The Art of Communicating Data
This podcast teaches effective data communication through visualizations, reports, and presentations. Each episode provides actionable tips and tricks to improve data communication skills, often featuring guest experts who share their experiences and advice. Hosted by Hana, a geographer turned data analyst and an introvert who loves public speaking.
Episodes
Making Over your Data Visualizations into Powerful Stories with Mike Cisneros from Storytelling with Data
What makes a chart forgettable and what turns it into a story people act on?In this episode I sit down with Mike Cisneros, co-author of Storytelling with Data: Before and After, to discuss the art of transforming data visuals into powerful communication tools.We’ll dive into:The subtle cues that signal a bad chartHow design choices influence leadership decisionsWhy starting with a suggestion can b
Disruptive Data Leadership Summit
Get your FREE ticket to attend my virtual summit next week from May 5-7th: https://trending-analytics.com/summit/The reason why we haven't had a new season in a while is because I've been busy organizing a new summit that I am hosting next week from May 5th to May 7th.It's a virtual summit for data leaders and their teams. And it's about disrupting data leadership. It's unlike
How to Present Beyond Measure: An Interview with Lea Pica
Join us for an interview with Lea Pica, author of "Present Beyond Measure: Design, Visualize, and Deliver Data Stories That Inspire Action". 📖
Discover how to:
Transform data into compelling stories that drive business decisions 📈
Overcome common presentation hurdles, including Imposter Syndrome 😰
Adapt your data presentation skills for the digital age 👾
You'll learn Lea's specific techniques
Effectively Communicating Data Strategy & the Role of Humor with Tiankai Feng
We will explore the art of effectively communicating data strategy with Tiankai Feng, author of Humanizing Data Strategy.
Discover how to balance analytical insights with emotional connection and learn how humor can be a powerful tool in making complex data more engaging and accessible.
You can get a copy of his book here.
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This episode is sponsored by Powerdrill. You can get started today for
Getting Leadership to Make Data-Informed Decisions - Interview with Lindsay Murphy
Curious how to get leadership to fully embrace data for decision-making? In this interview, Lindsay Murphy will share her expert strategies to effectively communicate the value of data-informed decisions to leaderships teams.
She'll also share tips for how to engage with business stakeholders to ensure data efforts are focused on the highest impact solutions.
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This episode is sponsored by Powe
Make Impactful Data Viz & Conquer Fear of Public Speaking with Priya Padham
Join us for an inspiring interview with Priya Padham, a 2x Tableau Visionary and 4x Tableau Public Ambassador. Priya will share her journey from fearing public speaking to becoming a confident presenter, along with her top tips for creating impactful data visualizations.
Connect with Priya and see her portfolio here.
This episode is sponsored by Powerdrill. You can get started today for free usin
Storytelling with Data for the Next Generation - Interview with Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic on “Daphne Draws Data”
Join us for a fun interview with Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, bestselling author of "Storytelling with Data" and creator of the new children's book "Daphne Draws Data".
You'll hear about her experience in adapting complex data concepts for young minds and how she brought this to life in her latest book with Daphne, the data-drawing dragon 🐉 📊.
You don't want to miss getting her unique perspectives on
From Back 2 Viz Basics to Award-Winning Vizzes: An Interview with Shreya Arya
Whether you are a data viz beginner or a pro, you don't want to miss this interview with Shreya Arya, an award-winning data visualizer and co-lead for Back 2 Viz Basics.
Shreya works as a Tableau/Alteryx Consultant at The Information Lab / Data School UK, specializing in data visualization and analytics. She has received VizOfTheDay's 7 times on Tableau Public and was a Tableau Public Featured Aut
Harnessing AI for Data Communication with Brandi Beals
AI is not only streamlining analytics workflows; it also has the potential to improve the data communication process.
Tune in for this interview with Brandi Beals to get practical tips on integrating AI into your data processes.
