Originally posted on LinkedIn.

When Alberto Cairo asked me to create a course for Open Visualization Academy, my first reaction was excitement. The second was doubt.

I wondered if I was actually good enough to do this. Whether I really knew enough about telling stories with data to stand in front of others and explain it.

That doubt had consequences. I overthought a lot. I went down rabbit holes. I read far more than I had planned to. I kept revising things and ended up submitting the material later than I should have. Being on camera, it turns out, is also harder than it looks.

But the process forced me to pause and reflect on something I rarely have time to do while running Revisual Labs: what have I actually learned about telling stories with data over the years?

The course that emerged is a set of lectures on that craft. Most of it focuses on fundamentals: how we think about stories in the first place, and the process of what it takes to finally get something out into the world. Some ideas are things I’ve spoken about before. Others are new, and some evolved while putting the course together.

Interestingly, in a moment where everyone is talking about AI, (barring one video) this course barely mentions it.

The course is out today. Please take a look. Please DM your feedback (both kind and critical).

P.S. Many of you have messaged me over the years asking why I don’t do a public course. This one is public. And free.

Take the course: The craft of building stories with data