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Storytelling with You: Plan, Create, and Deliver a Stellar Presentation
Be heard. Change minds. Get people to act. (Inspire them to clap.) Whether presenting in a meeting, delivering a keynote on stage, or simply talking with your colleagues about your latest project, you play a critical role in how information is shared. You determine whether people engage, understand, and take action.
In storytelling with you , bestselling author and world-renowned speaker Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic prepares you to develop your story and deliver it with prowess. She unlocks the secrets that have propelled her from self-described introvert to sought-after presenter, distilling lessons learned into this immensely powerful and practical guide.
The journey starts by building the foundation for effective gaining understanding of your audience and message. You'll then learn to transform your ideas into compelling stories and illustrative content Once the materials are set, you'll turn your attention inward and explore strategies to hone your delivery and communicate with confidence, preparing you for exceptional meetings and knockout presentations.
Give your hard work a voice and amplify your impact by communicating in a way that makes people want to listen and respond— storytelling with you will help you do it.
In storytelling with you , bestselling author and world-renowned speaker Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic prepares you to develop your story and deliver it with prowess. She unlocks the secrets that have propelled her from self-described introvert to sought-after presenter, distilling lessons learned into this immensely powerful and practical guide.
The journey starts by building the foundation for effective gaining understanding of your audience and message. You'll then learn to transform your ideas into compelling stories and illustrative content Once the materials are set, you'll turn your attention inward and explore strategies to hone your delivery and communicate with confidence, preparing you for exceptional meetings and knockout presentations.
Give your hard work a voice and amplify your impact by communicating in a way that makes people want to listen and respond— storytelling with you will help you do it.
384 pages, Paperback
Published September 27, 2022
126 people are currently reading
3446 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 26, 2022
Being able to convey insights in a compelling and actionable way is a critical skill that is too often overlooked. In my field (data analytics), technical skills are sought after with little regard for the communication skills that actually bring a project to fruition. Perhaps this is because technical skills are relatively easy to master — you can attend a course, complete projects, and Google the answer to any problem. There is a clear path to becoming proficient in that skill. With this book, communication skills can be built in the same way.
The step-by-step process laid out in this book is an easy-to-follow guide to delivering your message. While the lessons require intentional effort to practice and hone (much like technical skills), the process is repeatable and full of tangible benefits. Each chapter is actionable, with real guidance that you can employ immediately. Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic expertly guides you through the steps to plan, create, and deliver your Big Idea. I feel more prepared to communicate my opinions because of this book, and encourage anyone who is interested in inspiring others to act, to read it as well.
The step-by-step process laid out in this book is an easy-to-follow guide to delivering your message. While the lessons require intentional effort to practice and hone (much like technical skills), the process is repeatable and full of tangible benefits. Each chapter is actionable, with real guidance that you can employ immediately. Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic expertly guides you through the steps to plan, create, and deliver your Big Idea. I feel more prepared to communicate my opinions because of this book, and encourage anyone who is interested in inspiring others to act, to read it as well.
September 22, 2022
This book covers an important topic that is often overlooked: planning and practicing your presentation delivery. If you cannot effectively communicate your ideas, you run the risk of them getting lost on your audience. This book is a practical guide to achieving confident, action-inspiring messages. Like her other books, Cole teaches us valuable skills via real-world examples and beautiful writing. Anyone who needs to inspire change should read this book!
September 23, 2022
I’ve been a reader of Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic’s work from the early 2010s, when her “storytelling with data” blog was one of the only accessible and practical sources of information about communicating clearly and persuasively with data. When the “storytelling with data” book came out, I bought it and recommended it to several colleagues, since it was filled with excellent tips and strategies for making charts and graphs actually meaningful to a general audience.
Eventually, in 2018, I got the chance to hear Cole speak live at a conference, and was bowled over by how engaging and compelling she was as a speaker…simply head and shoulders above the vast majority of presenters I’d seen before or since. Something about the confidence and presence in her speaking style, combined with the way she had organized and crafted the content, made for a memorable and motivational presentation.