You can connect with Brandi on LinkedIn or visit datacareersummit. com
The Art of Visualizing Data with Data Comic and Artist Natalia Kiseleva
In this exclusive interview with Natalia, a data artist and data comic, we explore the fascinating intersection of art and data.
She also shares easy and practical tips for making data art that even a beginner can follow.
Learn about Natalia's journey, her inspirations, and the innovative techniques she uses to transform complex data into beautiful visual stories.
Follow Natalia on LinkedIn and j
How a Business Glossary Will Improve Communication & Understanding in your Organization - Interview with George Firican
Do you have a business glossary yet? George Firican, an award-winning data governance leader, shares his insights on improving communication and understanding between data teams and stakeholders through the creation of a business glossary.
We'll dive into:
The importance of a business glossary and its role in an organization
The key steps involved in creating an effective business glossary
Com
Learn to Create Effective Charts Quickly - An Interview with Nick Desbarats
You've probably read a few books about data viz, but this is not like any of them.
Nick Desbarats is the author of Practical Charts and on this episode he shares his tips for creating effective charts quickly.
Nick also teaches a course by the same name and recently released an on-demand version. You can find more info here.
If you'd like to connect with Nick, you can follow him on LinkedIn.
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Communicating Data with Executives Effectively - An Interview with Chris Tauber
Communicating with executives can not only be nerve-wrecking but it can also look very different than how you communicate with other stakeholders.
Listen to this interview with Chris Tauber, a data professional who helps executives make better decisions.
Connect with Chris on LinkedIn or checkout his website.
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Enroll in The Fearless Data Presenter here.
How to Become a Better Presenter without Any Formal Training - An Interview with Nisar Ahmed
Nisar Ahmed is an introvert and unintentionally became a better presenter when honing his Tableau skills.
His journey with data visualization and public speaking is inspiring for all data nerds looking to improve these skills.
🔗 Connect with Nisar on LinkedIn. You can also check out his Youtube Channel and his podcast, The Data Nerd Podcast, here.
➡️ Enroll in The Fearless Data Presenter course he
From Nervous Presenter to Keynote Speaker: Advice from Gulrez Khan
Gulrez Khan is a data science leader and author of "Drawing Data with Kids." Gulrez shares his journey from being a nervous presenter to becoming a confident keynote speaker. Learn his top techniques for effective data storytelling, engaging presentations, and overcoming the challenges of public speaking.
Donate to help Palestinians: Palestine Children's Relief Fund.
Learn more abo
The Power of Hand-Drawn Data Visualizations in the Age of AI - An Interview with Taha Ebrahimi, Director of Tableau Public
Who knew the trees on the streets of Seattle would inspire Taha Ebrahimi, the director of Tableau Public, to get into hand-drawing illustrations and data visualizations?
Listen for an insightful conversation with Taha about her hand-drawn project and how she balanced that with using modern technology.
You can get her book Street Trees of Seattle here.
You can also connect with her on Instagra
Asking a Tableau Visionary Questions in DataViz - An Interview with Neil Richard
Neil Richards answers questions we have about data visualization, including how to approach data viz competitions, how to use blank space in our design, when to let the data speak for itself vs. craft a data story, and more.
In addition to being a 5x Tableau Visionary and Hall of Famer, Neil is the author of Questions in DataViz, which is the title of both his blog and book.
Got more data viz
Unlocking Confidence Through the Subconscious with Chantal Dempsey
Explore the transformative power of the subconscious mind with Chantal Dempsey, as we delve into techniques for boosting confidence and overcoming imposter syndrome in data professions.
Discover actionable insights to re-program yourself to harness your inner confidence.
Connect with Chantal on LinkedIn and checkout her website.
If you are interested in enrolling in Hana's The Fearless Data Pre
Using Plain Language in Data Communication
Learn how to communicate data and your findings in plain language from our guest Michelle Waitzman, a Plain Language consultant and trainer.
