#207 - The Art of Storytelling: Effective Communication and Data Visualization - Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic
Tech Lead Journal24 Helmi 2025

#207 - The Art of Storytelling: Effective Communication and Data Visualization - Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

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Want to communicate more effectively and get your work the attention it deserves?
Learn how to harness the power of storytelling in a business setting with Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, the bestselling author of "Storytelling with Data" and "Storytelling with You"!

In this episode, Cole joins me to dive into the art of storytelling and explore how we can use it to communicate data, insights, and our work more effectively.

You'll learn:
- Storytelling in business: Why it's crucial for making your work stand out.
- The "Plan-Create-Deliver" framework: The 3 steps to creating compelling stories.
- Low-tech planning: Why pen and paper beats jumping straight to slides.
- The power of the "Big Idea": Craft one impactful sentence that captures your message.
- Storytelling with data: Present data that is both informative and engaging.
- Crafting a powerful intro: Grab your audience's attention from the start.
- AI for storytelling: How AI can enhance your data analysis and communication.
- Teaching kids about data: Empower the next generation to be critical thinkers and storytellers.


Timestamps:
(00:02:17) Career Turning Points
(00:06:22) What is Storytelling?
(00:09:55) Why Become Better Storytellers
(00:12:25) Storytelling in Business Settings
(00:15:51) Plan-Create-Deliver Framework
(00:24:01) Low Tech Planning
(00:28:57) The 3-Minute Story and The Big Idea
(00:33:06) TLDR and BLUF
(00:37:09) Creating Slides
(00:41:43) Storytelling with Data
(00:44:39) Pie Charts
(00:46:42) Data Visualization Tools
(00:49:00) Teaching Kids about Data
(00:55:04) Giving a Powerful Intro
(00:59:13) How AI Can Help in Data & Storytelling
(01:02:02) 3 Tech Lead Wisdom

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Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic’s Bio
Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic tells stories with data. She is founder and CEO of storytelling with data (SWD) and author of Storytelling With Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals and Storytelling with Data: Let’s Practice! SWD’s well-regarded workshops and presentations are highly sought after by data-minded individuals, companies, and philanthropic organizations all over the world. Learn more at storytellingwithdata.com.

Follow Cole:


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Show notes & transcript:techleadjournal.dev/episodes/207.
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