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Explanation
In this comic, a presenter is giving a talk (likely at a conference or business meeting). He notes that he has made every asterisk in his presentation a different size to increase the contrast between them. The slides show asterisks of varying sizes next to footnotes like "probability," "secondarily," and "oh crap." He explains that he increased the contrast until the asterisks looked like little stars, saying the "stellar" nature of his presentation gives him "confidence to speak to his findings." The audience then thanks him, noting that his approach has made "the question-making process seem actually fun or useful" -- but the implication is that the presentation's substance is still meaningless; he has just made the footnotes (the caveats and qualifications) more visually prominent.
The joke satirizes academic and corporate presentations where the speaker focuses on style and formatting rather than substance. The presenter is obsessed with the visual design of his asterisks -- the symbols typically used for footnotes, caveats, and disclaimers -- rather than the actual content of his findings. The irony is that asterisks in presentations usually signal limitations, exceptions, and fine print. By making them bigger and more prominent, he is inadvertently drawing more attention to the weaknesses of his argument rather than its strengths.
The broader humor targets the culture of presentations where confidence and visual polish substitute for rigorous content. The presenter literally says the star-like asterisks give him "confidence" -- suggesting his confidence comes not from the quality of his data but from the aesthetics of his PowerPoint slides. This is a common SMBC theme of skewering academia and corporate culture.