Turning insights into action: The art of data communication
Proposed session for SQLBits 2026TL; DR
Learn how to design reports that matter and turn insights into action. This PreCon covers understanding your audience, creating impactful reports, and using storytelling and communication techniques to ensure long-term impact.
Session Details
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.
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.
3 things you'll get out of this session
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.
Speakers
Alexander Arvidsson's other proposed sessions for 2026
Invisible Insights: What Your Data Can't Tell You - 2026
Fabric FinOps - Cost Optimization for Fabric - 2026
Fabric in Perspective - Interfacing Fabric With the World Beyond - 2026
From SQL to Spark and Back Again - Spark and Python for SQL Users - 2026
Knee-Deep In Tech Live @ SQL Bits - 2026
No-Nonsense Business Data Modeling for Everyone - 2026
Undoing the Pretzel - Five Tips for Improving Your Body Language - 2026
AI Makes You Faster(?) - What LLMs Actually Are and Why It Matters - 2026
Alexander Arvidsson's previous sessions
Roche's Maxim of Data Transformation - By Example
Roche's Maxim of Data Transformation states that "data should be transformed as far upstream as possible, and as far downstream as necessary". Simple, powerful, and beautiful - but what does it really MEAN? Come find out through example.
Stand Fast - How Governance Can Save You a Fortune
Why is it that cloud projects often end up way more expensive than they should? The answer might surprise you: a lack of governance. Come learn how to turn governance from limitation to enablement.
Knee-Deep In Tech Live @ SQL Bits
Come be a part of the audience for a recording of an episode of Knee-Deep in Tech, a bi-weekly technology podcast!
The topic for this year's recording is:
Agile, DevOps; DataOps and all the other methods - help or hindrance?
The Untruthful Art - Five Ways of Misrepresenting Data
In this age of information it is imperative to be able to be able to clearly, simply and accurately explain and communicate sometimes complex data.
+5 Wisdom - Learn to Ask Better Questions to Solve the Right Problems
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Spell of Transmutation - Using Debezium to Transfer Realtime Data Changes to Event Hub
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Knee-Deep In Tech Live @ SQL Bits
Be part of a live audience recording of an episode of Knee-Deep in Tech!
Learning to Listen - Making the Most of Mentoring
Being a mentor or a mentee offer amazing opportunities but come with their own sets of challenges. We'll help you make the most of mentoring!
Valerie Junk
valeriejunk.nl
Valerie Junk's other proposed sessions for 2026
Dashboard Design - The icing on the cake - 2026
Get Creative with Power BI: Make these core visuals shine! - 2026
My Real-Time Intelligence Journey: From Power BI Data Visualization to Streaming Data - 2026
Power BI - This is Not an Art Project - 2026
Power BI Tables and Matrix Visuals: The Next Step - 2026
Data Literacy: Navigating Your Way to Data-Driven Success! - 2026
A structured approach to (Power BI) report creation - 2026
Valerie Junk's previous sessions
Visualizing Data for Non-Data Experts: Making Reports Accessible to All
Learn how to visualize data in a way accessible to everyone, regardless of their level of expertise. In this session, you will learn to identify your audience's needs, select the appropriate visualizations for your data, and present your findings clearly and concisely.
ADHD - Failing at normal (and dealing with a mind that needs stimulation to focus)
Experience and tips and tricks on how to (better) deal with the challenges going together with ADHD. And of course, also, how to use the “positive side effects” to your advantage during your career.