Become a Data Storytelling Action Hero with Brent Dykes

With over 15 years of enterprise analytics experience at monster data platforms like Domo, and Adobe (Omniture), Brent Dykes knows a thing or eight about leveraging thoughtfully presented insights to effect organizational change and success.

Brent stopped by the show to discuss his new book, Effective Data Storytelling: How to Drive Change with Data, Narrative and Visuals. It’s one of the most comprehensive reads on the subject I’ve found to date, and dives deepest into the role of narrative arc structure in data presentation (often the most vital, missing ingredient!)

He is a regular Forbes contributor on data-related topics and received the Most Influential Industry Contributor Award from the Digital Analytics Association (DAA). He is a popular speaker at conferences such as Web Summit, Strata, Shop.org, Adtech, Pubcon, and Adobe Summit.

In this episode, Brent imparts practical, real-world wisdom for creating compelling data stories that are practical to apply in your specific business scenarios.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn…

• Who should read his latest data storytelling book and what they’ll be able to do after


• How to use his “data storytelling continuum” to decide which form of communication to use


• How to avoid the communication and ethical pitfalls of common “data forgeries”


• A deep dive into narrative arc structure, a vital missing ingredient from many presentations


• How to use analogies and metaphors to explain complex and technical concepts


• Successful strategies for effecting change in an organization’s data democratization process


• Whether the advent of AI in the data storytelling process will render humans obsolete

People, Blogs, and Resources Mentioned

• Effective Data Storytelling: How to Drive Change with Data, Narrative and Visuals by Brent Dykes


• Web Analytics Action Hero by Brent Dykes


• Brent’s original PowerPoint Ninja blog


• My blog post on slope graphs

Brent’s Upgrade

Blow your mind open with the work of Hans Rosling, the late and great animator of data stories. His renowned TED Talk showcasing the Gapminder data visualization tool is not to be missed!

How to Keep Up with Brent:

• Twitter


• LinkedIn

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining me. Have some feedback you’d like to share, or a question for Brent? Leave a note in the comments below, and we’ll get back to you!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the left of the post.

If you liked what you heard, I would love if you could leave me a rating or review in iTunes. Ratings & reviews are extremely appreciated and very important in the rankings algorithm. The more ratings, the better chance of fellow practitioners getting to hear this helpful information!

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates and never miss a show.

A very, very special thank you to Brent for joining me this week.

And as always, viz responsibly, my friends.

[00:00:00 ] It’s 20:20 Lea Pica here. Today’s guest is one of the analytics industry’s favorite speakers and a data storytelling action hero. Let’s find out who’s kicking off the decade on the present Beyond Measure Show. Episode 53.

[00:00:15 ] Welcome to the present. Beyond Measure Show a podcast at the intersection of analytics, data visualization and presentation awesomeness. You’ll learn the best tips, tools and techniques for creating analytics, visualizations and presentations that inspire a data driven decisions and move you forward if you’re ready to get your insights understood and acted upon. You’re in the right place. And now your host, Lea Pica.

[00:00:41 ] Hello. Hello and welcome to the fifty third episode of the present Beyond Measure Show. It’s the first show of this brand new year and a brand new decade. You know, they say that hindsight is 20/20. And I believe this is the year he’ll leave hindsight in the past. This is the only podcast at the intersection of presentation, data visualization and digital marketing and analytics. So this is the place to be if you’re ready to make maximum impact and create credibility through thoughtfully presented digital insights. I have a fantastic interview to kick things off with. But before we dive in, I wanted to let you know that I’ll be presenting alongside fifteen plus other analytics experts at the Observed Point Virtual Analytics Summit, which airs online on January 15th. It’s an all day presentation bonanza. So hitch a ride with over 5000 other digital marketing and analytics professionals and prepare to be inspired by some of the most visionary minds in the marketing and analytics industry. I’m so honored to be part of the lineup. I’ll be delivering my signature three pillars of data presentation enlightment keynote, which will help you avoid the presentation zombification pandemic so you won’t want to miss this free virtual event. Make sure to visit the link on the show notes page or at least peek dot com slash VHS.

[00:02:17 ] Twenty.

[00:02:18 ] All right, I’m super stoked to bring my next guest to you, he’s just another incredible author and the amazing lineup of authors I’ve had the privilege of interviewing and he is right in the sweet spot for this show. Let’s get to it.

[00:02:41 ] How low?

[00:02:42 ] Today’s guest is the senior director of data strategy at Domo, a data visualization platform used by enterprises all over the world. He has more than 15 years of enterprise analytics experience at Omniture, Adobe and Domo. He’s a regular Forbes contributor on data related topics, and he received the most influential industry contributor award from the Digital Analytics Association in 2016. He’s a very popular speaker at conferences like Web Summit ShopTalk, Strata ADTECH and Adobe Summit, and he’s here today to tell us about his recently published third book, Effective Data Storytelling How to Drive Change with Data, Narrative and Visuals, which was somewhat relevant to the show topics. So I decided to finally get him on here. It only took, what, three years? So please help me welcome Brent Dykes.

[00:03:41 ] Thanks. Thankfully, it’s great to be here.

[00:03:43 ] Well, thanks so much for joining. I remember we intersected at Dolma Palooza. I want to say it was 2017.

[00:03:52 ] Yeah, I think I think it is that year. Yeah. Yeah. Presenting that year. Yes. Data visualization. So.

[00:03:58 ] That’s right. And it was so great to finally make the connection because I had just heard so much about your talks