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The Presentation Boss Podcast

The Presentation Boss Podcast

Presentation Boss 97 Episodes Nov 3, 2026

The Presentation Boss Podcast is dedicated to the art and skill of technical presentations. Hosts Kate Norris and Thomas Krafft share tips, tools, and strategies from their professional experience, and interview other experts to help listeners present with clarity and confidence. The show covers topics for first-time speakers as well as those looking to refine their skills.

Episodes

Brent Dykes on Effective Data Storytelling in the Age of AI
Brent Dykes on Effective Data Storytelling in the Age of AI Nov 3, 2026 00:58:43 What does effective data storytelling look like in a world where AI can analyse data, create charts and even build presentations for us?In this episode, we’re joined by Brent Dykes, author of Effective Data Storytelling; one of our favourite books on the subject and a major influence on how we teach data communication.We explore how data storytelling has evolved since Brent wrote his book in 2020,
Breakdown: Tim Minchin - Nine Life Lessons
Breakdown: Tim Minchin - Nine Life Lessons Oct 27, 2026 00:29:16 Tim Minchin is a brilliant comedian, musician and writer. Solet’s take a look at how he handles a commencement speech.In this episode, Kate and Thomas break down Minchin's 2013commencement address at the University of Western Australia, where he sharesnine life lessons wrapped in clever humour, rapid-fire metaphors, and genuinethoughtfulness.There's plenty to admire about this speech, part
Three Steps to Ensure Your Audience Understands Your Charts
Three Steps to Ensure Your Audience Understands Your Charts Oct 20, 2026 00:32:28 Ever presented a chart that made perfect sense to you, only to discover later on that your audience didn't understand it?When you've spent hours analysing data, it's easy to forget that your audience hasn't. What looks obvious to you might require a surprising amount of effort for someone seeing it for the first time. And they probably won't tell you that they don’t understand!
Katrina Roberts on Why Comfort Comes Before Speaking Confidence
Katrina Roberts on Why Comfort Comes Before Speaking Confidence Oct 13, 2026 00:57:57 She’s back! Seven years after joining us in season one, voice and speech coach Katrina Roberts returns to challenge some of the conventional quick-wins-based wisdom about becoming a better speaker and presenter.What if trying harder to look confident, remembering to gesture, and concentrating on your speaking technique is actually making you a worse communicator?Katrina shares how being a better s
Breakdown: Hans Rosling - Religion and babies
Breakdown: Hans Rosling - Religion and babies Oct 6, 2026 00:35:25 We've waited at least seven years to do this presentation breakdown! Hans Rosling is one of the pioneers of data storytelling, and his 2012 TEDx Summit talk "Religion and Babies" is one of our all-time favourites.On paper, this presentation probably shouldn't work. It tackles religion, fertility, population growth, and income. He uses a complex bubble plot with multiple (it must
Choose Your Chart: The Best Graphs for a Data Story
Choose Your Chart: The Best Graphs for a Data Story Sep 29, 2026 00:24:14 There are loads of graph types available. But which to use? Which actually help you explain an insight clearly to an audience?In this episode, Kate and Thomas look at the graph types that are particularly good for explaining data, along with some of the common alternatives we frequently see that aren't always best suited to the job. It’s first step of the StoryChart process: Choose Your Chart.
Rob McDonald on Safety Reporting; from KPIs to Conversations
Rob McDonald on Safety Reporting; from KPIs to Conversations Sep 22, 2026 00:46:49 In this expert guest episode, we're joined by Rob McDonald, better known as Safety Rob! We talk about what happens when safety decisions become disconnected from the people actually doing the work. Rob has spent decades in workplace health and safety, including experiencing serious incidents himself, and argues that effective safety communication starts by getting away from the desk, asking better
Breakdown: Ben Wellington - How we found the worst place to park in NYC
Breakdown: Ben Wellington - How we found the worst place to park in NYC Sep 15, 2026 00:31:13 In this breakdown, Kate and Thomas watch Ben Wellington's TEDx talk from 2014. It's a brilliant example of data storytelling in action, with Ben consistently giving his audience a reason to care before revealing the detail behind the data.The talk explores what happens when you give a curious data person access to thousands of datasets about New York City. But also looks at the challenge o
The Three Ways We Get Data Storytelling Wrong
The Three Ways We Get Data Storytelling Wrong Sep 8, 2026 00:35:27 You've analysed the data. You've built the charts. You've put them in front of your audience. So why aren't they getting it?In this episode, we explore the Data Journey, a simple way of understanding what needs to happen between raw information and an audience. We unpack the important distinction between exploring data to understand it yourself, and explaining it so somebody else c
Nicky Jurd on Explaining Tech Without Making People Feel Dumb
Nicky Jurd on Explaining Tech Without Making People Feel Dumb Sep 1, 2026 00:53:53 It’s an easy trap to fall into. When you know your topic, and trying to explain that to someone who doesn’t. How do you do it without making them feel silly, overwhelmed or condescended to?This week we're joined by Nicky Jurd; digital strategist, business owner, self-described friendly and approachable geek, and quite possibly one of the nicest humans we know.We talk about patience, jargon, au
Breakdown: Roman Mars - Why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you've never noticed
Breakdown: Roman Mars - Why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you've never noticed Aug 25, 2026 00:36:16 Get your favourite flag ready as we break down one of Thomas' all-time favourite TED Talks. We're watching "Roman Mars: Why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you've never noticed". And yes, it's a talk about flags. But it's also a masterclass in taking a topic your audience doesn't think they care about and making it fascinating. Kate was cautious to begin with, but by the end, gave it a
The Six Elements of Influential Workplace Presentations
The Six Elements of Influential Workplace Presentations Aug 18, 2026 00:25:38 Too many presentations begin by opening PowerPoint, or thinking about the most interesting pieces of information. And that’s exactly the wrong place to start if you want to be influential. It's possible to have great data, solid analysis and polished slides, then finish your presentation with "thanks, that was interesting" and watch absolutely nothing happen.In this episode, Kate and Thomas unpack

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