The Internet has taken the world by storm. While this is a great for many people, it can be bothersome to writers. Many spell checkers and grammar checkers don't know what to do with Internet addresses, such as URLs and e-mail addresses.

You can instruct the spell check program to ignore anything that looks like an Internet address. To enable this option, follow these steps:

1. Click the Office button and then click Word Options. Word displays the Word Options dialog box.
2. Click Proofing at the left side of the dialog box.
3. Make sure the Ignore Internet and File Addresses box is checked.
4. Click OK.

Microsoft Word 2003

You can instruct Microsoft Word 2003 to ignore Internet addresses by following these steps:

1.     Click on Tools.

2.     Click on Options.

3.     Make sure the Ignore Internet & File Addresses box is checked.

4.     Click OK.

 

Categories:  Office Tips

Microsoft Excel 2007

 

When you press Enter after typing information into a cell, Excel will normally save your information and then moves to the next cell beneath the one where you pressed Enter. You can modify this behavior, however:

 

1.     Click the Office button and then click Excel Options. Excel displays the Excel Options dialog box.

2.     At the left of the dialog box click Advanced.

3.     Under Editing Options, make sure that the checkbox for "After pressing Enter, move selection" is checked; it should be by default.

4.     Using the direction drop-down list, change the direction as desired. Changing the direction affects how Excel behaves in all workbooks.

When you're creating a list in Microsoft Word, you don't need to worry about putting it in alphabetical order. You can put it in alphabetical order after you complete the list, without any time-consuming cutting and pasting. All you need to do is use Word's Sort feature.

To use Word's Sort feature:

 

1.     Start by highlighting the data you would like to sort.

2.     Click the Sort button in the Paragraph section of the Home ribbon.

3.     Use the dropdown box to select the type of data you selected. You can choose from text, date, or number.

4.     Choose where you would like to put the data in ascending or descending order.

5.     Click OK.  Word automatically sorts your data.

 

 

Categories:  Office Tips

 

Adding a transition to your presentation gives it a more polished look.  However, it’s best not to use too many different types of transitions within a presentation.  Pick one or two types of transaction and use them consistently through your whole presentation.

 

1. Click the animation tab.
2. Click the down arrow and the “More” option will appear.  The Transition Gallery will appear.
3. Click a transition effect – a preview of the transition appears on the slide.
4. Pick a transition speed, fast, slow or medium, which you want the transition to appear.
5. Click Preview.
6. If you don’t like the transition or speed, just go back to the above steps to change to what you would like.

 

Categories:  Office Tips

Works in all Microsoft Office 2007 Products

1. Click the arrow button located at the top of the window.  
2. Click on the commands you would like to appear on your Quick Launch Toolbar.

Excellent article with two cases studies discusses how to do social media right. I agree wholeheartedly with the emphasis on making your web site the hub of all activity.  Read Alona Elkayam's article from iMedia Connection.


Categories: Social Media

Excellent article from ClickZ by Heidi Cohenwith suggestions any business can use to utilize social media. http://www.clickz.com/3635869

Click here to watch this brilliant preformance
This video shows the winner of 2009’s " Ukraine ’s Got Talent", Kseniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch.

The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears and she won the top prize of about $75,000.

She begins by creating a scene showing a couple sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then warplanes appear and the happy scene is obliterated.

It is replaced by a woman’s face crying, but then a baby arrives and the woman smiles again. Once again war returns and Miss Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman’s face appears.

She quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier.

This outdoor scene becomes framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house.

In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside and a man standing outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying goodbye.

The Great Patriotic War, as it is called in Ukraine , resulted in one in four of the population being killed with eight to 11 million deaths out of a population of 42 million.

The new name should probably be BrilliantPhones, especially this year with the introduction of the iPhone. SmartPhones with a camera and calendar and – imagine this – a phone! are almost outdated. Each manufacturer is rushing to add features while carriers compete on options and family plans. Then why do 80% of all cell phone users hate their phones? Bad shopping by the company IT person, a family member (never trust anyone under 20 to buy your phone) or even themselves.