In the years since, I’ve had the good fortune not only to see and hear Cole present on a variety of topics in different venues and environments, but also to learn directly from her how to become a better speaker myself. This book, “storytelling with you,” will be an incredible boon to anyone who also wants to be more persuasive and confident as a communicator, because it is a compilation of Cole’s years experience and knowledge on the topic, distilled into a single, approachable work. I can promise that the guidance and direction found in these pages, when put into practice, will pay handsome dividends, in terms of the impact that your communications will have.
These are lessons that apply whether or not your communications are data-heavy, by the way. Communicating effectively with data is certainly its own unique struggle; but to be fair, neither I nor many of my colleagues in 20+ years of working in analysis, design, and tech industries spent much time working on our presentation skills…much to our own detriment. How much more of the hard work we’d done would have been better received, and acted upon, if we had spent even a little bit more effort practicing how we’d present it for our intended audiences?
Technologies, tools, and even industries will come and go, but one thing remains eternal: human beings will always have to communicate with other human beings in order get things done. Learning and internalizing the lessons from books like “storytelling with you” will build up skills that will never become obsolete.
Eventually, in 2018, I got the chance to hear Cole speak live at a conference, and was bowled over by how engaging and compelling she was as a speaker…simply head and shoulders above the vast majority of presenters I’d seen before or since. Something about the confidence and presence in her speaking style, combined with the way she had organized and crafted the content, made for a memorable and motivational presentation.
In the years since, I’ve had the good fortune not only to see and hear Cole present on a variety of topics in different venues and environments, but also to learn directly from her how to become a better speaker myself. This book, “storytelling with you,” will be an incredible boon to anyone who also wants to be more persuasive and confident as a communicator, because it is a compilation of Cole’s years experience and knowledge on the topic, distilled into a single, approachable work. I can promise that the guidance and direction found in these pages, when put into practice, will pay handsome dividends, in terms of the impact that your communications will have.
These are lessons that apply whether or not your communications are data-heavy, by the way. Communicating effectively with data is certainly its own unique struggle; but to be fair, neither I nor many of my colleagues in 20+ years of working in analysis, design, and tech industries spent much time working on our presentation skills…much to our own detriment. How much more of the hard work we’d done would have been better received, and acted upon, if we had spent even a little bit more effort practicing how we’d present it for our intended audiences?
Technologies, tools, and even industries will come and go, but one thing remains eternal: human beings will always have to communicate with other human beings in order get things done. Learning and internalizing the lessons from books like “storytelling with you” will build up skills that will never become obsolete.
September 26, 2022
Cole's first book, Storytelling with data, forms the base for her 2nd and 3rd books (storytelling with data - let's practice & storytelling with you - which I just read :-)).
The 3 books combine to provide lessons, and those lessons ask us to focus on our audience and context. Help us to choose appropriate visuals, discuss the need to eliminate clutter from the slides, and sharpen the focus and attention of the audience bearing in mind the need to prevent your audience from trying to figure out your deck whilst not listening to your presentation. Finally, UI/UX followers will appreciate the authors' encouragement of us to think like a designer and tell a story. A strong theme through the 3 books.
Presentations can be tricky; without the Cole makeover, they are open to interpretation, and invariably different audience members will arrive at different takeouts from the standard run-of-the-mill bar, and pie charts often used. Creating a different presentation and explaining the story to the audience are demonstrated clearly in the books. You can practice with the 2nd book - Let's practice. Take time, read the lessons, think about previous visualization experiences, and read more. Then practice! Appreciate the difference between graphs for exploratory data analysis (EDA) and an explanatory graph. Learn how to prepare and give a big presentation with the final book ( Story Telling with You, Plan create and deliver )
I enjoyed and value the 3 purchases, which I often open and refer back to whilst doing data slides as part of my presentation decks. Was fortunate to get a pre-release copy of the last book, and it helped me greatly!
