Draw It Out: How Visual Thinking Unlocks Cognitive Superpowers

I was recently reviewing a client’s “best practice” slide deck. On the surface it was well-structured and visually tidy. But as I started sketching patterns across the different slides, a problem jumped out. The real strategic insight was buried under layers of interesting findings. The mistake? Instead of spotting patterns in the data first and then building the deck, the team had simply visualised separate analyses and tried to summarise them afterwards. I see this often – data storytelling that documents rather than distils. The result? More noise than signal. In this post, I’ll show why diagrams are more than presentation tools. They’re thinking tools that offer a way to synthesise complexity, surface insight, and recode overwhelming detail into clarity.

Why Great Data Stories Start with Better Questions

Picture this: a senior stakeholder emails you and says, “Tell me everything we know about X.” Your instinct? Get moving. Start pulling numbers, building slides, crunching data. After all, being quick to act shows value, right? Not always. In the rush to deliver, we often skip the most important step: pausing. Asking why the question is being asked in the first place. Because the truth is, the quality of your insights, and the impact of your data story, depends far less on how fast you work, and far more on whether you’re answering the right question. In this post, we’ll explore what makes a great question, why it matters, and how just twenty minutes of reflection before you dive in can turn your analysis from information-heavy to insight-rich.

From “Aha” to action

Utilising storytelling to help stakeholders understand the insight is one thing, leveraging the story to drive accountability of the insight and to act is another. While creating a powerful and compelling data story can help you gain attention and land a clear insight message, in this blog post we will explore how to use your story as a catalyst for reflection, conversation, debate and action planning.

From Chaos to Clarity

Transforming how a team works starts with mindset, not tools or processes. In data-driven organizations, it's not enough to teach dashboard skills. The real shift happens when people think differently about using data to generate insights, when curiosity becomes a habit, and when data storytelling becomes second nature. In this blog post, we will explore the mindset required to build a data storytelling culture in your team.

From Slide Decks to Soundbites

Presenting your insights once and expecting widespread understanding or behavioural change is like running a single ad and assuming you've built a brand. It just doesn't work that way. In marketing, we know that it takes repeated, strategically placed messages—delivered in different formats and channels—to move someone from awareness to action. It’s the same with your data story. In this blog post, we will explore how to develop remarkable micro content that supports the data story to optimise reach and impact.