Hanging Rock

Specifics are in vogue. Let's add some to your work story

Google

CHANEL

American Express

BlackRock

Deloitte

DG McCullough

Communications Coach for Fortune 500 & Fortune 100 Leaders

Replace vague, ambiguous descriptions of your work with intriguing specifics which help us get it—and celebrate it

Gain more notoriety and recognition. Improve your brand

Learn crisp ways to apply data, details, and context from a former reporter at the Economist, FT of London, & Guardian.

Employ 5 journalism tactics to add specificity to your work

Vagueness disconnects. Specifics connect. Get more comfy adding colorful gems, meaningful facts, and depth. Worry less.

Coach to our blockers. Discuss how vagueness helps & hinders

Your design ideas are worth a promotion. The problem is that your promotion is probably going to someone else. Why? Because others aren't buying into your ideas. Your designs might be good (or even great), but if you can't convince your stakeholders, it doesn't matter.Great UX will be overlooked, deprioritized, or even dismissed in favor of what's easier in the moment. Sound familiar? It's because you aren't tying your design to business outcomes. If executives don't see the business value, they won't invest in it. If you struggle to communicate the business impact of your designs: &nbsp;• Your best ideas will get deprioritized or shelved, limiting the impact you have to make a difference&nbsp;• You’ll have to constantly justify your role and fight for recognition, while others (who 'speak business') will get promotions and raises&nbsp;• Your career will hit a wall, because businesses only invest in designers that demonstrate measurable outcomes&nbsp;• Your job security becomes uncertain, because your contributions aren't directly tied to business results. With AI tools commoditizing basic design skills and layoffs targeting 'nice-to-have' roles, designers who can't prove business impact are at risk. As one design leader said, "The Difference Between Good and Great Designers is that Great Ones can Use Data to Sell your Ideas." In 2025, top companies aren't hiring Good Designers. They're hiring Great Ones, that know how to communicate how design impacts business outcomes. Design Professionals who can do that jump to the top of the priority list. When you become a designer that communicates how design affects business outcomes, you'll: &nbsp;• Use concrete numbers to bypass office politics and skeptical stakeholders&nbsp;• Consistently secure stakeholder buy-in, making your design initiatives a top priority.&nbsp;• Have Influence with executives and cross-functional partners who value clear ROI and measurable outcomes.&nbsp;• Get the promotions and salary increases you deserve by proving your designs drive measurable business results This intensive program transforms overlooked designers into strategic business partners in just 4 weeks. Spots are capped at 15 students to provide every student with 1:1 time. --Training Your Team?Email kai@datainformeddesign.online for bulk pricing and personalized course options.

Feeling undervalued? Ideas getting ignored? Design presentations falling flat?

Course syllabus

I will have live lectures with Q&amp;A, reviewing this week's lessons. These will also be where I review student's exercise and provide live feedback

Mondays and Thursday

In these lectures, I'll dive into the specifics around Data, Narrative, Visuals, and more. This will be a more detailed videos on the stuff I cover live on Mondays and Fridays

Pre-recorded lectures

These exercises, paired with the lecture, will help you practice the concepts you learn from lectures

Weekly projects and exercises

Course schedule

Designers who want to use data to bypass office politics and prove their value immediately

Designers tired of watching 'strategic' roles like PMs get promoted while their insights are ignored

Designers in low-UX maturity environments where relationship-building isn't enough

Mid-level designers whose great ideas get dismissed by skeptical executives

Who is this course for

What you'll walk away with 

Have clear frameworks to immediately show your design impact in meetings, presentations, performance reviews, and interviews.

Data-Informed frameworks that make even skeptical stakeholders approve your designs

Stop talking in hypotheticals and opinions. Show experiments that prove your design value in business outcomes

ROI experiments that prove your design value in business outcomes, not opinions

Not sure how to talk about your design work in an effective way? You'll get templates that provide you with step-by-step instructions

Templates to turn any design project into a compelling business case study

Not sure what to say when talking with decision-makers or executives? You'll get scripts to help you in crucial situations

Scripts to present user research that gets immediate executive buy-in

You won't just learn theoretical concepts. You'll learn how to apply it to your work with 1:1 coaching with a Data-Informed Design expert.