The 3 books combine to provide lessons, and those lessons ask us to focus on our audience and context. Help us to choose appropriate visuals, discuss the need to eliminate clutter from the slides, and sharpen the focus and attention of the audience bearing in mind the need to prevent your audience from trying to figure out your deck whilst not listening to your presentation. Finally, UI/UX followers will appreciate the authors' encouragement of us to think like a designer and tell a story. A strong theme through the 3 books.
Presentations can be tricky; without the Cole makeover, they are open to interpretation, and invariably different audience members will arrive at different takeouts from the standard run-of-the-mill bar, and pie charts often used. Creating a different presentation and explaining the story to the audience are demonstrated clearly in the books. You can practice with the 2nd book - Let's practice. Take time, read the lessons, think about previous visualization experiences, and read more. Then practice! Appreciate the difference between graphs for exploratory data analysis (EDA) and an explanatory graph. Learn how to prepare and give a big presentation with the final book ( Story Telling with You, Plan create and deliver )
I enjoyed and value the 3 purchases, which I often open and refer back to whilst doing data slides as part of my presentation decks. Was fortunate to get a pre-release copy of the last book, and it helped me greatly!
September 23, 2022
Not only does this book cover the art of delivering an effective presentation (this particular section I will re-read before any speaking engagement) but it starts right at the beginning, helping the reader to think about critical aspects to consider in the planning phase and then the crucial steps to creating the content that supports those ideas. Where previous titles from Cole concentrate mainly on communicating data more effectively, storytelling with you would appeal to anyone, in any industry, looking to sharpen their overall presentation skills.
September 27, 2022
My expectations
The book Storytelling with you by the same author had a great impact on my data visualization practice, and I was hoping that Storytelling with you would have the same impact on my presentation skills. I was very impressed with the apparent ease with which Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic speaks and presents her ideas in her webinars and podcasts. I was struck by reading that she is an introvert.
I was hoping to find some new material, such as in-depth examples of story structures, written in the same style as before, with concrete tips and examples.
What I did find
The presentation of market research results for a cereal bar was the example the author used throughout the book. It gave a better grasp of the concepts presented by the author and how they can be applied to your own context. There is even a final presentation recorded on youtube: It is a kind of augmented book in a way.
The author refers to the meta level, because preparing a presentation is partly abstract. I think that's an essential element, as in data visualization. We don't have to dive right into building a presentation, because researching the context and understanding our audience needs to happen before we even open our favorite slide generator.
The book contains many checklists, templates, and tips that cover planning, creating, and delivering a presentation. My favorites are:
* Creating horizontal logic: Having takeaway headings gives you the overall structure of the presentation.
* Using an alternative narrative structure (rather than the "selfish" linear path: context/problem > analysis > results) by identifying tensions (what went wrong or what could go wrong)
* How to create a master model from scratch
* What to avoid in a presentation and how to present yourself.
* A reminder that "Your slides support you, not the other way around".
Why buy this book?
The methodology in this book covers the entire cycle of planning, creating and executing a quality presentation. It is clearly written and presented, with both tips and a common thread example of how you can apply it.
You can apply what you learn in this book immediately. You don't have to read it cover to cover to start applying what you learn in the book. For example, in a work group, we used the Big Idea concept to kick off planning a presentation on data storytelling at a professional networking event.
The book also helped me change my perspective when preparing a presentation on the current status of a project: In particular, I added a call-to-action slide targeting the benefits my audience could gain from their involvement in the project.
As with storytelling with data, this is the kind of book I'll always have on hand and/or bookmarked, to refer to for tips on how to proceed.
The book Storytelling with you by the same author had a great impact on my data visualization practice, and I was hoping that Storytelling with you would have the same impact on my presentation skills. I was very impressed with the apparent ease with which Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic speaks and presents her ideas in her webinars and podcasts. I was struck by reading that she is an introvert.
I was hoping to find some new material, such as in-depth examples of story structures, written in the same style as before, with concrete tips and examples.
