We equip data analysts with the tools and skills to communicate complex information clearly, and drive business change.
So many technical experts do vital work but lack influence. Our goal with this podcast is to close that gap. We help you communicate your ideas effectively, whether presenting to your team, executives, or clients, to drive change and improve decisions.
Aaaand we're back after a short 5-year break. We're diving into what's changed, what we've learned working with 2000+ professionals, and why communication is more crucial than ever, especially with AI's rise. Get ready for Season 2!
22/07/2026
Soooo..... it's been 5 years.
The Presentation Boss Podcast is coming back... we're now on video, and finding appropriate episode pictures is proving difficult.
We launched The Presentation Boss Podcast in 2019 with a simple goal: to help people become more confident and effective communicators. 100 episodes and 200,000+ downloads later, that goal hasn’t changed.
What HAS changed is us. We’ve spent the last few years working with thousands of analysts, leaders and technical professionals, learning what it really takes to communicate ideas that influence decisions.
We’re bringing the podcast back for Season 2 with fresh conversations, new perspectives, but with the same practical approach of the first 100 episodes.
16/06/2026
The biggest career shift in analytics isn't becoming better at analysing data.
It's becoming better at direction.
Most analysts are trained to answer questions:
What happened?
Why did it happen?
What does the data show?
Strategic advisers answer a different question:
What should we do now?
The organisations that get the most value from data aren't the ones with the best dashboards.
They're the ones with people who can turn analysis into action.
15/06/2026
One of the biggest shifts from analyst to adviser is learning that clarity is relative.
Earlier this year, a statistician told us her stacked column chart was "pretty straightforward."
And she was right.
For a statistician.
But most stakeholders aren't statisticians.
They don't spend their days analysing data. They spend their days running operations, managing risk, serving customers, or leading teams.
The question isn't:
"Can I understand this?"
The question is:
"Can they understand this?"
The people who have the greatest influence aren't necessarily the smartest people in the room.
They're the people who can translate complexity into clarity.
29/04/2026
MYTH: Dashboards are Data Storytelling.
TRUTH: Dashboards are only one element of data storytelling.
I sometimes get asked if I can help people set up their dashboards, or "fix" their graphs.
It's like someone trying to write a book and asking for help formatting their Word doc. If you haven't written a good book, all the formatting in the world isn't going to help you.
Look outside of your graphs. What story are you trying to tell, what function and/or decision are you supporting? Start there, rather than with your graphs, and you'll become a more effective data communicator.
Imagine going to the doctor and telling them that you need treatment because your arm hurts.
If your doctor is any good, they will ask questions about your arm, get some background, work out what's actually wrong, before deciding what treatment to start. Maybe it includes painkillers, but chances are there's more that needs to be addressed than simply the pain element. Do you need stitches? A cast? A cream? A good talking to?
However, when I work with people on their dashboards, I ask them what the stakeholder requirements were... and more times than not, the answer is, "they wanted this information."
I push a little harder, to find out why they want that information and where it fits in in the wider context of the organisation.
"I'm not sure, this was just the request."
We need to be asking more (and better) questions, so that we don't provide something that yes, ok, they ASKED for, but also invariably doesn't provide value.
If you want to create a dashboard that gets used because it's valuable, you need to ask better questions and get deeper than the surface-level request.
20/04/2026
A pie chart is sometimes ok.
Not often, but sometimes.
As humans we can overestimate how well we can read a pie chart and understand the numbers behind them. So, if the numbers don't matter and you just need a "feel" for what's going on, a pie chart is great.
As soon as there's more than 2 or 3 segments, switch to a bar chart, because we can't perceive differences in segment sizes anywhere near as well as we think we can.
If numbers matter more than "we just want to get a high level understanding of the different between these 2 segments"... a bar chart will serve you better.
