According to Kimberly Herrington, anyone can work with data and analytics if they have passion, limitless curiosity, and are not afraid to fail. “Before you go into a presentation, write out for yourself what you want people THINKING, FEELING, or DOING differently after attending your presentation.” – Kimberly Herrington In this episode of the Data Standard, we’re joined by Kimberly – data journalist at a large healthcare company in Buffalo, New York, and is also the founder of Buffalo Business Intelligence. Buffalo Business Intelligence is a free word-of-mouth networking group designed to unite users using various data visualization tools. Meetings topics center around business intelligence, data storytelling, data literacy, data governance, analytics, and data science. In this conversation with Darren Kaplan, Kim and Darren discuss the importance of improv, empowerment, and mentorship in the world of data science. You should listen to this episode to get insights on: · How improv comedy helped Kim adapt to a changing world during a pandemic · How data scientists can improve their communication skills through improv · Some rules of improv and how they can translate into social and working environments. o Why “NO” stalls communication, innovation, and “eats the fun” out of an interaction o How “Yes” can open & strengthen communication channels o How “Yes, And…” can take a “bad” idea and turn it into something new in a positive way o How questioning everything without offering alternative statements can stall innovation or progress for a team o How communication is verbal and non-verbal and how important body language is as powerful as the words you say (so turn on your cameras!) · Kim talks about her experience as a mentor, and why mentoring is so important to her · How you might find a mentor through Facebook Groups · Darren discusses how important it is to get your personal story out in 2-3 minutes · How improv skills can help if you are interrupted in the middle of an elevator speech or pitch · How to avoid over-answering questions- while still valuing the questions people have · How Kim prepares for meetings · The most important thing to remember when preparing for a presentation · What kinds of feelings does Kim strive to make people to FEEL with her stories? · Why Kim thinks fear of asking questions is keeping us from getting to “data utopia” · Why is Data Literacy important to Kim? · How to hack your muscle memory to replace social media apps with career-building opportunities and relationships · Why connection and community is important to advance in your career