What I did find
The presentation of market research results for a cereal bar was the example the author used throughout the book. It gave a better grasp of the concepts presented by the author and how they can be applied to your own context. There is even a final presentation recorded on youtube: It is a kind of augmented book in a way.
The author refers to the meta level, because preparing a presentation is partly abstract. I think that's an essential element, as in data visualization. We don't have to dive right into building a presentation, because researching the context and understanding our audience needs to happen before we even open our favorite slide generator.
The book contains many checklists, templates, and tips that cover planning, creating, and delivering a presentation. My favorites are:
* Creating horizontal logic: Having takeaway headings gives you the overall structure of the presentation.
* Using an alternative narrative structure (rather than the "selfish" linear path: context/problem > analysis > results) by identifying tensions (what went wrong or what could go wrong)
* How to create a master model from scratch
* What to avoid in a presentation and how to present yourself.
* A reminder that "Your slides support you, not the other way around".
Why buy this book?
The methodology in this book covers the entire cycle of planning, creating and executing a quality presentation. It is clearly written and presented, with both tips and a common thread example of how you can apply it.
You can apply what you learn in this book immediately. You don't have to read it cover to cover to start applying what you learn in the book. For example, in a work group, we used the Big Idea concept to kick off planning a presentation on data storytelling at a professional networking event.
The book also helped me change my perspective when preparing a presentation on the current status of a project: In particular, I added a call-to-action slide targeting the benefits my audience could gain from their involvement in the project.
As with storytelling with data, this is the kind of book I'll always have on hand and/or bookmarked, to refer to for tips on how to proceed.
December 9, 2023
4.5 ⭐️ Similar to Storytelling with Data, I read this with my team as a biweekly work book club. There were so many practical, good insights and methods (some new, some reinforced). Cole has a way to make these topics engaging and digestible without being intimidating. My only complaint is that it was published in 2022 and there was very little on virtual presentations, which at least for me is the new normal.
September 28, 2022
“There is a tremendous amount of value to be obtained from work you are already doing that simply isn’t being communicated as effectively as it could be.”
Storytelling With You exists to help us close this gap. I love its premise that good public speaking is not simply a natural gift but a skill set that any of us can improve with dedicated preparation and practice.
About the author
Written by a self-identified introvert, this book provides extensive guidance for communicating well “in scenarios where you need to encourage someone to see something in a different light, take an action, or make a change.” The introduction identifies three examples of relevant use cases: business meetings, conference presentations, and keynote speeches. In addition, I found robustly useful advice in multiple chapters (especially 1. “consider your audience”, 8. “illustrate with images”, 9. “refine through practice”, and 11. “introduce yourself”) when preparing for job interviews.
The 12 chapters, organized in 3 coherent sections of plan, create, and deliver, are worth reading cover-to-cover, yet they can also be usefully sampled out of order. Either way, I agree with the reviewers who’ve noted they intend to revisit some parts before every presentation. For example, the reasons in chapter 3 for why we should “start low tech” are so compelling (yet the lure to dive right into digital design so strong) that I need to hear them repeatedly.
Options for ordering this book
For people already familiar with any of this book’s predecessors—the first Storytelling With Data (SWD) book in 2015, SWD: Let’s Practice! in 2019, the SWD podcast, or the SWD online community with its extensive library of exercises, blog posts, and other free resources for improving our data communications—Storytelling With You dives deeper into certain core SWD staples (e.g. The Big Idea worksheet) and reviews key principles with new examples (e.g. how to signpost visuals with words), but brings this familiar material together with a further wealth of fresh and highly practical tips.*
For people new to the work of Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic and her team, Storytelling With You is a great place to start. In addition to reviewing key principles from its “prequels” (particularly in chapters 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7) that help in preparing effective presentations, this new book includes links to free extras: relevant episodes from the SWD podcast plus online community exercises. (But there is one use case for which I would recommend also diving into the original two books ASAP: if you want to build better data-communications practices into your workplace team culture. Those are the sections bookmarked in my Kindle copies of each!)
