183| AI, Data & Design: How to Tell Better Stories with Your Numbers (with Bill Shander)

In this episode of Million Dollar Flip Flops, Rodric sits down with Bill Shander — information designer, data storyteller, LinkedIn Learning instructor, and author of Stakeholder Whispering.If you’ve ever:Crushed your team with bullet-heavy PowerPointsWatched people’s eyes glaze over when you show a data tableThought “Yeah… I kind of know what this spreadsheet means”Or worried how AI is about to crash-land into your industry…this conversation is going to land.Bill has spent 30+ years helping organizations turn complex data into clear, visual stories that real humans actually understand — from giant consulting firms and governments to nonprofits and corporates in every vertical. Now he mostly teaches that craft and helps people communicate better with data.Together, we dive into:📊 What an information designer actually does🧠 Why our brains struggle with tables but instantly “get” charts🧵 How data storytelling works (and why we forget to tell stories when numbers appear)🧩 The universal problem: everyone has data; almost no one communicates it well💼 Why “everyone” is Bill’s client — HR, finance, marketing, analytics, government, NGOs & more📘 His book Stakeholder Whispering and why “Uncover what people need before doing what they ask” is the whole game🔍 The danger of taking stakeholder requests at face value (“We need blue buttons!”)❓ Using 5 Whys and better conversations to discover the real need🎨 Why everyone is a designer (yes, even accountants) because everything is a user experience🤖 Bill’s very grounded concerns about AI:Not “Terminator”…But short–medium term disruption, chaos, and an unprepared society🧬 What makes us meaningfully different from AI:EmpathyCuriosityDiscernmentStakeholder whispering and asking better questions🧰 How to survive and thrive in an AI world by doubling down on human skills💡 Why you should think of yourself as an experience designer in whatever work you doIf you create presentations, reports, dashboards, or anything where people need to understand data — this episode will help you reframe how you build and share them.🔑 Key TakeawaysData isn’t the point. Meaning is. Your audience doesn’t need all the numbers; they need the story behind the numbers.Tables are for storage. Charts are for humans. We think we understand tables. Research says otherwise. Visuals win almost every time.Stakeholders rarely ask for what they truly need. “Make the button blue” ≠ the real requirement. Ask why, then ask why again.Everything you create is a user experience. Slides, dashboards, emails, reports, a simple graphic — they all create emotional responses.AI is powerful, but it’s not a discernment engine. It reacts to prompts. Humans decide what should be done and why.Your unfair advantage in an AI world is your humanity. Empathy, curiosity, big-picture thinking, and meaningful conversations will only become more valuable.⏱ Suggested Timestamps(Adjust to your final edit as needed.)0:00 – “I am concerned about AI…” 0:18 – Intro – Million Dollar Flip Flops 1:00 – Meet Bill Shander: information designer & what that actually means 1:40 – Why visualizing data (charts, maps, flowcharts) makes everything click 2:10 – Humans, stories, and pictures: 100,000 years of evolution 2:40 – Bill’s path: English major → journalism → web design → data visualization 3:30 – Falling into information design & why it fits his journalism roots 4:05 – Who needs this? The “knowledge worker” problem (PowerPoints from hell) 4:40 – Signs your data communication is broken: glazed eyes & bullet overload 5:20 – We know how to tell stories… until numbers show up 6:00 – Rodric on lead sequences and using infographics so everyone finally “gets it” 6:45 – Bill’s client base: literally everyone (corporate, government, NGOs, all verticals) 7:30 – Introducing Stakeholder Whispering and why “blue buttons” are not the point 8:10 – From “make it blue” to “we need noticeable buttons” — defining real needs 8:50 – Needs assessment vs true needs; why “what do you need?” is the wrong question 9:45 – Root cause analysis and the 5 Whys 10:20 – Where to find Bill: LinkedIn + LinkedIn Learning courses 10:50 – Sponsor: Million Dollar Flip Flops book + foundation plug 11:40 – Listener question for Bill: “What were you concerned about that you positively impacted?” 12:00 – Bill’s answer: AI concern & his realistic, non-doom take 12:40 – Short–medium-term disruption, chaos & our lack of societal readiness 13:10 – What Bill is doing about it: speaking, teaching, and reframing the conversation 13:40 – The uniquely human skills we must double down on: empathy, curiosity, communication 14:15 – AI as “information,” humans as “discernment” & meaning 14:45 – Prompting AI well still requires deep understanding of what you actually need 15:20 – “...