Data doesn’t change minds.
Stories do.

Fire Plus Algebra teaches ambitious data professionals to turn business insights into compelling visual communications that drive action and create change.

Get a bespoke training proposal tailored to the needs of your organisation.

I’m Alan Rutter, founder of Fire Plus Algebra.

I teach ambitious professionals to create change by turning data insights into compelling communications.

I’ve worked with hundreds of organisations and thousands of people across the public, private and charity sectors. What they have in common is their passion for influencing decisions and driving positive change.

With a background in journalism and tech, I focus on the human skills that will elevate your storytelling – not just generic chart advice or software training.

Find out more about me

You might enjoy working with me if any of these problems sound familiar… 

  • You’ve got bulletproof data insights, but you’re struggling to get colleagues to understand and act on them.

  • You’re endlessly tweaking chart choices to try and give your bosses something they will actually read. 

  • You’ve built (or you’re trying to build) self-serve data dashboards, and nobody’s using them. 

  • You work in a brilliant data team that’s not getting the recognition or influence it deserves. 

What I can do for you…

Bespoke training 

Tailored, live workshops on data communications for in-house teams – covering slide decks, reports, dashboards and external content. 

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Up your communications game with inspiring stories and practical tips about presenting data insights like a pro. Delivered weekly.

Public events 

Regular workshops run with partner organisations – ideal if you’re an individual looking for training,l rather than a team. 

Testimonials

  • Dave Dawson | Head of Planning & Analysis, UCPU, University of the Arts London

    “Alan came and delivered two half days of very interactive data storytelling training – introducing the Planning Team at the University of the Arts, London (UAL) to a range of new ideas, thinking and opportunities. We have immediately started to use the principles of information design and the data visualisation framework covered during the training to improve both the content and delivery of our data and reporting, so it is in a more user friendly format, and helps to focus customers on key insights. Whilst we have seen this immediate benefit, we expect this training to deliver long lasting improvements to our processes and how we work as a team and across UAL.”

  • Dr Lee Haines | Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

    “I was familiar with Alan’s work as a Guardian Masterclass instructor on data visualisation and digital journalism, which made it easy for me to recommend him for onsite training at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. We had a large group of people interested in honing their abilities to depict their research and stories in engaging ways. Alan’s course provided great insight about common communication pitfalls and how to avoid them, how to become better communicators by understanding the audience diversity, and it showcased some great online tools for creating infographics. This should be mandatory training for all students, academics, report writers and those involved with conveying research to the media as it will help increase the clarity and accessibility of our own research stories.”

  • Monica Loomes | Projects and Engagement Officer | Higher Education Strategic Planners Association (HESPA)

    “Alan recently ran a training event for members of HESPA (Higher Education Strategic Planners Association) and ARMA (Association of Research Managers and Administrators), on the subject “Telling Stories with Data”. This was clearly a topic that struck a chord with our members, with the event quickly selling out, and we got excellent feedback from attendees. People particularly enjoyed how Alan tailored the content and examples to their needs, and we all enjoyed his engaging and humorous style of presenting. We booked a second session there and then, for those unlucky enough not to get a place the first time!”

  • Ellen Austin | Senior Data Analyst | London School of Economics

    “We have been using Tableau to display data for some time but knew we could do more to engage our end users. Alan’s training gave us a framework to start thinking about what we wanted to achieve with our visualisations and analysis, and some great tips on how to display information for maximum impact. Alan was an engaging trainer and we found the workshops very energising.”

Proud to have worked with…