About this new book
*As someone who has engaged with SWD extensively as one of my favorite learning communities over the past two years, I found unexpected, high-value guidance in this new book’s tips for making the most of the slide master (chapter 5) and how-tos for including photographs (chapter 8). The advice to practice aloud and record myself (chapter 9+) was the hardest and possibly most needed. On this side of our worldwide experiences since 2020, I also appreciated the attention in multiple chapters to both in-person and virtual engagement.
In closing, I heartily agree with Laszlo Bock’s comments about this book: “The best ideas in the world go nowhere unless you can get people excited about them.” Storytelling With You is “a must-read for anyone who wants to change minds … or change the world!”
If you can read and apply only one chapter before your next major presentation, definitely start with chapter 1. Because to change minds, we each need to practice Storytelling For Not-Me.
Storytelling With You exists to help us close this gap. I love its premise that good public speaking is not simply a natural gift but a skill set that any of us can improve with dedicated preparation and practice.
About the author
Written by a self-identified introvert, this book provides extensive guidance for communicating well “in scenarios where you need to encourage someone to see something in a different light, take an action, or make a change.” The introduction identifies three examples of relevant use cases: business meetings, conference presentations, and keynote speeches. In addition, I found robustly useful advice in multiple chapters (especially 1. “consider your audience”, 8. “illustrate with images”, 9. “refine through practice”, and 11. “introduce yourself”) when preparing for job interviews.
The 12 chapters, organized in 3 coherent sections of plan, create, and deliver, are worth reading cover-to-cover, yet they can also be usefully sampled out of order. Either way, I agree with the reviewers who’ve noted they intend to revisit some parts before every presentation. For example, the reasons in chapter 3 for why we should “start low tech” are so compelling (yet the lure to dive right into digital design so strong) that I need to hear them repeatedly.
Options for ordering this book
For people already familiar with any of this book’s predecessors—the first Storytelling With Data (SWD) book in 2015, SWD: Let’s Practice! in 2019, the SWD podcast, or the SWD online community with its extensive library of exercises, blog posts, and other free resources for improving our data communications—Storytelling With You dives deeper into certain core SWD staples (e.g. The Big Idea worksheet) and reviews key principles with new examples (e.g. how to signpost visuals with words), but brings this familiar material together with a further wealth of fresh and highly practical tips.*
For people new to the work of Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic and her team, Storytelling With You is a great place to start. In addition to reviewing key principles from its “prequels” (particularly in chapters 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7) that help in preparing effective presentations, this new book includes links to free extras: relevant episodes from the SWD podcast plus online community exercises. (But there is one use case for which I would recommend also diving into the original two books ASAP: if you want to build better data-communications practices into your workplace team culture. Those are the sections bookmarked in my Kindle copies of each!)
About this new book
*As someone who has engaged with SWD extensively as one of my favorite learning communities over the past two years, I found unexpected, high-value guidance in this new book’s tips for making the most of the slide master (chapter 5) and how-tos for including photographs (chapter 8). The advice to practice aloud and record myself (chapter 9+) was the hardest and possibly most needed. On this side of our worldwide experiences since 2020, I also appreciated the attention in multiple chapters to both in-person and virtual engagement.
In closing, I heartily agree with Laszlo Bock’s comments about this book: “The best ideas in the world go nowhere unless you can get people excited about them.” Storytelling With You is “a must-read for anyone who wants to change minds … or change the world!”
If you can read and apply only one chapter before your next major presentation, definitely start with chapter 1. Because to change minds, we each need to practice Storytelling For Not-Me.
September 28, 2022
As I read through Storytelling with You and its many examples, I quickly found myself considering how to apply Cole’s principles to my own work. Cole’s breadth of knowledge shines through in the various examples that truly help you grasp the content. She also implements one overarching case study to exhibit the various steps of planning a presentation in a real world setting that you can easily compare to your own.
