5 Tableau Conference takeaways from the community

The DataFam came together— virtually and in person—for the greatest data event of the year, Tableau Conference 2022. From the incredible Iron Viz visualizations, and to all the TC22 sessions, it was a week full of learning and inspiration. 

We connected back with a few Tableau Community members about their conference experiences and how they’re applying their TC22 learnings. 

1. The virtual Tableau Conference allowed us to strengthen our data culture 

—Fi Gordon, Tableau User Group Ambassador:

Conference week this year was crazy! We had members of our team joining Tableau Conference or Alteryx Inspire in person, but it’s impossible for everyone to travel. We didn’t want anyone to feel like they were missing out—so every team member set aside their work and dialed into the conference content of their choice. Conference Champions from across the globe led conversations virtually, encouraging people to share their learnings. We even had a watch party in London for team members to gather for an in-person/virtual experience! We also organized a special TC Bingo activity (shout-out to Autumn Battani for sharing her work) for engagement activities throughout the conference week, such as:

• Attending the opening keynote 
• Sharing favorite Devs on Stage moments which was featured during the opening keynote this year
• Cheering on fellow JLL team member CJ Mayes during the Iron Viz Championships
• Sharing your best Tableau tip
• Participating in internal JLL Braindates 

Each activity counted as an entry into a drawing to win Tableau Swag or an Amazon Voucher! It was amazing to see our team’s discuss our favorite topic—data, and stretch themselves to get bonus entries by completing rows and a full bingo board.  

This year, one of our Channel Champions, Anna Mikhaylova, designed a way for our team to share their session feedback internally, which allowed other regions to prioritize their attendance. Our session ratings from JLL’ers had a three-way tie for first place:  

Thought Leader Keynote, Hannah Fry
“I would give this a 10/5 if I could! Hannah Fry is an amazing storyteller/speaker, and this session was not only entertaining, but also super informative.  I will likely rewatch this session to learn how to better communicate about data." - Gemma Francisco

Tableau Speed Tips Advanced, Lorna Eden and Heidi Kalbe
“I’m 100% watching this session again” - Laura Peterson

Data + Women: Bridging the Gender Gap with Kyla Guru
“This was a presentation tailored really well to a woman's perspective, and it was wonderful to watch Kyla Guru, an absolute rockstar in data/cyber security and only 19 years old!” - Alison Pitt

Tableau Conference 2022 was a great opportunity for our team to unite across the globe and bond over the common language we share: Tableau and data. We’re really grateful for the hybrid approach, it made sure that no one was left behind.   

2. Share your work and bring your authentic self

—Irene Diomi, TC22 Speaker and Tableau Public Ambassador

When I started posting and sharing my visualizations with the Tableau Community, I was not expecting to meet such incredible people. Last year, I got my first job as a data analyst consultant, and this year I was invited to speak in person at Tableau Conference 2022. 

Through being a part of the Tableau Community and sharing my work on Tableau Public, I’ve not only learned a lot about being myself but also got inspired by the feedback and kindness people showed me. My one takeaway from Tableau Conference is to not be afraid to be authentic. This means there is room for you to share your passions: you could share your data learning through blogging, create a Tableau Public account, and vizzing about topics that interest you or just connecting with the community through the #DataFam hashtag. 

3. Virtual TC22 helped me build new connections and strengthen the old ones

—Prasann Prem, TC22 Speaker

Attending Tableau Conference virtually this year was very close to my heart, and being a TC speaker on a career panel made it even more exciting. But my favorite part of TC22 was reuniting with friends and making new connections across the globe.

One of the ways I connected with the DataFam was through the Remo events. These were virtual hangouts across timezones for Tableau Conference attendees to meet, chat and even win prizes. This platform enabled us to connect with community members we always come across on social media and meet many new faces. It was a one-of-a-kind set up this year and proved to be a great peer-to-peer learning platform.

While this year’s TC was supposed to be more of a networking and reunion spree for me, I surprisingly found myself learning a lot more compared to the last two years. Being more involved with the community led to being more comfortable with the people I was connecting with at TC, ultimately opening myself up to further discussion and learning. 

As a tip for future TC attendees, engage and participate with the Tableau Community. We’re a welcoming bunch, and you don’t have to wait until the next TC to connect with us. Start by connecting with us on social media and for a similar virtual hangout experience, join a Tableau User Group meetup.

4. Tableau Conference is an opportunity to reconnect and refuel with inspiration for the year ahead

—Sarah Bartlett, TC22 Speaker and Tableau Visionary

This year’s Tableau Conference was my fifth Tableau Conference (not including TC Europe and virtual events) and a welcome return to in-person events. TC is often described as a family reunion; an opportunity to reconnect with old friends and make new friends too. With the absence of the in-person conference experience over the past two years, this conference felt extra special. There were lots of selfies taken and memories made during the week! I particularly enjoyed meeting the Tableau Community team for the first time this year. These are a group of individuals I work with on a regular basis but had only ever met over virtual meetings, until now. It was so great to get to know them better at TC. 

It was great to experience conference favorites like Iron Viz and Devs on Stage in person once again. The energy in the room for both events was incredible! It was exciting to hear about the new product features we can expect to see soon, in particular, data stories and the data orientation pane. I can’t wait to give these a try! As for Iron Viz, it didn’t disappoint! I was on the edge of my seat for the entire 20 minutes and anxiously watched as the contestants raced against the clock to build their vizzes. All three contestants did a fantastic job in visualizing the education data set they had been provided and they all delivered an impressive presentation of their work afterward. Their vizzes certainly provided me with plenty of inspiration to take home and try for myself. 

5. The power of watching visualization builds live is like nothing else

—Aarti Raghav, Data Analytics and Insights Manager

Tableau Conference this year brought a whole mix of fascinating content and creators together on one platform. My key takeaways were from watching people build dashboards live. It teaches you a lot about one’s style, best practices, and the art of storytelling. Watching the Iron Viz finalists build their visualizations during the nail biting 20 minutes of brilliance, and seeing their patience and perseverance was awe-inspiring. A smooth, fluid data story using animations by Will Sutton was an outstanding display of effective storytelling. The touch of simplicity and added persona conveyed a powerful story by Kimly Scott. As always, CJ Mayes persuaded me to learn and build smarter visuals with effective space utilization.

Some best takeaways to build data skills were from the Speed Tipping sessions (both beginner and advanced). Irrespective of your Tableau skill level—I find speed tips are always a good refresher of best practices and a spellbinding session with clever hacks aka shortcuts to upskill your visualizations. One Hundred Days of the #PreppinData Challenge and Back 2 Viz Basics were valuable sessions and I have been hooked on Tableau Community Projects ever since. Each viz project provides an opportunity to challenge yourself to build better dashboards and apply them at work. The collective participation from the DataFam and their feedback also make them even more compelling. Lastly, connecting with the Tableau Community over the TC22 Slack channels and DataFam catch-ups motivated me to get more involved. 

Thank you to everyone who attended Tableau Conference virtually and in-person. Missed some sessions or looking to gain more knowledge from TC22? Watch the keynotes and top TC22 sessions for free–on demand, anytime.