I loved the first book Magic of Metaphor, so for me to pick up More Magic of Metaphor was simply a matter of time. The second book continues the narrative from the first – the learning process between an apprentice and his mentor (but now it is between an apprentice and a magic carpet). If you are looking for coaching, leadership, or storytelling material then this book is something you should pick up. Nick has collected and shared with us a lot of wonderful, thought-provoking, and emotional stories that will make you think, laugh, or cry. The book is written in such a way that almost every story can be interpreted in more than one way, depending on what you are searching for. But in the end, the second book (More Magic of Metaphor) is not as good as the first book (Magic of Metaphor). If you are collecting stories as I am, then this is definitely a must-read for you.

The authors also did a very good job of implementing the storytelling aspect into presenting findings and insights. Many books that I have read about data analysis and presenting data talk about storytelling but provide mediocre at best examples, while Martin and Fabienne did a great job with their storytelling canvas. I also liked that they touched on the subject of delivering bad news, how to do that, and how to handle disagreements. If there has been no real in-depth reporting until now in a certain company, there will be a lot of disagreements with stakeholders that did their own reporting until now. I also liked that the authors guide you on what to do if you are at the other end of the analysis, the receiver. In that chapter, they provide you with the questions you should ask your data analyst on the data and the analysis methods that were used which provided those insights. Like I mentioned before the authors paint a full picture of what you can expect to encounter as a data analyst or as someone who is receiving insights from new analysis.

So if you find yourself in the role of a data analyst or someone who is getting reports and you want to be better at understanding and communicating about the whole process and its findings you should definitely pick up “How to Talk about Data”. If not anything else those questions you should ask your data analyst after the presentation are worth it as they get everyone in the meeting more involved. And just to rant a little bit, the part on statistics was not my favorite, but I understand it was a must to get the whole picture. All in all, Martin J. Eppler and Fabienne Bünzli have done a great job writing this book.

If you picked up this book please let me know what you think about it in the comment section.