Connect with Michelle on Linked In or visit her website.
The Data Storyteller's Handbook with Kat Greenbrook
Learn from Kat Greenbrook, author of The Data Storyteller's Handbook, on how to align data stories with business goals and discover practical tips for effective data storytelling.
Order your copy of The Data Storyteller's Handbook here.
Connect with Kat Greenbrook on Linked In.
Enroll in The Fearless Data Presenter here.
Strategies to Unlock Creativity with Data Visualizations: Interview with Alli Torban, Author of Chart Spark
This is a must listen if you want to be more creative with your data projects, particularly data visualizations. Alli shares practical strategies and processes to help you get creative and she also debunks misconceptions we have about creativity.
You can grab a copy of Alli Torban's book, Chart Spark, here: https://www.chartsparkbook.com/
And connect with her on Linked In here: https://www.l
Effective Strategies for Presenting Recommendations to Executives
Learn strategic recommendation tactics to maximize impact and drive decisive action in our latest episode. Perfect for data professionals aiming to influence top-level decisions.
Enroll in The Fearless Data Presenter for just $10 and get the Data Storytelling 101 Workshop for free for a LIMITED TIME.
Adapting Your Presentation for Different Audiences: Key Strategies for Effective Communication
Have to re-represent to a different audience? Learn strategies to adapt your presentation for a new target audience.
**Enroll in The Fearless Data Presenter course here for just $10 with a limited time deal.
3 Qualities of a Successful Presentation
What makes a data presentation successful? People have different answers for this but in this episode, I'll tell you the 3 key qualities of a successful data presentation.
Pre-enroll in the Fearless Data Presenter course here for just $10 with a limited time deal.
How Data Professionals can Steal Like an Artist
I share some reflections from Austin Kleon's book, Steal Like an Artist, that are relevant to data professionals, particularly those who make data visualizations.
Join the coolest Data Professionals' community here.
3 Types of Effective Chart Titles
Are you being strategic with your data viz titles? I share 3 types of effective data visualization titles that I recommend you use, depending on your audience and message.
Join the free Data Professionals community I created on Discord by clicking here.
When to Use a Pie Chart and How
I discuss the pros and cons of using a pie chart, share alternative charts to use instead and then tell you when and how to use pie charts (if you must!).
Recommended resource:
Stephen Few's Save the Pies for Dessert
Why your Presentation Needs an Agenda
Before you skip this episode because it sounds boring, hear me out! An agenda can be a helpful roadmap for your audience and also bring you some benefits. Listen to this episode to understand the benefits of having an agenda during your presentation and how to create a good one.
Join the community where data professionals hang out to excel in their career. Click here to join.
E-mail me here: han
Here's How to Measure your Dashboard's Effectiveness
Sounds meta, I know. In this episode, I'm going to share metrics that I recommend you look at in order to measure how effective your dashboard is. This will help you make decisions like: does my dashboard need to be changed? Does it need to be retired? And more...
5 Presentation Mistakes People Make when Practicing
In this episode, we uncover common practice mistakes that might be undermining your presentations. From only practicing once to neglecting equipment rehearsals, we explore these pitfalls and offer practical solutions to help you elevate your presentation game. Don't miss this insightful guide to refining your presentation practice techniques.
Download this free roadmap to learn what steps y
5 Data Visualization Mistakes to Avoid (Part 2)
I got a request to share more data visualization mistakes to avoid. If you did not listen to the episode where I share the first 5 mistakes, you can listen to it here.
If you have questions or want to request I cover a topic on a future episode, you can email me at hana@trending-analytics.com. I read and personally reply to every email.
The Art of Compelling Slides: Designing Visuals That Enhance Your Message
Well-designed slides can be a powerful tool to communicate effectively. In this episode, we explore the secrets to designing visually captivating slides that enhance your message and captivate your audience.
