Without fail, whenever I present on data storytelling, someone will ask whether it’s subjective. I always admit that it is. Every data story represents someone’s interpretation of the data. That… | ...

When you shift from exploratory visuals to explanatory ones, small details suddenly matter. In the exploratory phase, you work with raw data. If you’re a data professional, you don’t mind precise… | ...

When I audit data presentations, I often come across charts where every value is labeled. For reporting, this can make sense because you don’t know which values will interest the audience. You want… ...

You’ve probably discovered, as I have, that AI tools have gravity. I call it mainstream gravity. By design, LLMs are trained on vast datasets of collective knowledge. When you ask for help, they… | B...

I see this problem all the time in analytics. In this illustration, all four analysts answered the question, but only one offered a true insight. Leadership asked, “Why did churn increase 3 points… ...

When people don’t trust the data, they stop using it or listening to it. As an analytics consultant, I remember working with a major airline that had zero trust in its data, and its leadership team… ...

In data storytelling, the biggest number in your chart isn’t always the main point.   However, it can act like it is and take over a visual. A single outlier stretches the axis so far that the small… ...

I’ve seen data leaders cringe as they recall an analyst walking executives step by step through an entire analysis. By the time they reached their insights, the room was lost, confused, or checked… | ...

Some of the best analysts I know have two opposing strengths. On one hand, they’re curious and open-minded. On the other, they’re skeptical and rigorous. I often encounter analysts who are strong… |...

One of the most common chart problems is also the easiest to fix: your labels are simply too small to be read. I call it “tiny-font-itis,” and I see it everywhere. It runs rampant in white papers… | ...

We often focus on headlines doing too little. But what happens when they're trying to do too much? I once worked with an organization whose slide titles ran four to five lines each. They looked m...

It’s not easy to shift from reporting to storytelling. Even though their outputs look similar on the surface, they use different muscles and require a different mindset. Rather than having your team…...

Are your visuals aiding your audience or taxing them? Every design choice affects how much effort it takes to process your information. When your audience burns mental energy on things that don't...

Why The Pyramid Principle Is Not A Data Storytelling Framework

One of the biggest misconceptions about AI is that it will eventually automate data storytelling. AI will undoubtedly play a significant role, but I’m not convinced we can simply hand it the… | Brent ...

One of the most overlooked chart design decisions is whether to use horizontal or vertical bars. It seems like a simple formatting choice, but it can influence how people read and interpret your… | Br...

Many data professionals overlook the differences between exploratory and explanatory data visualization. When I prepare for training workshops on data storytelling, I often review example data… | Bre...

This morning, I noticed someone stated that their chart told "the story." Honestly, it's one of my biggest data storytelling pet peeves. Sure, we get excited when we stumble across a r...

Recently, I came across Deloitte's 2026 State of AI in the Enterprise report, a study packed with insights into how organizations are adopting AI. One key finding caught my eye: only 34% of… | Bre...

The final score was 107-106. 🏀 If you didn’t watch the NBA Final Game 4 between the NY Knicks and the SA Spurs, you’d assume the game was a hard-fought battle between two evenly matched… | Brent Dyk...

A common problem I see in organizations is how they use (or misuse) the word “insight.” Many things that are not insights get labeled as such. "Sales were up 30% last week" is an observatio...

The Key Elements Of A Good Data Story (And Why Visuals Aren't One of Them)

In my book and workshops, I stress the importance of configuring your charts to your message, not just choosing the right chart type. Basic configurations rarely do this job for you. In data… | Brent...

Most data teams feel a change is coming. Like many other business professionals, analysts are nervous about how AI will impact their roles. If their daily tasks become increasingly automated, what… |...

There's a Goldilocks principle in data visualization that rarely gets discussed: bar thickness. Most of the time, people aren't choosing the wrong chart type. The mistake they're making i...

Great news! My book just got a Japanese translation, and it launches this Friday, May 22nd. I'm excited for Japanese business and data professionals to be able to read 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚… | Brent Dykes

When answering or anticipating questions with visuals, what context you add and how much can make or break the result. In data storytelling, how you manage context is especially important as you… | B...

The Critical Fork: How Leaders Turn Failure Into Better Decisions

Repeatedly, I’ve heard executives complain about the busy, cluttered slides their teams create. In almost every data storytelling workshop I run, it’s one of the key challenges leaders want to… | Bre...

During a recent coaching session, an analyst asked me how to handle ambiguity in data storytelling. It’s a question more people should be asking. The data we work with is rarely clean. Business… | B...

Sometimes, the key takeaway isn’t just a spike 📈 or a dip 📉 in the numbers. It’s the fact something didn’t change when it should have. Most data professionals are trained to hunt for unusual… | Bren...

I’m going to say it: Most labels don’t need a leash. 🦮 You’ll often find leader lines in charts that connect a label to a data point. While they can be helpful, they can also be misused and… | Brent...

Most charts place the y-axis on the left. No one questions this because it’s the default. When it comes to data storytelling, we sometimes need to break away from these common data visualization… | B...

If you work in analytics or data science, your job is as much about change management as it is about data. Data culture doesn't emerge just because you deploy a new platform or share more… | Bren...

In business reporting, every value typically gets labeled. The logic makes sense because you don’t know which data points your audience will need, so you label everything to be on the safe… | Brent Dy...

Exciting news! After years of development, I'm thrilled to announce the launch of 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲™, the world's first fully automated data storytelling platform. Just add data—any data—and… | Brent...

Most data never leads to action. It doesn’t crash. It quietly takes an offramp. There are seven exits where data leaves the highway before it becomes a decision, change, or result. Exits 1-3 are… |...

Data professionals routinely mistake analysis journeys for data stories. If you work in data or analytics, you’ve probably sat through many of these data presentations. A well-intentioned analyst… ...

Data Storytelling 101: A Beginner's Guide To Turning Insights Into Action

When you're tasked with communicating insights, one of the most common challenges is finding the right balance of information to share. Share too little, and your audience can't make an info...

Combination charts can clarify your story or quietly undermine it. When used well, they can reveal a relationship between two metrics—something you wouldn’t see by looking at either one alone. When…...

Your analytics tool isn’t trying to undermine your storytelling, but its default settings might. Most tools are designed for flexibility, so their defaults are built to handle a wide range of… | Bre...

There's an ancient Buddhist parable about blind men encountering an elephant for the first time. Each man touches a different part—trunk, tusk, ear, leg, tail—and walks away convinced he understa...

I often advocate for making your charts as simple as possible, especially in data stories where information needs to be understood quickly and clearly. A common question I hear is: Are complex… | Bre...

Recently, someone reached out to me with the following question: “As someone early in my analytics career, I’m curious what skills you think differentiate strong junior analysts from average ones.”… ...

When I wrote Effective Data Storytelling, I was very intentional with my phrasing. One example is my use of “data scenes” to describe the visuals within a data story. I borrowed the term from… | Bre...

Do we fully understand the responsibility that we hold as data storytellers? I’m not sure we do. We spend a lot of time debating chart types, color usage, headlines, and delivery methods. But it’s…...

Throughout my career, I’ve met plenty of people who dismiss pie charts (and donut charts) as useless. I’ve even delivered data storytelling workshops to teams that officially outlawed them. (Yes… | B...

Most overloaded slides don’t happen by accident. They happen because we’re trying to be helpful. And safe. So we show: ✔️ The volume ✔️ The % of total ✔️ The growth rate ✔️ Maybe one more… | Brent Dy...