiration to the importance of curiosity, practice, and editorial judgement for taking work from good to fantastic. They also discuss Andy’s blog series, little of visualization design, his new podcast/video series, Explore Explain, and answer viewer questions on creating “wow” designs, the role of the data viz consultant, and more.

LINKS:

Follow Andy: @visualisingdata | visualisingdata.com

Book: Data Visualisation: A Handbook for Data Driven Design 

Blog series: little of visualization design (discussed: axis line fading, colour key titles, reset button, framing containers)

Podcast/video series: Explore Explain (discussed: ”Coronavirus tracked” with John Burn-Murdoch)

Tune in to this lively conversation, where Cole chats with The Big Book of Dashboard author and Tableau evangelist, Andy Cotgreave, about optimizing presentation content and style for the virtual environment. From an “on-air” lightbulb to keep the kids out to practical tips for keeping energy high and sessions engaging, this is an episode not to miss! Hear about favorite interaction strategies and equipment, plus learn how refining your approach through practice, feedback, and thoughtful experimentation can help you increase your effectiveness—in the virtual setting, and beyond.

LINKS:

Follow Andy: @acotgreave | www.gravyanecdote.com

Book: The Big Book of Dashboards

BBOD authors debate: Chart Chat

Tableau series: If Data Could Talk

BBC’s The Public Philosopher 

Image: Andy’s set up

Image: Cole’s set up

NEW! Premium community members can watch the podcast

What should we do when we believe others should place more value on effective data storytelling than they think they should? Don’t fight every fight, augment rather than replace, and work to understand what’s driving resistance so you can be more nuanced in how you address it. Tune in to hear more on these and additional strategies for influencing change among colleagues, stakeholders, and leadership. Cole also answers listener questions on showing binary data over time, gridlines in graphs, and creating a data visualization portfolio.

Mentioned Links:
Join: SWD community! use group code PODCAST

Book: storytelling with data: Let’s Practice!

Exercise: the Big Idea for your project

Conversation: your favorite podcasts

Upcoming live event: using story in business

Go premium! premium community membership

Lights, camera, action! Tune in to hear Cole, Randy and the entire SWD team chat with Kristen Johnson, Executive Director of Communications and Marketing at Wingate University and prior news reporter and executive producer. Given today’s need to communicate virtually, many of us are becoming mini-news reporters from our makeshift home studios and in this segment, you’ll get a variety of pro tips on how to do this successfully. From pragmatic considerations on clothing, light, and camera setup to strategies for practicing and getting comfortable talking to a lens: this episode has something for anyone who finds themselves communicating via camera.

For those wondering, the zoom recording didn't turn out (we had the wrong view settings, apparently). So, unfortunately, there is not a Zoom video recording.

NEW! May 7th travel-free public workshop

Products mentioned: ring light, Samson microphone, Mac StudioFix