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University of Maryland, College Park

Storytelling and Persuading with Data and Digital Technology

University of Maryland, College Park via Coursera

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Overview

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Turn data into decisions that move your organization forward. In this course, you’ll learn how to transform your business into a true “decision factory” — where analytics, data products, and digital technologies drive smarter choices, stronger alignment, and greater impact. Through practical frameworks and hands-on insights, you’ll discover how to combine data storytelling, foresight, and scenario planning to improve the quality and speed of decision-making. You’ll learn how to identify your organization’s key decisions, map data needs, and build processes for reliable, evidence-based choices — even when information is incomplete or ambiguous. You’ll also explore the latest trends shaping digital transformation, including the rise of low-code/no-code analytics, AI, and robotic process automation (RPA). By the end of the course, you’ll be ready to lead with data, design better decisions, and help your organization compete in today’s fast-changing digital landscape.

Syllabus

  • Week 1 Using Data in Your Stories
    • Begin with the fundamentals of storytelling and learn how to apply the And‑But‑Therefore (ABT) framework to craft compelling narratives. Explore methods for selecting and integrating the right data to strengthen your story’s impact.
  • Week 2 Building Good Data Presentations
    • Build effective and visually engaging data presentations. Discover the principles of strong presentation design, apply insights from neuroscience to improve retention, and learn best practices for creating persuasive online presentations.
  • Week 3 Using Data for Persuasion
    • Examine the art of persuasion and apply the Elegant Pitch tool to design impactful proposals. Gain strategies for recovering from unsuccessful pitches and helping decision‑makers reach a “yes” through self‑persuasion.
  • Week 4 Customer Training
    • Explore how customer education drives success in data‑driven organizations. Learn to design customer training programs and leverage data storytelling techniques to help clients and users get the most value from analytics products.
  • Final Exam

Taught by

William A. Brantley

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Reviews

4.7 rating, based on 9 Class Central reviews

5 rating at Coursera based on 10 ratings

Start your review of Storytelling and Persuading with Data and Digital Technology

  • Anonymous
    this is a very good course. I highly appreciate the lecturers. Highly recommend anyone with weak presentation skill to enroll this course
  • Anonymous
    This course storytelling persuading with data and digital technology was exactly what I needed to bridge the gap between technical analysis and compelling communication, to tell stories that drive action and solve real life problems.

    The content was thoughtfully organized, The examples were drawn from real business cases, making the concepts easy to apply.

    The instructor had a clear, engaging delivery style and emphasized clarity, simplicity, and purpose in design. I especially appreciate the focusing attention where it matters.
  • Anonymous
    It is comprehensive. Practical and full of tools and techniques that can be put to use immediately. It was a lot of practical, good practice learning! Thank you!
  • Tolulope Kehinde OTASANYA
    This course was a transformative experience for me looking at how to harness the power of data in my narratives. During the course, I delved into the art of crafting compelling stories backed by data. The course introduces the ABT ("And, But, There…
  • Anonymous
    This course enabled me to better master the techniques for using data to drive decision-making. Working in the Polio program involving various actors at the global level, this course was for me a discovery of practical techniques and frameworks to refine the program narrative and lead to decision making. The techniques and model for developing the education and training program will also be applied to fine-tune training materials for country and regional offices.

  • Anonymous
    The course exciting, easy to understand. I gain various basic and useful khnowledge related to the title of the course.
  • Anonymous
    This is an interesting course I must say detailing the different structure and framework of storytelling with data. The only feedback I have is that it would be nice to incorporate samples of written data stories/articles as well as presentations so the student can relate with them. Also engaging the learners in ontime practice ( ie writing data stories or crafting presentations ) will go a long way to help them master the concept.
  • Hugo Freitas
    Overall interesting and concise presentation.
    Personally not a huge fan of the slides design, I was expecting more from a presentation about presentations.
    Despite that, it's very easy to follow this course as it is well structured.
  • Anonymous
    This course was informative and helpful. I liked the instructor and he was able to provide examples that helped illustrate the concepts. The only piece of feedback I have for the course is some of the additional material links did not function, however there were plenty to choose from.
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