Courses mentioned in the episode:
Present Data with Confidence
Engage and Captivate in your Virtual Presentations
Captivate Your Audience: Powerful Presentation Tips to Capture Attention
I asked my followers on the Threads app what their presentation tip is to capture their audience's attention. In this episode, I share the responses I got. There were some really interesting advice that I had never heard of before, so definitely give this a listen!
Confident Communication for Introverted Data Professionals: Leveraging Your Strengths
Re-publishing this episode because last time there was an audio issue. In this episode, we explore how introverted data professionals can leverage their unique strengths to become confident and effective communicators. Discover the power of active listening and thoughtful reflection as essential tools in successful communication, and learn how to embrace your introverted superpowers to enhance you
Decoding Academic Papers for Data Professionals: A Guide to Effective Research Reading
In this episode, you'll learn the art of reading academic papers. As data professionals, understanding how to effectively read and analyze papers is crucial for staying informed, regardless if you're working in the industry or academia.
Academic Paper Writing for Data Practitioners: Tips, Tools, and Strategies
In this episode, we explore the art of academic paper writing for data professionals. From effectively managing your time to successfully collaborating with co-authors, I'll share tips to help you write academic papers.
Confident Communication for Introverted Data Professionals: Leveraging Your Strengths
In this episode, we explore how introverted data professionals can leverage their unique strengths to become confident and effective communicators. Discover the power of active listening and thoughtful reflection as essential tools in successful communication, and learn how to embrace your introverted superpowers to enhance your impact in the data field.
How to Responsibly and Ethically Communicate Data
It is crucial for data professionals to adhere to ethical principles and best practices in their data communication. Join me as I discuss the ethical considerations, responsible data communication practices, and actionable recommendations for data professionals to ensure responsible and ethical data communication.
Building Interactive Dashboards with Real-Time Data: A Conversation with Joe Karlsson
Our guest for this episode, Joe Karlsson, shares his expertise about building dashboards with real-time data. We discuss what are the core components of an effective real-time dashboard, how it can be used to improve user engagement, some challenges with real-time data and some examples of successful real-time dashboards across different industries.
Presenting Data to Executives: Strategies for Success
As a data professional, it's crucial to communicate your insights clearly and persuasively to senior management. In this episode, we will discuss effective strategies for presenting data to executives.
Key Questions to Ask When Choosing a Data Visualization Tool
The data visualization tool you choose to use can significantly impact the success of your visualizations. I discuss key questions to ask when deciding on which tool and provide practical recommendations to help you make an informed decision.
5 Dashboard Mistakes to Avoid
Here are 5 dashboard mistakes that I think you should avoid and how you can do that.
5 Data Visualization Mistakes to Avoid
Are you making these mistakes with your data visualization? Even seasoned data professionals can unintentionally make these mistakes.
If you want to learn more about data viz essentials, you can take my free course Data Viz Like a Boss.
How to Prepare for a Presentation Q&A
Did you know that you can prepare for your next presentation's Q&A portion, without having your audience submit a question in advance? In this episode, I share my tips on how you can feel more prepared for this often nerve-wrecking portion of the presentation.
How Nervous Presenters Can Deliver Great Presentations
Did you know that it’s possible to deliver great presentations even if your nerves show? Even if you stutter, stumble, forget your words, you can still have a successful presentation. I’ll explain how in this episode.
3 Myths about Data Presentations
In this short episode I debunk 3 myths about data presentations.
Data Presentation Tips from a TEDx Speaker Coach, Ioana Jongsma
Ioana shares so many amazing gems on how to present yourself and your data work to non-technical or mixed audience members.
You can connect with Ioana on Linked In and Instagram. You can also work with Ioana here to improve your data presentation skills.
Show notes for this episode can be found here.
Tips for Data Job Seekers from a Resume Writer and Interview Coach, Fatemah Mirza
Learn from Fatemah Mirza, the founder of CareerTuners.com, on how to position yourself and your data experience (even if you think you don't have any) to help yo land a data job. She shares tips on resumes, data portfolios, how to stand out from other applicants, whiteboard interviews, live coding sessions, how to deal with a bad interviewer and much more.
