# Data Storytelling with Excel Course (Self-Paced)

Canonical URL: <https://www.graduateschool.edu/courses/data-storytelling-with-excel-course-self-paced>

## Overview

Data means nothing if you can't communicate it clearly. In this hands-on one-day course, you'll explore the principles behind effective data visualization, including how audiences perceive charts, what makes a story land, and how to choose the right visual for your message. You'll build practical Excel skills covering data discovery, sorting, filtering, Pivot Tables, and Pivot Charts, then apply them to real datasets through 14 case studies spanning duplicate analysis, Benford's Law, stratification, and more. You'll also learn how to spot and how to avoid deceptive chart techniques, and how to use AI tools responsibly to sharpen your analysis. Walk away with a repeatable process for turning raw data into clear, decision-ready stories.

## What you'll learn

- Tell the difference between raw data, useful information, and a true data story
- Apply visual perception and Gestalt design principles to evaluate any chart
- Choose the right visualization (bar, line, geographic, correlation, and more) for your audience and message
- Spot and avoid deceptive chart techniques such as axis tricks and omitted data
- Perform data discovery and integrity checks in Excel
- Build Pivot Tables and Pivot Charts to summarize transactional data
- Apply practical analytics techniques — duplicate analysis, stratification, Benford's Law, and sampling
- Use AI tools responsibly to confirm and refine a data story

## Curriculum

#### Module 1: Foundations — Data, Stories, and Audience

- Identify what makes a data story work and distinguish data from information
- Recognize internal and external data sources and understand how data flows across the internet
- Apply audience analysis and learning style awareness to tailor your data story

#### Module 2: Reading and Perceiving Visualizations

- Interpret a range of chart types including bar, heat map, KPI, stacked, and drilldown visualizations
- Apply visual perception principles — order, hierarchy, clarity, and convention — to evaluate any chart
- Use Gestalt principles, emphasis, and annotation to guide audience attention

#### Module 3: Building Effective Visualizations

- Select the appropriate visualization type for comparative, time series, correlation, and geographic data
- Use color intentionally and avoid common deceptive chart techniques
- Follow a step-by-step process for building a data story using the analytics value chain

#### Module 4: Excel for Data Discovery and Analysis

- Perform data discovery and integrity checks to qualify data before analysis
- Use AutoSum, sorting, filtering, and math functions to explore datasets
- Build Pivot Tables and Pivot Charts to summarize and visualize transactional data

#### Module 5: AI, Data Quality, and Applied Case Studies

- Use AI tools and prompting best practices to confirm and refine a data story
- Apply data quality principles and joining techniques to prepare datasets for analysis
- Complete hands-on case studies covering duplicate analysis, stratification, Benford's Law, sampling, and analysis automation

## Instructors

### Steve Pesklo — Instructor

Steve is an energetic trainer who focuses on applying technical concepts to everyday work practices. He is the founder and president of SoftLake Solutions, a company that specializes in providing data and AI applications to identify fraud for Internal Audit, Criminal Investigations, Forensic Accounting, Privacy, and Compliance.

Steve brings a large amount of experience across multiple industries and government agencies. He is an expert in implementing large data analysis projects across the world, including Inland Revenue in the UK and Argentina, New Zealand, Africa and across Europe. Previously, he was the manager of Data Architecture and Data Services for a large mortgage company. He is a frequent speaker on data analytics and project management topics and speaks fluent German. He has been teaching at the Graduate School for over 10 years.

Steve has an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas and a B.S. in Computer Science from California Lutheran University and the Universität Salzburg in Austria. He is certified as a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Project Management Professional (PMP), and a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM).

## Pricing

**Tuition:** $399