Before reading Storytelling with You, I had no idea how much room for improvement there was with making my presentations more engaging and insightful for my audience.
Regardless of your field or industry, this is a book for anyone making presentations.
Before reading Storytelling with You, I had no idea how much room for improvement there was with making my presentations more engaging and insightful for my audience.
Regardless of your field or industry, this is a book for anyone making presentations.
March 15, 2025
Cole Knaflic is the best author I ever read for graphic presentations, and now for overall presentations. I cannot recommend it enough.
January 23, 2025
This is a great book that prepares you to develop your story & deliver it with prowess.
September 28, 2022
Cole’s books are thoughtful, accessible resources that help you improve your work in concrete ways, and Storytelling with You is no exception.
Her previous books have focused on how to find purpose and story within your data visualizations and communicate those clearly. This book takes a step further back: how do you take your data visualizations, research and storytelling, and weave it into an impactful live presentation?
As with Cole’s other books, this one does a great job breaking the process down into steps, so it feels straightforward and achievable. The book keeps you focused on the right things at the right time throughout the process.
She starts with the most important piece—figuring out who your audience is. From there she brings in approaches for crafting your message, story and structure. Only when you have this foundation set does she move on to best practices for how to use your tools to build content, visualizations and imagery, and finally strategies for refining your delivery and gaining confidence in presenting.
I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who needs to present persuasively to a live audience.
Her previous books have focused on how to find purpose and story within your data visualizations and communicate those clearly. This book takes a step further back: how do you take your data visualizations, research and storytelling, and weave it into an impactful live presentation?
As with Cole’s other books, this one does a great job breaking the process down into steps, so it feels straightforward and achievable. The book keeps you focused on the right things at the right time throughout the process.
She starts with the most important piece—figuring out who your audience is. From there she brings in approaches for crafting your message, story and structure. Only when you have this foundation set does she move on to best practices for how to use your tools to build content, visualizations and imagery, and finally strategies for refining your delivery and gaining confidence in presenting.
I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who needs to present persuasively to a live audience.
September 27, 2022
Storytelling with you is a great complement to another book by Cole, storytelling with data. It takes the visualization tips and pairs them with creating the whole story and delivering the presentation.
Storytelling with you gives a prescriptive and thoughtful approach to creating and delivering presentations. The techniques offered are easy to understand and applicable to many different types of roles and presentations.
This book is great for both the novice and seasoned presenter to develop or refine skills. The book helps the reader learn how to effectively focus their story on the audience and the Big Idea they are trying to get across. A must read for those who create presentations often or feel in a rut of regurgitating content without focused meaning.
Storytelling with you gives a prescriptive and thoughtful approach to creating and delivering presentations. The techniques offered are easy to understand and applicable to many different types of roles and presentations.
This book is great for both the novice and seasoned presenter to develop or refine skills. The book helps the reader learn how to effectively focus their story on the audience and the Big Idea they are trying to get across. A must read for those who create presentations often or feel in a rut of regurgitating content without focused meaning.
March 31, 2023
Storytelling with data is a renowned book that data persons probably see it in almost every must read data book lists. Storytelling with you is a third book of the series. The first one(white cover) is a foundation of how to apply the proper data visualization to a presentation either on a dashboard or a slide. Second book(navy cover), Storytelling with data: Let's practice is a workshop book that reads along with the first, and the third book(yellow cover), emphasizes the story backbone drafting techniques and presentation soft skill. You can deem the latter two books an extension but the first one is a must.
Storytelling with you guides the reader on how to craft a proper story line that sounds connected and convincing. The middle part is about the slide template, slide master(OH WOW they're talking about the slide master!), use title page template tips to split each section (sounds somehow normal but is actually useful!) Last part is presentation tips & tricks e.g. breathwork before you have a presentation, a dry run with internal people, go to the real place to practice, add significant hints or prompts in your page to remind you the key takes of that certain slide. To be honest, these tips & tricks are tough to find within a single source. They mostly scatter in each blog posts across the internet. Other presentation books e.g. Presentation Zen or speaking improvement books I read are written to fit salesperson readers or those who talk in public speaking event e.g. Ted Talk.