When shopping for a Smartphone, the first decision to make is which operating system to use. There are three main systems currently but Symbian which has been the leader in Europe is gaining ground in the US. Apple OS could become a strong number four if their product lives up to its hype.

BlackBerry

• email focused
• can connect to corporate or web-based email server
• few 3rd party applications

Microsoft Windows Mobile

• includes mobile versions of Word, Excel, Outlook
• sync’s with PCs and Microsoft Exchange Servers
• lots of 3rd party applications especially GPS and Internet applications

Palm OS

• PIM (Personal Information Manager) focused
• lots of 3rd party applications including ACT! the leading contact management software

Apple OS X

• ultra-mini PC with a phone
• partnered with Google for web browsing, email, GPS
  touchscreen with QWERTY keyboard and icons

There are some proprietary Operating Systems, however, they offer fewer features and very few 3rd party applications. Beware!

Phones are generally tied to carrier but can be unlocked to change carriers. When buying your Smartphone, consider which carrier offers you the best coverage in your local area and the regions you travel in most often. Smartphones generally require a service contract so you are tied to a carrier for a considerable period of time. Often there is a trade off between a lower phone cost and a longer contract. Think before you sign!

Also look carefully at the contract and how it handles data time (web browsing, wireless email, etc.) and call time. Some carriers combine the two. Some charge separately. Some even separate text messaging from wireless email for two charges. Consider which type of data you’ll be using the most and which plan offers you the best price.

For me, the most exciting feature of the iPhone is the touch screen. Those little bitty keys on the Qwerty keyboard frustrate my over-40 eyes and chubby fingers. And we won’t even go into the acrylic nails fiascos! The iPhone touchscreen is made for fingers and promises to eliminate the Palm stylus and dependence on the little keys.

Pronounced kwer-tee, refers to the arrangement of keys on a standard English computer keyboard or typewriter. The name derives from the first six characters on the top alphabetic line of the keyboard.
The arrangement of characters on a QWERTY keyboard was designed in 1868 by Christopher Sholes, the inventor of the typewriter. According to popular myth, Sholes arranged the keys in their odd fashion to prevent jamming on mechanical typewriters by separating commonly used letter combinations.

Not only can you get directions but you can use your Smartphone to find a Chinese restaurant within 10 miles of you location. Your phone knows where you are. Special software lets you locate your friends. (They have to have the same phone and software.) Yes, I can see that Susan is at the Chinese restaurant so I can drop by and join her for lunch.

Why is Bluetooth important? For that matter, what is Bluetooth? Despite the funny name, it is a standardization of wireless connectivity. Any Bluetooth device can talk to any other Bluetooth device. I know that my Bluetooth ear bud will connect with my Bluetooth SmartPhone which will connect with my car Bluetooth system for hands-free operation. Bluetooth is a big step toward the wireless office.
Bluetooth refers to King Harald Bluetooth Gormson (910 – 986 AD). Maybe he had a dark tooth from an injury but the nickname probably came later. He united Denmark and Norway and turned them from paganism to Christianity. The Jelling stones are his monument to his parents and a symbol of the unification. The runes are used in Bluetooth’s logo.

Features Comparison	Blackberry 8703e	PalmOne Treo 700p	Motorola Q	iPhone
Operating System	Blackberry	Palm	Windows Mobile 5	Apple OS X
Street Price	$199	$349 +	$229.99	$499 / $599
Qwerty Keyboard	Yes	Yes	Yes	On Screen
Screen Size	2.1	2.7	2.4	3.5
Camera Option	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Internal Memory	36MB	32MB	64MB	4GB/8GB
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Web Browser	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Continuous Talk Time	N/A	7:44 hours		5:00 hours

Finally, look at the 3rd party applications you need and decide which Smartphone will handle your needs best.

