storytelling with data podcast

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” 

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

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

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

“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 

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

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.

Related links:

• Follow Amy: LinkedIn | Twitter
• Amy’s research: A Study of Status Quo Bias in Data Visualization
• Article: the old way is better
• Video: overcoming resistance
• Book: Nudge (Thaler & Sunstein)
• Share your stories & strategies in the SWD community conversation on change

Fresh off a successful search to expand the SWD team, Cole chats with SWD advisor, husband Randy Knaflic, about a critical part of the hiring process: interviewing. Randy shares tips learned and stories lived over a career of hiring talent, from Google to SpaceX to storytelling with data. From showing compassion for a nerve-racked candidate to strategies for thoughtfully crafting and effectively addressing interview questions—whether interviewer or candidate—there’s something for everyone in this episode.

• Subscribe to the SWD YouTube channel
• Watch become a data viz superstar part 1 to see Cole illustrate a data viz progression
• Listen to podcast episode 14: learning data viz
• For more on OKRs, listen to podcast episode 13: goals like Google

"There's so much value to be gained in the exchange that happens after someone asks a really good question." The Q&A portion of a presentation is important, but the uncertainty can also be intimidating. When should you solicit questions, and for how long? What do you do when a query is off-topic? What if you don't know the answer? Tune in to hear Cole and Alex talk about preparing for successful audience interactions, including strategies for navigating tricky situations. Cole also answers listener inquiries about presenting data visualizations and keeping an audience engaged.

• Upcoming Milwaukee workshop (use discount code PODCAST10)
• Podcast: it depends!
• Blog post: power pairing of color and words

Tune in to hear Cole discuss one of her favorite low-tech planning strategies: storyboarding. Small, sticky, and sublimely potent when used well—she details her penchant for post-it notes and process of using them to brainstorm, edit, and solicit feedback to create shorter, targeted, and generally more effective communications.

Article: give it time

Book: Info We Trust by RJ Andrews

Book: Let’s Practice! by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

Book: The Big Picture by Steve Wexler

Conversation: my bars don’t start at zero

Exercise: storyboard YOUR project

July 2021 virtual event: a tale of two audiences

SWD community: sign up, explore the starter guide

TC19 presentation: low-tech SUPERPOWERS for data storytelling

Tool: Miro (virtual whiteboard)

Upcoming workshops: storytellingwithdata.com/workshops (use discount code PODCAST10)