Turning insights into action: The art of data communication

Data is everywhere, but how do you turn insights into action? In this full-day PreCon, we will focus on both creating reports that matter, as well as explore how to use them to truly drive decisions. We will start by understanding your audience: who they are, what decisions they need to make, and how to design reports that not only resonate with them but also ensure they give your audience the information they need to make decisions. Next, we will look at how to create impactful reports, structure dashboards and apply effective data visualization to help your audience understand the insights.

We will then explore how to sell your insights through storytelling techniques and the psychology of communication. It's not just about the data; it's about how you present it to make it matter to your audience - to truly drive decisions. Good presentation and delivery skills are the difference between a report that looks nice - or a report that can change the world.

Finally, we will cover how to make sure your reports continue to drive action over time, assisting users in interpreting and acting on data for lasting impact.

Structure of the Workshop:

1) Getting started: Understanding the audience
- Who is the end user? (Using the storytelling canvas)
- What decisions need to be made?
- Common pitfalls when getting to know your end user.

2) Make it shine: Creating reports that matter
- Structuring reports.
- Effective data visualization.

3) Selling it: Communicating insights effectively
- Storytelling techniques
- The psychology behind effective communication.
- How to build a strong narrative in a report.
- Presentation & delivery skills (this is where you and your report shine!).

4) Make it stick: Ensuring long-term impact
- Helping users interpret and act on data.
- How to stay relevant over time.

By the end of this PreCon, you’ll have the tools and techniques to not only design powerful Power BI reports but also turn them into actionable insights that drive decisions. It’s not just about the visuals, it’s about how to use data to tell a story that sticks and makes a real impact on your business.

Understanding what your audience actually needs and how to design for the actions they want to take.
Practical skills to build clear, structured, action-driven Power BI reports that lead to action.
A concrete approach to presenting insights so people understand them and act on them.

Attendees will get the most out of this session if they have a basic understanding of Power BI (loading data, building simple visuals, creating basic DAX). Having an example report or dashboard from their own organisation in mind can be helpful, as it would allow them to reflect on the current report choices during the exercises (but we have examples).
We provide all the additional material, so no laptops are needed!