Practical Charts for Finance Teams to Turn Data Visuals into Strategic Tools with Nick Desbarats

In this episode, host Paul Barnhurst is joined by Nick Desbarats, a data visualisation expert, bestselling author, and independent educator, to discuss data visualisation. Nick talks about the skills needed to create effective charts, how to avoid common mistakes, and the importance of understanding the "job" of a chart. He shares his journey from software executive to becoming an authority in the field and explains why the true skill of visualising data goes beyond knowing the software.

Nick is the author of Practical Charts (Amazon #1 New Release) and the upcoming Practical Dashboards. He has taught thousands of professionals globally, including teams at NASA, Bloomberg, Visa, the United Nations, Shopify, and more. He is also the first educator authorised by Stephen Few to teach his foundational data visualisation workshops.

Expect to Learn:

1. Why understanding the "job" of a chart is more important than the data itself
2. The key skills needed for creating effective charts
3. Common mistakes in data visualisation and how to avoid them
4. Why empathy for your audience is crucial when designing visuals
5. How to decide when to use default charts vs. creating custom visuals

Here are a few relevant quotes from the episode:

1. “The real job of a chart is to serve people, not the software.” – Nick Desbarats
2. “Data visualisation is not about the tool, it’s about the message you want to convey.” – Nick Desbarats

Nick Desbarats shared valuable insights on creating effective data visualisations, emphasizing the importance of understanding the purpose behind each chart. He highlighted key skills, common mistakes, and the need for empathy with your audience.

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Explore Campfire today: https://campfire.ai/?utm_source=fpaguy_podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=100225_fpaguy

Follow Nick:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickdesbarats/

Company: https://www.practicalreporting.com/

Earn Your CPE Credit

For CPE credit please go to earmarkcpe.com, listen to the episode, download the app, and answer a few questions and earn your CPE certification. To earn education credits for FPAC Certificate, take the quiz on earmark and contact Paul Barnhurst for further details.

In Today’s Episode

[03:33] – Nick’s Background

[05:32] – Key Skills for Data Visualisation Experts

[09:50] – Executive to Data Viz Educator

[12:35] – Book Recommendations

[19:35] – Moving Beyond “It Depends”

[26:08] – Common Finance Chart Mistakes

[34:13] – The Pie Chart Dilemma

[37:54] – AI in Data Visualisation

[45:56] – Chart Type Selection Skills

[58:30] – Final Wrap-up