60 minutes of 1:1 Data-Informed Design coaching

Connect design to business goals, manage stakeholders with clarity, and lead with a stronger, more strategic voice.

Christopher Kai Wong

Top Design Writer on Medium (325+ design articles). Data-Informed Design Expert.

June Cohort

August Cohort

Stop tweaking words and sentences to craft the perfect report or email. 'Better writing' is not the solution. It's better thinking. Learn a repeatable strategy to clarify and convey complex ideas in any setting. Communicating becomes easy once you have extreme clarity about the message you actually need to convey.

Get out of the details to craft communication that cuts through with busy people

I offer a small mount of reading that will help you prepare for the workshop. It is not essential, but will help you get more out of it.

Optional Pre-work

Other time zones ... Thursday June 6 -<ul><li>New York - 6pm to 8pm</li></ul> Friday June 7 -<ul><li>Singapore - 6am to 8am</li><li>Sydney Australia - 8am to 10 am</li><li>Auckland - 10am to noon</li></ul>

Workshop Details

I offer extra tips and tools to help you apply the ideas we go through during the workshop.

Post Workshop Consolidation

Workshop details

Frustrated PMs experiencing slow responses to their emails, convoluted chains in messaging channels and miscommunication in meetings.

Ambitious experts who want to connect with decision makers, even when they don't share your technical expertise.

Professionals wanting to waste less time chasing for responses and fixing problems caused by miscommunication.

Learn how to structure your thinking to find and frame insightful messaging

We have a joke that the big idea is often buried at the bottom of page 47. This typically happens because the author hasn't prioritised what they really need to achieve with that communication.

Master a simple sentence that defines the outcome your communication must deliver.

Many famous people have said that if you can't say it in a sentence, you don't know it. It's true. You are also unlikely to get the response you need from busy leaders if you don't convey what matters in that single sentence.

Clarify and convey your main message so it jumps off the page. 

Visualise your messaging so it literally jumps off the page. Match the hierarchy of your messaging with the hierarchy of the formatting in your communication.

Structure your messaging so any audience can find it in 30 seconds.

Don't just learn about how to structure your messaging. Do it! We will practice and review the results together.

Practice synthesising your main message.

Do you fear losing your audience's attention? Or, worse: They pay no attention?
Communicating with extreme clarity is essential.

Davina Stanley

Clarity First Program

Learn to structure your thinking so your communication resonates with busy people.

August 2024

In the world of branding, language isn’t just about information. It's how you make meaning. Words guide. They stir emotion. They tell stories. They shape the entire experience of your brand. Words can either build trust, or break it. Create connection, or indifference. Inspire action, or dilute your message. Your brand’s language is your leverage.

Get pitch perfect


Stay engaged with&nbsp;regular office hours!&nbsp;This is your time to ask questions, get feedback, and refine your skills.

Office hours


Schedule items can also be used to convey commitments outside of specific time slots (like weekly projects or daily office hours).

Weekly projects

All modules are available from day one, so you can move at a pace that works for you. To keep you on track, I’ll provide suggested dates for each module, helping you stay engaged and get the most out of the course.

Learn at your own pace


In the final project, you'll apply everything you’ve learned in a hands-on project, where you'll create and apply your very own strategically inspired brand voice.

Put your skills to the test


Designers. Great visuals are only half the story. When you understand voice, you can create more cohesive, expressive, and dynamic brands.

Copywriters. Whether you’re writing bold billboards or bite-sized captions, learn to sharpen your instinct for tone, rhythm, and intention.

Strategists. This course gives you the language, structure, and confidence to define, guide and sell in voices that move brands forward.

Anyone. New to branding? You don’t need years of experience, just curiosity and a love of how language works.

