Learn to tell stories with data, design stellar slides, and present powerfully through our masterclass, workshop, & online course

Our workshops enable you to bring your data and ideas to life and communicate a story confidently to an audience, with a focus on simplicity and ease of interpretation. Based on the strategies covered in our best-selling books, our engaging virtual and in-person sessions teach the fundamentals of effective visualization, building compelling narratives, planning and creating memorable communications, and delivering captivating presentations. You’ll learn practical strategies to put to use at every phase of your data communication process.

Scroll down to check out the full 2025 schedule, learn more about each session, and read answers to commonly asked questions

2024 schedule

DEC MON DEC 16 | 11a–3p ET
VIRTUAL | $595 | REGISTER NOW

2025 schedule

Start the new year right: join our 8-week online course
plan, create, & deliver your data story
JAN 13–MAR 9, 2025 | ONLINE | $1,895 | REGISTER NOW
JAN
FEB THU FEB 6 | 11a–3p ET
VIRTUAL | $595 | REGISTER NOW
MAR
APR
LATE APR | 9a–5p
LONDON | £895 | I’M INTERESTED!
MAY TUE MAY 13 | 8a–12p ET
VIRTUAL | $595 | REGISTER NOW
JUN
JUL
AUG THU AUG 21 | 11a–3p ET
VIRTUAL | $595 | REGISTER NOW
School's back in session: join our 8-week online course!
plan, create, & deliver your data story
SEP 15–NOV 9 | ONLINE | $1,895 | REGISTER NOW
SEP

OCT
EARLY OCT | 9a–5p
NEW YORK CITY | $1,195 | I’M INTERESTED!
NOV THU NOV 6 | 11a–3p ET
VIRTUAL | $595 | REGISTER NOW
DEC

About our sessions

Our highly popular foundational workshop—grounded in strategies from the best-selling book storytelling with data—covers five key lessons that will improve your data storytelling: understand the context, choose an effective visual, identify and eliminate clutter, focus attention, and tell a story. These lessons are made concrete through numerous real-world examples, and participants get hands-on practice in an interactive virtual setting.

Why you should attend: If you want to see your hard work have greater impact, no matter how frequently or extensively you work with data, then this foundational workshop is for you. You will learn how to improve the graphs you use to communicate, plus get instruction and hands-on experience applying practical data storytelling strategies to real-world examples.

How you’ll learn: You’ll gain knowledge from members of the SWD team through a mix of presentation delivery and individual and small group exercises. Attendees are invited to attend a 30-minute “office-hour” extension immediately following the workshop to ensure ample time to answer all of your questions.

Upcoming storytelling with data sessions:

  • VIRTUAL | THU November 7, 2024 11a–3p ET | SOLD OUT

  • VIRTUAL | MON December 16, 2024 11a–3p ET | $595 | REGISTER NOW

  • VIRTUAL | THU February 6, 2025 11a–3p ET | $595 | REGISTER NOW

  • VIRTUAL | TUE May 13, 2025 8a–12p ET | $595 | REGISTER NOW

  • VIRTUAL | THU August 21, 2025 11a–3p ET | $595 | REGISTER NOW

  • VIRTUAL | THU November 6, 2025 11a–3p ET | $595 | REGISTER NOW

This immersive day of learning guides participants through strategies to craft effective data-driven stories and present them powerfully. Drawing on lessons from all three best-selling books, you’ll learn the ins and outs of great graphs and stellar slides, how to weave your message and data into compelling narratives, and methods to refine your presentation skills to engage and drive action.

Why you should attend: The full-day masterclass is an experience designed for people who want to improve every aspect of their communication process. Incorporating lessons from both of our shorter workshops (and more!), you’ll work with the SWD team and fellow participants to practice, provide feedback, and make concrete progress on a project of choice—taking steps towards crafting and delivering your own data-driven story!

How you’ll learn: You’ll gain knowledge from Cole and members of the SWD team through a mix of presentation delivery, individual and small group exercises, and expertly facilitated discussion. Learning possibilities extend into breaks, lunch, and social hour, when you can connect individually with the SWD team and fellow participants.