Hence this book fits for those who work in data industry. The content is rare to find given that most data books related to hard data skills instead of accentuating soft skills that data people may ignore. One last thing, I see the presentation case study is for higher level executives or for public speaking occasion as it presented just a big number and a very clean slide design. In reality, this principle might not be able to apply 100% as the audience may be the operational level. You can't just put a big number there. You may have to add an appendix or more numbers in depth in order to support your story.
In the end, it's a truly good book for presentation topic and if you already have read the first (or second book), why not finish this one?? 😎😎😎
Storytelling with you guides the reader on how to craft a proper story line that sounds connected and convincing. The middle part is about the slide template, slide master(OH WOW they're talking about the slide master!), use title page template tips to split each section (sounds somehow normal but is actually useful!) Last part is presentation tips & tricks e.g. breathwork before you have a presentation, a dry run with internal people, go to the real place to practice, add significant hints or prompts in your page to remind you the key takes of that certain slide. To be honest, these tips & tricks are tough to find within a single source. They mostly scatter in each blog posts across the internet. Other presentation books e.g. Presentation Zen or speaking improvement books I read are written to fit salesperson readers or those who talk in public speaking event e.g. Ted Talk.
Hence this book fits for those who work in data industry. The content is rare to find given that most data books related to hard data skills instead of accentuating soft skills that data people may ignore. One last thing, I see the presentation case study is for higher level executives or for public speaking occasion as it presented just a big number and a very clean slide design. In reality, this principle might not be able to apply 100% as the audience may be the operational level. You can't just put a big number there. You may have to add an appendix or more numbers in depth in order to support your story.
In the end, it's a truly good book for presentation topic and if you already have read the first (or second book), why not finish this one?? 😎😎😎
June 19, 2025
The book was easy to read, but not very inventive. Borrowed from work. Summary:
PLAN
Chapter 1: consider your audience: who they are, how you will connect with them, and the action they should take.
Chapter 2: craft your message: being clear and concise. Crafting your key message. Articulate your point of view and convey what’s at stake in a single sentence. 3 minute story: plot (context) - twist (new info) - ending (prefered action). The big idea: articulate your point of view - convey what’s at stake - complete sentence.
Chapter 3: compile the pieces: plan content. Brainstorming and editing and arranging ideas into a storyboard.
Chapter 4: form a story: the narrative arc and the importance of tension in communication.
CREATE
Chapter 5: set the style & structure: general design considerations & the framework for your presentation.
Chapter 6: say it with words: takeaway title and the power of words on their own as slide content.
Chapter 7: show data in graphs: visualizing data.
Chapter 8: illustrate with images: the use of photographs, illustrations, and diagrams, including common pitfalls to avoid.
DELIVER
Chapter 9: refine through practice: mastering your content & rehearse to ensure a smooth delivery. Get meaningful feedback to refine and improve.
Chapter 10: build your confidence: commanding the attention of a room, exuding confidence through what you do and say, including the effective use of body and voice to establish presence.
Chapter 11: introduce yourself
Chapter 12: have a stellar session
PLAN
Chapter 1: consider your audience: who they are, how you will connect with them, and the action they should take.
Chapter 2: craft your message: being clear and concise. Crafting your key message. Articulate your point of view and convey what’s at stake in a single sentence. 3 minute story: plot (context) - twist (new info) - ending (prefered action). The big idea: articulate your point of view - convey what’s at stake - complete sentence.
Chapter 3: compile the pieces: plan content. Brainstorming and editing and arranging ideas into a storyboard.
Chapter 4: form a story: the narrative arc and the importance of tension in communication.
CREATE
Chapter 5: set the style & structure: general design considerations & the framework for your presentation.
Chapter 6: say it with words: takeaway title and the power of words on their own as slide content.
Chapter 7: show data in graphs: visualizing data.