Download the free resources she talks her
Handling Filler Words in Presentations
Are you trying to eliminate filler words from your presentations or speech? I share tips on how to avoid using them as well some good news that no one will tell you about filler words.
5 Mistakes People Make when Presenting Data
I share 5 mistakes I see people make with data presentations and what you can do to avoid making them as well.
Let's Set Your Data Communication Goals
In this episode we'll be setting your data communication goals for this year. I'll help you figure out what you should focus on and what's important to you for your data career.
Become an Empowered Presenter - Interview with Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic
Best-selling author Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic joins us on this episode to talk about her latest book: Storytelling with You: Plan, Create, and Deliver a Stellar Presentation. She shares lots of helpful advice on making effective and successful presentations.
Resources talked about on the show:
Storytelling with You: Plan, Create, and Deliver a Stellar Presentation
Upcoming workshops Cole is
How to Craft a 3-Minute Story and Big Idea
Having a 3-minute story and Big Idea can help you tremendously with preparing for the rest of your data presentation as well as during the delivery itself. Listen to this episode to learn what these are and how to craft them for your next presentation.
How Critical Thinking and Data Stories Can Improve Data Decision-Making, Interview with Dan Manning
The work we do as data practitioners often plays a key role in decision-making. In this episode, we talk about how we can foster critical thinking in teams and create captivating 3-minute data stories to help with data decision-making.
Building on your Data Visualization Foundation
So you got the basics of data visualizations covered, what's next? Here are my recommendations on how to build on your data visualization foundation.
The Beginner's Data Visualization Foundations
Here's my take on what a beginner’s data visualization curriculum looks like. This is for data practitioners or aspiring ones who want to get a solid foundation in data visualization and don’t know what they should be learning at this stage.
How to Become a Data Leader: Advice from JP Morgan's Head of Data Visualization & Storytelling, Paulina Davila
Paulina Davila started her journey as an analyst and recently became a VP and the Head of Data Visualization & Storytelling at JP Morgan. She shares her tips on how to build effective data visualizations and presentations, as well as how to take initiative to help you climb the ranks at work.
"See the Attached Figure": Communicating Data in Academia with Dr. Sarah Treit
Do you work with data and are in academia? Tune into this episode to get advice from Dr. Sarah Treit, founder of Figures First, on how to communicate with data in academia. We also talk about the common forms of communication, predict how that will change in academia, and more.
Data Portfolio: How it Can Help and Hurt You - Interview with Juliana McMillan-Wilhoit
Learn how to make a data portfolio that will work in your favor rather than hurt you (because they can!). Our guest, Juliana McMillan-Wilhoit, shares her thoughts on geospatial data analysis, why you shouldn't trust maps, and data portfolios.
Communication Tips for Data Scientists - Interview with Avery Smith
In this episode, we talk about the struggles data scientists face with communicating their work and tips on how to address this. Our guest is Avery Smith, founder of Data Career Jumpstart, and he also shares his thoughts on how to use certain data science terms when talking to non-technical audience members.
Conquering Anxiety with Data Presentations - Interview with Susan Gatura
Do you get anxious presenting your work? If so, you don't want to miss this interview with Susan Gatura, a senior data analyst working in the media and entertainment industry. Suzie shares her experience with conquering presentation anxiety while also being an introvert.
Gain Influence by Improving your Data Communication Skills with Britney Lovett
To kick-off the 2nd season, listen to our guest, Britney Lovett, share her advice and tips on how to improve your data communication skills as an industry professional. She's a lead data analyst and has also started a free mentorship program to help data professionals.
7 Different Types of Data Stories
Have you heard about these 7 different types of data stories? In this week's episode, I review this data storytelling framework with you so you can use this anytime you feel stuck on what story to tell with your data. I've also linked a helpful article with data visualization examples for each of these in the show notes.