Whatever you role, there’s something in here for you.


Walk away mastering the four tenets of tone



Get under the skin of brand voice – what it is, why it matters, and how to shape one that reflects both your strategy and personality. Learn how to use voice as a strategic tool, not an afterthought and create a voice that leads – not gets buried in a forgotten Google Doc.

🔍 Understanding


Discover how to scale your voice and keep it in check across every touchpoint – from your homepage to your DMs. Build trust through consistency and create a voice people will instantly recognise – and never mistake for anyone else’s

🧭 Consistency


Master the art of adding colour and depth – without losing focus. Learn how to flex your voice without breaking it so it feels expressive, layered, and alive. Ditch generic archetypes and craft a voice that cuts through – strategic, specific, and unmistakably yours.

🎭 Variety


Turn vague language into clear, specific, sharp messages that instantly make sense (and create meaning). No fluff, just practical tools, voice-building tactics, and hundreds of examples you’ll return to again and again.

🛠️ Technique


Take your brand voice from cookie-cutter to strategically sharp verbal identity that tells stories and sells products.


Sarah

Brand & Verbal Strategist & Founder of The Gab Lab

Cohort 1

In four 90-minute sessions, we'll explore a range of storytelling frameworks and learn the tools to build influence and create impact in settings of all kinds. Whether in a high-stakes presentation, all-hands meeting, or everyday conversation, you’ll learn how to connect more personally, powerfully, and effectively in a one-on-one conversation or in front of a room full of people. This is not a writing workshop (though we’ll do some writing—and lots of brainstorming). This is not about optimizing AI to tell stories for you (though we’ll dive into how to use AI thoughtfully and effectively). This practical, human-centered course helps you sharpen your storytelling skills and expand your influence and impact across your organization. You'll learn how to more effectively: • Turn high-stakes presentations—from all-hands meetings to campaign pitches—into compelling narratives that capture attention, build credibility, and persuade audiences to stay engaged from start to finish.• Simplify the message you're trying to deliver to drive more understanding and alignment in any situation.• Create a company culture where everyone is aligned on mission, vision, and values. Bonus: The same tools apply far beyond work—toasts, job interviews, first dates, even eulogies. More than anything, this workshop isn’t just about your next speech, deck, or all-hands. It’s about seeing storytelling as a powerful part of leadership—and life. We'll learn tools, yes, but also build the confidence needed to share stories that make people lean in, trust you, and say those three magic words: tell me more.

Great Storytelling Is a Tool for Influence, Shaping Culture, and Team Connection

We'll meet for 90-minutes live sessions for four consecutive Thursday from September 4th — September 25th.

Thursdays

Each student will spend time working on a story or presentation between sessions and get weekly feedback from me and the other students.

Leaders in start-up and early stage companies who want to nail their story for team alignment and client pitches.

Founders, comms officers, HR directors, and other leaders navigating transitions such as funding rounds, growth, M&amp;A, hybrid workplaces.

People managers (HR, Marketing, Comms) with a mission to create a clear, compelling story for team focus and connection.

Professionals looking to change jobs or in a career transition who want to refine and reframe their story for interviews, etc.

Anyone who has asked this simple, vital question as they navigate their own path or company journey: How do I become a better storyteller?

What you’ll get out of this course

Effective and concise storytelling to enhance team leadership, client interactions, sales calls, pitch presentations, and job interviews.

Confidence in storytelling for diverse settings, from high-stakes presentations to casual interactions like dates and dinner parties.

How to communicate the story of your "Why?”—the underlying purpose of your personal brand or your company's. 

How to use AI to enhance storytelling without losing your authentic voice.

Benefits of storytelling as a meta-skill: it doesn't just make you a better communicator—it elevates how you show up in every part of life.

​How to master the craft of great storytelling that prompts these three magic words: tell me more.

Harness the power of storytelling to make your message clear, powerful, and impactful in all parts of work and life

Lightning Lessons

Specifics are in vogue. Let's add some to your work story