Provided learning materials: Attendees receive the latest book, storytelling with you: plan, create, and deliver a stellar presentation.

Upcoming storytelling & presenting with data sessions:

  • LONDON | Late April 2025 9a–5p BST | £895 | I’M INTERESTED!
    (Note: this is a one-day session. The exact date is TBD.)

  • NEW YORK CITY | Early October 2025 9a–5p ET | $1,195 | I’M INTERESTED!
    (Note: this is a one-day session. The exact date is TBD.)

Do you want to dedicate more time to developing your skills and grow your network of fellow data enthusiasts? Join our 8-week online course and unleash your creative potential for crafting compelling narratives. We’ll take you through the world of storytelling with data, curating a multi-media learning journey anchored in core SWD lessons that are expanded upon and explored through weekly lectures, reading, videos, podcasts, exercises, and a course project. We’ll teach you a repeatable process to plan your data story, distill the critical components, create effective graphs, slides, and presentations, and communicate it all in a way that gets your audience’s attention, builds understanding, and drives action.

Here’s what some of our course participants have said…

  • “I cannot believe the presentation I was able to create and deliver in 2 months! The skills I learned, nicely paced out over 8 classes, were invaluable for delivering more effective presentations. I really appreciated the insightful feedback from the instructors on each assignment. I had many lightbulb moments regarding how to be more effective that I know will stick with me thanks to the combination of lectures and hands-on learning. This class was invaluable!” - Cathy T.

  • “It is the best training experience I have ever had! It offers all kinds of ways to learn and get feedback.” - Yuan G.

  • “I really enjoyed the course, which has given me so many new perspectives and ideas! The exercises, as well as the weekly learning resources on the course website, are the parts I liked the most.  I appreciate that you offer resources in a variety of formats (read, listen, watch).” - Jessica B.

Who should enroll: Individuals wanting an extensive exploration of data storytelling for business with a clear schedule and accountability, access to a network of professionals interested in honing similar skills, and ongoing hands-on practice and support to fully develop and demonstrate skills and confidence. 

How you’ll learn: Each week will have a dedicated topic; themes include the art of feedback, graph selection and design, understanding your audience and message, crafting a story, slide design, and presentation delivery.

  • During the weekly virtual lecture (Mondays 11AM-12PM ET), data storytellers, Amy and Simon will explore the week’s given topic. Those joining live will be able to participate, ask questions and work together in small groups with classmates to make progress on a final capstone project (each lecture is also recorded and made available to everyone).

  • Multimedia learning resources—a combination of reading, podcasts, videos, and exercises—will be communicated at the onset of each week. You can expect to spend 3-5 hours of dedicated time per week. This includes a capstone project that you will choose, craft, and undertake using the tool(s) of your choice to apply your learnings and demonstrate competency.

  • You’ll have the option to join weekly office hours—held by data storytellers based in the US and UK so we can have options that work for everyone around the world—to chat and get questions answered.

Provided learning materials: Participants will receive two books written by best-selling author Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic: storytelling with data: let’s practice! and storytelling with you: plan, create, and deliver a stellar presentation; as well as 6 months of premium access in the online SWD community.

Grading & certificate of completion: Assignments are not graded; however, we will offer avenues to receive feedback. Weekly lectures, reading, video, podcast, and exercise completion are on the honor system. Those who turn in the weekly synthesize activity and the course capstone project according to the provided instructions will receive a certificate of completion.

Tools: Virtual lectures are conducted via Zoom. When it comes to our teaching, the focus is on general best practices and is not tool-specific. While illustrative examples are primarily Excel and PowerPoint-based, we emphasize concepts and approaches that can be applied in any graphing application or presentation software.

Have a question about the 8-week course that isn’t answered here? We look forward to hearing from you. Email us at swdcourse@storytellingwithdata.com.

Upcoming plan, create, and deliver your data story sessions:

  • ONLINE | MON January 13, 2025 – SUN March 9, 2025 | $1,895 | REGISTER NOW

  • ONLINE | MON September 15, 2025 – SUN November 9, 2025 | $1,895 | REGISTER NOW

 

Frequently asked questions

  • Each of our workshops focuses on lessons drawn directly from the respective book(s). The core strategies are brought to life by our world-class data storytellers, illustrated through additional examples, and accompanied by activities and discussions to further learning.