Chapter 8: illustrate with images: the use of photographs, illustrations, and diagrams, including common pitfalls to avoid.
DELIVER
Chapter 9: refine through practice: mastering your content & rehearse to ensure a smooth delivery. Get meaningful feedback to refine and improve.
Chapter 10: build your confidence: commanding the attention of a room, exuding confidence through what you do and say, including the effective use of body and voice to establish presence.
Chapter 11: introduce yourself
Chapter 12: have a stellar session
April 27, 2025
I’m a huge fan of Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic’s work, especially her classic Storytelling with Data. When I picked up Storytelling with You a couple of weeks before an important presentation, I wasn’t sure what new insights it would bring. But it turned out to be exactly what I needed.
While much of the narrative and storytelling theory was familiar, what makes this book superb is its focus on application. It doesn’t just explain the principles — it teaches you how to use them. The practical guidance, exercises, and examples helped me directly improve the structure, clarity, and impact of my presentation.
If you’re willing to apply the lessons from this book, I’m confident you’ll see a major improvement in the way you craft and deliver presentations. Storytelling with You is a truly valuable resource for anyone serious about communicating their ideas more effectively.
While much of the narrative and storytelling theory was familiar, what makes this book superb is its focus on application. It doesn’t just explain the principles — it teaches you how to use them. The practical guidance, exercises, and examples helped me directly improve the structure, clarity, and impact of my presentation.
If you’re willing to apply the lessons from this book, I’m confident you’ll see a major improvement in the way you craft and deliver presentations. Storytelling with You is a truly valuable resource for anyone serious about communicating their ideas more effectively.
March 31, 2024
This book is mainly for people who give high-stakes and/or large-audience presentations. I think it will be a great resource for those people, but that’s not me (at this time). There is still a ton of great information in the book for anyone who gives presentations or leads meetings.
I felt like the TRIX example was a decent way to illustrate the content, except I kept getting lost between the instruction and the application to the example.
The physical book is wonderfully printed (like Cole’s other books).
I felt like the TRIX example was a decent way to illustrate the content, except I kept getting lost between the instruction and the application to the example.
The physical book is wonderfully printed (like Cole’s other books).
June 30, 2024
Storytelling with You is an easy-to-read, practical guide to preparing presentations with slides. The author covers everything from brainstorming and storyboarding to delivery techniques and calming methods before presenting. While the book includes a plethora of details, I was expecting a more in-depth exploration of presenting without slides, given the title. Nonetheless, it remains a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their presentation skills.
March 18, 2025
This text was assigned for an IT communications course. I am not sure I would have encountered it without this context. This is a great introduction into using slides in a formal presentation setting. There were some useful tips and reminders for experienced presenters. I was pleasantly surprised by how quick and easy it was to read this. I would recommend it to anyone looking to brush up their presentation skills and improve their slide development.
June 25, 2023
Storytelling with Data sets the bar high. This book is for a quantitative person presenting a report once a month or less frequently than that. It tells you about the deep, thorough preparation, which might not be suitable for those who have report presentations more than once a week.
September 4, 2023
Solid book on oral presentations, probably the best out there (way better than Slideology or Presentation Zen).
October 4, 2024
for sticky notes fans; most of the content is own experiences, not backed by research or deep analysis
October 3, 2022
This is the definitive guide to helping you give presentations like a professional. Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic shares her experiences and those of other professionals. Cole provides step-by-step instructions for everything from planning your presentation well in advance to ensuring that your presentation is highly engaging. She offers helpful guidance on preparing for common questions posed by audiences and suggestions for staying focused and creating memorable presentations.
I have read all of this author's books and keep them by my side as reference guides. This book is just another stellar work by one of the most well-known experts in the field of data storytelling.
I have read all of this author's books and keep them by my side as reference guides. This book is just another stellar work by one of the most well-known experts in the field of data storytelling.
June 4, 2025
El que faltaba,
Volvemos a leerlo otra vez
Volvemos a leerlo otra vez
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