Turning Data Into Stories People Remember

Proposed session for SQLBits 2026

TL; DR

Learn how to turn raw data into stories that captivate. Using real examples, we’ll show you how to find insights, visualize them clearly, and craft narratives that make your audience care.

Session Details

Data is powerful, but on its own it rarely inspires action. In this session, we’ll take a real dataset of baby names from the U.S. Census Bureau and turn it into a story that grabs attention. You’ll learn how to find the most interesting insights, visualize them in ways that make sense, and weave them into a narrative that resonates with any audience. Whether your story feels like a history, a tragedy, or a thriller, you’ll leave knowing how to make your data speak in a way that people remember.

3 things you'll get out of this session

How to identify key insights in a dataset and choose what matters most. Practical techniques for visualizing data so it’s clear and engaging. A framework for building narratives that make data memorable and persuasive.

James McGillivray's other proposed sessions for 2026

5 Design Patterns for Better Looking Reports - 2026

From Ranking to Rolling Totals: Windowing Functions Explained - 2026

Seconds to Save Lives: Real World Real-Time Intelligence with Fabric - 2026

Solving Real Business Challenges with DAX - 2026

Super Simple Fabric Workloads Make You Feel Precocious - 2026

The Force Awakens: Charting Your Career Path with the Data Community - 2026

Understanding DAX Through Pictures - Part 1 - 2026

Understanding DAX Through Pictures - Part 2 - 2026

YMCA: You Must Consider Accessibility - 2026

James McGillivray's previous sessions

The Fundamentals of DAX Contexts

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Fabric Power Hour

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The Fundamentals of DAX Contexts

Understanding how DAX determines evaluation context is a critical skill for a Power BI Developer. Writing anything other than the most simple measures requires this skill. In this session we'll explore Filter Context and Row Context individually, and how they combine to form Evaluation Context. We'll have a look at a number of simple measures and visualise how the context affects them.

"Whats in a Name?", Data Stories to Impress the Bard

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Power BI Report Design for the Aesthetically Challenged

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