Data Viz Today

Alli Torban

Helping you become a more effective information designer. You want to create effective data visualizations. That's hard work. There are so many decisions to make, like chart type, annotations, and color! Will this podcast help? Host and fellow data viz designer Alli Torban is in the trenches with you. She shares the latest tools and methods that she's discovered while on the job and interviewing top designers. If you're an analyst, journalist, or designer who wants to hone your skills with specific tactics, then this show could be just what you need.

  1. 100!!! Pick your dataviz aggregation by asking: What's the decision? — Featuring Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic & Mike Cisneros

    12/18/2025

    100!!! Pick your dataviz aggregation by asking: What's the decision? — Featuring Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic & Mike Cisneros

    When it comes to aggregating your data in your charts, it's hard to know what's overkill and what your reader actually needs. Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic and Mike Cisneros have an interesting approach where they want you to start with thinking about your audience and what decisions they need to make based on the chart, and anchor yourself there first. Then the design decisions become easier after that. It's a really practical chat, so I hope you enjoy it. Let's get to the show! Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/100

    30 min
  2. 99: You Can Make Better BANs! — Featuring Steve Wexler

    11/20/2025

    99: You Can Make Better BANs! — Featuring Steve Wexler

    Have you ever thrown a giant number at the top of your dashboard and hoped it did… something? Steve Wexler (yes, the guy who coined the term BAN, or Big Ass Number) joins me to teach you how to turn those big numbers into meaningful, context-rich moments that will make your user celebrate or panic (in a useful way!). Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/99

    22 min
  3. 98: How to Hold Your Own in Stakeholder Discussions (even as a novice) — Featuring Bill Shander

    09/30/2025

    98: How to Hold Your Own in Stakeholder Discussions (even as a novice) — Featuring Bill Shander

    In this episode, I'm joined by Bill Shander to talk about how to hold your own in stakeholder discussions in dataviz projects, even if you're just starting out. He shares practical techniques from his new book Stakeholder Whispering, including how to build credibility, ask better questions, and stay grounded when opinions fly. If you've ever felt overwhelmed in a stakeholder meeting, this one's for you. Let's go! Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/98

    31 min
  4. 97: How to Land Your First Data Job with the SPN Method — Featuring Avery Smith

    09/22/2025

    97: How to Land Your First Data Job with the SPN Method — Featuring Avery Smith

    In this episode, I'm joined by Avery Smith to talk about how to actually land a data job right now without getting ghosted by resume bots. He shares his SPN method: Skills, Portfolio, Networking. We get into how to build just enough skills, why personal projects matter way more than you think, and how to reach out without being weird. If you're job hunting (or might be soon), this one's for you. Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/97

    38 min
  5. 96: NEXT QUESTION: A New Game to Hone Your Data Storytelling Expertise — Featuring Kat Greenbrook

    12/03/2024

    96: NEXT QUESTION: A New Game to Hone Your Data Storytelling Expertise — Featuring Kat Greenbrook

    In this episode, I'm trying out a brand-new game called Next Question to help you sharpen your data storytelling skills by exploring the kinds of clarifying questions experts ask when facing challenges. I'm joined by Kat Greenbrook, author of The Data Storyteller's Handbook, and together we tackle real-world scenarios and share what questions we'd ask to steer data storytelling projects in the right direction. Show notes Grab a copy of my book Chart Spark

    53 min
  6. 95: You Need to Try Something New to Be Someone New

    05/29/2024

    95: You Need to Try Something New to Be Someone New

    In this episode, I share the introduction of my book, Chart Spark, to inspire you to take the first steps towards a more fulfilling career, whether you're trying to transition into dataviz or integrate more creativity into your work. I'll redefine what creativity means, share why you need it in your dataviz work, show you how to cultivate a powerful creative practice, and finally, I share my personal story of having a fractured career at age 30 and turning it all around — including what everyone's calling the oh-so-relatable "trash can story".  Grab a copy of my new book Chart Spark — available in paperback, ebook, pdf, or audiobook. If you think the book deserves a review, I'd be so grateful if you shared your favorite part in an Amazon or Goodreads review 🙏🙏🙏 Need a team workshop? Read more about my Impactful and Innovative Data Communication 3-hour workshop that will increase the effectiveness of your team's data communication to guide decisions and spark innovation. Invite me to speak at your conference, event, or to you team! Join my newsletter

    20 min
  7. 94: How to Give More Confident Data Presentations (even if you're an introvert) — Featuring Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

    04/18/2024

    94: How to Give More Confident Data Presentations (even if you're an introvert) — Featuring Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

    There's no way around it: If you can speak confidently about your dataviz work to other people, you'll make a bigger impact. But you're shy, nervous, an introvert, and not a natural speaker! That's ok. You CAN learn this skill. Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, a data storytelling expert, best-selling author, and CEO of Storytelling with Data, joins us today to share how to identify and fix those pesky presentation nerves so you can finally have the impact you want. Let's go! Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/94 Cole's best-selling books including Storytelling with You: https://www.storytellingwithdata.com/books My book Chart Spark: https://www.chartsparkbook.com

    47 min
  8. 93: How to Leverage Sports Analytics for a Standout Dataviz Portfolio — Featuring Shri Khalpada

    03/29/2024

    93: How to Leverage Sports Analytics for a Standout Dataviz Portfolio — Featuring Shri Khalpada

    Are you looking for ways to make your work stand out in a crowded industry, like sports? Or maybe looking for a topic with pretty clean data to create a portfolio project? In today's episode, we're chatting with Shri Khalpada, a D.C. area creative coder and Principal Software Engineer at Cleaning the Glass, which is an NBA analytics website founded by Ben Faulk that's available to the public and also has more robust tools for NBA teams. Shri shares how he increased his chances of landing a coveted sports analytics job, and a few lessons he's learned working with sports data that can be applied to any dataviz job. Let's go! Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/93 Grab my book Chart Spark, which has NINE prompts to help you be more innovative in your data communication: https://www.chartsparkbook.com If you think the book deserves a review, I'd be so grateful if you shared your favorite part in an Amazon or Goodreads review 🙏🙏🙏 Sponsor: Data Elixir newsletter! https://dataelixir.com

    34 min
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About

Helping you become a more effective information designer. You want to create effective data visualizations. That's hard work. There are so many decisions to make, like chart type, annotations, and color! Will this podcast help? Host and fellow data viz designer Alli Torban is in the trenches with you. She shares the latest tools and methods that she's discovered while on the job and interviewing top designers. If you're an analyst, journalist, or designer who wants to hone your skills with specific tactics, then this show could be just what you need.

Information

  • Creator
    Alli Torban
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2025
  • Episodes
    112
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Alli Torban
  • Show Website
    Data Viz Today

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