Starting your First Data Job? Communication Tips from a BI Analyst & Former Tableau Ambassador, Mujahed Syed
Are you starting a new data role? Or maybe you are new to the data viz world? If either is true, listen to this interview with BI Analyst Mujahed Syed, a Phoenix Tableau User Group co-lead and former Tableau Ambassador. He shares his communication tips as well as how he presents his dashboards to his clients.
Confidently Communicate your Work and Recommendations with Katie Fernandez
Katie is a data analyst in the healthcare industry with an educational background in math. In this episode she shares her tips on how to confidently communicate your data work. We also have a segment where she advises on how to present certain data terms. You can find ways to connect with her listed in the show notes associated with this episode.
Data Viz Critiquing: Tips on How to Provide and Ask for Feedback
Are you "drive-by" critiquing or have witnessed others do this online publicly? In this episode, I share advice on how to tactfully provide feedback to people sharing their data work online...as well as how to ask for it for your own work.
5 Ways to Improve your Data Visualizations
I'm sharing 5 ways you can improve your data visualizations. It doesn’t matter which tool you use to make your charts since these tips apply to most tools. This isn't an exhaustive list so let me know if you want to hear more tips. You can email me at hana@trending-analytics.com.
How to Captivate your Audience from the Start of your Virtual Presentations
In today’s episode you'll learn how to start your virtual presentation in a way that engages and captivates your audience’s attention from the very beginning. This is actually one of the lessons from my new course on virtual presentations. Enroll today to get it at a discount: https://trending-analytics.com/virtual-presentations/.
Why and How You Should Improve Your Audience's Graphicacy
In this episode I’m going to explain why you should take opportunities to improve your audience’s graphicacy and some suggestions on how you can start doing so. I'll also share why *not* showing unfamiliar charts to your audience can sometimes be a bad thing.
My Communication Struggles and Journey
In this episode I open up more and share about my communication struggles and journey. I also share lessons I've learned more recently working in the data field about these skills.
Why You Should Visualize Your Data
In this episode, I provide an overview of data visualization as an effective form of communicating data. We also talk about exploratory vs explanatory visualizations and when providing visualizations can help your audience vs showing them all the data.
You can find show notes here: https://trending-analytics.com/episode-5-why-you-should-visualize-your-data/
How to Put your Audience First When Communicating Data
We’ll be talking about how to put your audience first when communicating to them, whether it’s through reports, data viz, presentations or whatever other form of communication.
I gave a version of this training to the Phoenix Tableau User Group in Dec 2021 (the training covered more than just this topic) but I think you can benefit from this material as well.
You can find show notes here: https://
Know These Different Types of Data Communication
Let's discuss the different ways you as someone who works with data could be expected (if not already) to communicate data with others. You can find show notes here: https://trending-analytics.com/episode-3-know-these-different-types-of-data-communication/
Data Storytelling Predictions for 2022 and Beyond
We are going to be talking about data storytelling predictions for the coming 5 years. There are two particular predictions that have stuck out to me and grabbed my interest. So I’ll focus on these two for this episode. As always, I'm curious to hear what you think so give this a listen and message me with your thoughts at hana@trending-analytics.com.
You can find show notes here: https://trending
Why Focus on Data Communication Skills?
In this first episode, I want to share why this show focuses on data communication skills and why you should be honing them to help you with your data career. I also share the light bulb moment I had in graduate school that made me realize the importance of such skills.
You can find show notes here: https://trending-analytics.com/why-focus-on-data-communication-skills/
Welcome to the Art of Communicating Data
I was inspired to start this podcast because you didn’t ask me to. Most people who reached out to me asking if I can teach them how to use data viz software or create a course on the latest data tool everyone is talking about.
It’s precisely because of these requests that I created a show dedicated to communication skills for data people because we obsess over technical skills and do not work enou