    For those who’ve already read storytelling with data: a data visualization guide for business professional and/or storytelling with data: let’s practice and feel you already have a full grasp of the concepts, the 4-hour storytelling with data workshop will reinforce your learnings. We are big believers that there’s always something new to absorb, as well as increasingly nuanced ways to think about and apply concepts—if you agree, then you’ll find there is more to be gained by attending a workshop than reading a book alone.

    On the other hand, if you’d like deeper/additional learning, we’d suggest the 8-week course for exploring concepts in greater depth, or storytelling with slides to expand your skills beyond building great graphs to creating effective slides and presenting powerfully.

  • We welcome all skill levels. Whether you’re an analyst crunching numbers; a manager needing to communicate in a data-driven way; or a leader responsible for presentations to your board, execs, or other stakeholders; our sessions will give you the tools to tell more effective stories with data and to communicate more effectively in general.

  • Our sessions are best suited for individuals needing to communicate data in a business setting. If you are responsible for representing data in your day-to-day job, or it’s important for you to be able to tell stories through graphs and presentations, if you need to communicate numbers or make presentations, you should attend.

  • During our workshops, we encourage you to employ low-tech tools: pen or pencil, paper, and post-it notes (these supplies are provided for in-person workshops). Virtual sessions are conducted via Zoom. When it comes to our teaching, the focus is on general best practices and is not tool-specific. While illustrative examples are primarily Excel and PowerPoint-based, we emphasize concepts and approaches that can be applied in any graphing application or presentation software.

  • While we are happy to address questions on these topics, we do not cover content specific to interactivity. Rather, our focus is on static visuals—graphs and presentations—intended to communicate a specific predefined message to an audience.

  • No. While the concepts you learn may help direct your exploration of data, we focus primarily on the explanatory phase, assuming you’ve already analyzed your data and have something specific you want to communicate to an audience. The lessons we cover will help you communicate more effectively with data.

  • Many organizations have training budgets or tuition reimbursement programs that will cover the cost of professional development. Our courses will help you gain valuable new skills that will allow you to be more effective and productive in your current role by clearly and confidently communicating stories to influence stakeholders and inspire action upon your recommendations. They can also position you to help train or mentor others on your team.

    We recommend checking with your manager or HR department to see if they offer any tuition assistance programs. When making the request, emphasize how taking the course aligns with your professional growth goals and the potential benefits it could bring to the team and organization. Email support@storytellingwithdata.com if you need any documentation about course details, pricing, or learning objectives to submit with your request.

  • We never want cost to be a barrier to learning. We offer group (5 or more attendees registering for the same session), educator, student, and non-profit discounts. Email support@storytellingwithdata.com for details.

    We also have an application-based scholarship program that offers financial support to individuals.
    Learn more and apply at storytellingwithdata.com/scholarship.

  • We understand that plans can change. We aim to be as flexible as possible, with our cancellation policy varying by type of session as follows.

    * In-person workshop and 8-week online course cancellations: The registration fee is non-refundable within 14 days of the scheduled workshop or start date. In the event that you are unable to attend, you may have someone else take your place; please communicate this at least 24 hours in advance of the scheduled session.

    * Virtual workshop cancellations: Up to 24 hours before the start of the session, you may 1) transfer your registration to a colleague, 2) transfer your registration to another session (where applicable), or 3) cancel your registration and receive a full refund (minus cost of books and shipping if applicable). This must be communicated to support@storytellingwithdata.com at least 24 hours before the start of the session. Cancellations within 24 hours or no shows are not eligible for a refund.

    In the extremely rare event that a workshop must be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances, a spot in an alternative session or a full refund of the registration fee will be provided (note that we are not responsible for other costs incurred, such as travel).

  • Follow SWD on Twitter or LinkedIn, or join our mailing list to be notified about new sessions. Also check out the many resources in the SWD community.

  • We offer a variety of custom virtual and in-person learning sessions to meet your organization’s needs. Learn more on our Team Trainings page.

  • Yes. Email us at support@storytellingwithdata.com. We look forward to hearing from you!