54 Minutes Straight of Solid Data Storytelling Advice

MindSpeaking Podcast Episode 31 - Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

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Highlights:

00:00 – Why color is the most underused data strategy

01:42 – The #1 tip Cole gives data professionals

05:18 – Using your voice and body to hold attention

07:44 – Cole’s early struggles with public speaking

10:14 – What helped her go from nervous to confident

15:16 – When enthusiasm for data backfires

18:10 – How to understand what stakeholders care about

20:12 – Cole’s step-by-step method for storyboarding

21:49 – When to start with a bang vs. build to a climax

26:28 – A simple way to create contrast in storytelling

29:08 – Waterfall charts and the “before & after” approach

31:08 – Why presentations should feel like conversations

33:17 – What to do when insights get ignored

43:10 – Two skills analysts should double down on

50:25 – The filler words she’s still working on

Summary:

In this insightful episode, bestselling author Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic shares powerful data storytelling techniques for turning dry insights into engaging presentations. Cole unpacks effective stakeholder communication by teaching how to use color with purpose, storyboard your message, and read subtle audience cues. She reflects on her journey from anxious analyst to confident speaker and explains how every data professional can learn to present with impact. We also explore her new children’s book Daphne Draws Data, the future of AI in visualization, and the mindset shift needed to build trust with stakeholders and gain stakeholder buy-in.

🎯 Data Storytelling Techniques for Business

🎙️ Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic:

If I had to break it down to one tip, it's this: think about your audience. Too often, we create data presentations from our own perspective—our analysis, our hard work—without considering the people we’re trying to influence.

🗣 Gilbert Eijkelenboom:

That’s so true. Most data professionals don’t choose their career because they love public speaking. How can they start understanding their audience better?

🎙️ Cole:

Every presentation is an opportunity for real-time data collection. Watch their faces—are they engaged, confused, smiling? What questions are they asking? Are they asking “what does this mean?” or “how do we act on this?” The latter shows you’re hitting the right notes.

🧠 Building Trust and Managing Stakeholder Expectations

🗣 Gilbert:

You weren’t always this confident on stage. What helped you shift?

🎙️ Cole:

I was nervous, visibly shaking in early meetings with senior leaders. But I realized I could make the most beautiful graph and it wouldn't matter if I couldn’t deliver it well. Over time—especially when I started teaching—I found that passion for my topic could carry me through. And with repetition, I started noticing how I could use body language and voice to maintain energy in the room.

🗣 Gilbert:

It’s great to hear how much of that transformation was learned, not innate.

🎙️ Cole:

Exactly! The idea that great speakers are born that way is a myth. It’s a skill. One that you can build with practice, just like any technical skill.

📊 Engaging Non-Technical Audiences with Data

🗣 Gilbert:

What about when people are too passionate about the data and forget the audience?

🎙️ Cole:

It happens a lot. That’s where a sounding board is useful. Run your message past someone outside your function. They’ll ask clarifying questions and help you reconnect your message to the business-focused data insights your stakeholders actually care about.

✍️ Preparing a Presentation that Sticks

🗣 Gilbert:

Let’s talk about preparation. What’s your go-to approach?

🎙️ Cole:

I always start low-tech: Post-it notes. It forces conciseness. I brainstorm, rearrange, and organize ideas visually—storyboarding before I even touch PowerPoint. From there, I decide on the narrative arc: do I start with a bang or build to a crescendo?

🗣 Gilbert:

How do you decide which structure to use?

🎙️ Cole:

If the audience trusts you and time is short, start with your main point. But if you need to build credibility or manage resistance, start with shared understanding and lead them toward your message.

💬 Avoiding Excessive Detail and Technical Language

🎙️ Cole:

The biggest mistake I still see is people overusing color and overloading slides with information. Often, it comes from a good place: wanting to show your work. But that’s not effective. When you’re presenting live, your slide is the assistant—you are the main act. Don’t let the slide compete with your voice.

🧒 Using Stories to Drive Data Impact—Even for Kids

🎙️ Cole:

That idea—turning numbers into pictures—can and should be taught early. That’s why I created Daphne Draws Data. It’s a children’s book about a pink dragon who solves problems with graphs. The goal? Make visual literacy part of childhood.

🗣 Gilbert:

That’s incredible. Do you have activities to go along with it?

🎙️ Cole:

Yes! At DaphneDrawsData.com, we have educator resources, parent guides, videos, and our new program, Daphne’s Data Detectives. We want anyone who loves data to share that spark with kids.

🔮 The Future of Data Visualization & GenAI

🗣 Gilbert:

With GenAI, we can make graphs in seconds. How do you see its role?

🎙️ Cole:

AI is great for speeding up analysis and even visualization. But it can’t replace human nuance. It won’t read a stakeholder’s micro-expressions. It won’t adjust your tone based on the room’s energy. If anything, it makes human communication skills more critical than ever.

⚡ Rapid-Fire Round

Biggest mistake in data visualization?

🎙️ Cole: Misusing color—especially overusing it.

Why do people overload slides?

🎙️ Cole: Fear of forgetting something or wanting to prove their analysis was thorough.

Introvert or extrovert?

🎙️ Cole: Total introvert. But I’ve learned to play extrovert when needed.

One tip to stay calm before presenting?

🎙️ Cole: Breathe. And get comfortable with silence. Calm is contagious.

One communication habit you're still working on?

🎙️ Cole: Cutting filler words. Especially “so” and ending with “right?”

🧩 Final Advice for Data Professionals

🎙️ Cole:

Use each graph, each meeting, each slide as a learning moment. Small intentional changes—removing one filler word, reducing slide clutter, clarifying a key point—add up to major impact over time.

🗣 Gilbert:

Thanks so much, Cole. I loved hearing about your journey and all the powerful, practical insights you shared. I hope this inspires every listener to level up their data storytelling techniques, even through small, everyday steps.