Excel for Data Storytellers
Excel data visualization course online or in person
The tool you use doesn’t matter much. Storytelling principles work in any software. But if Excel is your daily workspace, there’s a lot you can do to make your visuals cleaner and faster to build.
This workshop is a practical companion to Business Data Storytelling. In just two hours, I’ll show you the Excel formatting options and a few automation tricks I use all the time to create visuals for my own storytelling projects.
I’m not an “Excel trainer.” I’m a data storytelling trainer. And I’ll share my tips with you as one Excel user to another. By the end, you’ll know exactly how to make Excel work for your story, not the other way around.
Course Duration:
2 hours. It works perfectly as a follow-up to a data storytelling workshop or as a standalone webinar, and it’s especially well-suited to an online format.
Who Should Attend:
If visualizing data in Excel is part of your job, this workshop is for you.
Prerequisites:
Lack of experience in data visualization with Excel? Not an issue. This workshop is perfectly tailored for beginners.
Languages:
We can do the workshop in Czech or English - your choice.
Where & How:
Online: MS Teams, Zoom, or whatever platform you like.
In-Person: I can come to your office in Prague, anywhere in the Czech Republic, or nearby countries like Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Germany, or Austria. And if you’re further away? No problem, I’m happy to travel.
Excel for Data Storytellers Course Syllabus
Laying the Foundations
1. Data storytelling process
Revisit the key principles of data storytelling to see how they apply in Excel.
Designing Your Visuals
2. Choosing the right chart
Learn how to create and change chart types, work with combo charts, and select only the data you need.
3. Decluttering your charts
Learn how to quickly add or remove chart elements and avoid relying on default settings.
4. Formatting axes and legends
Learn how to change axis scale and units, format labels and titles, and adjust the axis line itself.
5. Formatting data series and points
Learn to format entire data series or individual points; adjust column width, column gap, line width, color, and other parameters.
6. Working with labels and markers
Learn how to add, remove, and format data labels and markers, either all at once or only selected ones.
Working Smarter
7. Advanced conditional formatting
Automate visual styling for frequently updated charts, and learn tricks for automatically highlighting what’s important.
8. Formatting titles and comments
Add titles and short narratives using text boxes or data labels.
Putting It into Practice
9. Hands-on exercises
Apply the formatting techniques in a group exercise and then in individual practical Excel tasks.
10. Advanced tips and Q&A
Wrap up with pro tips, and bring your own questions and challenges.