• Camera? (3+ megapixel versions are common now.)
• Documents to Go? (Read/edit Word, Excel or PowerPoint files.) Or use Windows Mobile which already has the software.
• MP3s? (Internal memory capacity and SD cards hold more songs.)
• Video? (Smaller graphics chips and SD cards allow you to capture or play video files.)
• PDF reader?
• Web browsing?
• 3D games?

What’s next? Smartphones that can switch between digital cellular networks and local area Wi-Fi and make the choice for you of the least expensive way to place your call. The technology is available but the debate continues on allowing calls during air flights. I’m certainly voting no on that! 10GB drives are a probability to hold more applications, MP3s, videos, … large files.

One word of caution. Smartphone technology is going to make a lot of changes in the next 12-24 months. When you buy your Smartphone, plan on buying a new and improved version soon.

Categories: Writing

Welcome to the second of a two-part series about making the most of your presentations, PowerPoint or otherwise. Here are some more tips.

Fill Your Toolbox

Part 1 of this series discussed using PowerPoint to strengthen your presentation. It’s a great tool. But there are other presentation tools that you can use if circumstances call for them.

•Something to write on. This includes white boards, blackboards, flip charts or any surface you can write on or draw on to illustrate your message. These are especially helpful if you want to include feedback from members of your audience.

•Post-It flip charts. You write on the pages as you talk or get feedback from the audience, then post the pages on the walls around the room to let you or your audience refer back to points made earlier in the presentation. Since they’re made with Post-It adhesive, you don’t damage walls (though you may want to double check on expensive wallpapers).

•A projector. Be sure your projector has the capabilities to show your presentation correctly. Will the projector work in a lighted room? Is its resolution high enough to show your photos or graphics that require high resolution? Computer resolution can be higher than projector resolution, so it could affect the view. Projectors work with software programs other than PowerPoint. If I’m giving a presentation on contact management I don’t need PowerPoint, but I want the audience to see ACT! and Goldmine. The projector allows me to show my computer screen to a larger audience. Some programs even give me highlighter effects so I can pretend to be John Madden.

•A digital remote with a laser pointer. Using a remote with your projector allows you to move away from the laptop and projector. Walk around the room to use the flip chart pages you’ve hung up. Stand beside a member of the audience for their feedback. The laser pointer focuses the audience’s attention.

•Ovation by SeriousMagic. This software takes your PowerPoint presentation and upgrades the graphics automatically. It also includes a teleprompter and timer to improve your presentation. If you do a lot of presentations, it is $100 well spent.

Be Prepared

•Practice giving your presentation. Will you be standing at a podium? Do you need to walk around the room? How will you advance the slides? Make your practice as “real life” as you can. You can’t control every aspect of a presentation, but practicing as accurately as you can will eliminate many nasty surprises.

•Visit the location ahead of time. Find out where the light switches are and if you can close the curtains. How will the room be arranged? Do the attendees have tables for note taking? Can you pass around samples?

•Know your equipment. The price of projectors has dropped so dramatically in the last couple of years that it is probably worth it to buy your own projector if you make several presentations a year. If you borrow equipment, schedule time to get familiar with it well before the presentation. I recently sat in a meeting where they lost 20 minutes trying to connect the laptop to the projector. Do you think the audience had a lot of confidence in their expertise in anything after watching that debacle? Not to mention that they had to drop a full third of their message and regain their composure.

•Organize your notes. Since you aren’t reading the words showing on the screen, how are you going to remember what to say? PowerPoint has a Note Page feature that allows you to write out your points in relation to each slide. You can then print the Note Pages. Some projectors even allow you to see the Note Pages while the audience sees the slide only. Be sure there are numbers on your notes to keep them in order. Every speaker has dropped their notes at least once. It’s as sure as the sun rising in the east.

•Make sure you can read your notes. Ovation by SeriousMagic includes a teleprompter feature. Be sure the font size is large enough that you can read it standing up. Do you need to wear your glasses? I’ll never forget the poor man whose helpful assistant had put his presentation into a three-ring binder for him. Regretfully she chose an 8.5-by-9-inch binder! Trying to read that small print while standing beside the projector was impossible. He probably still has a crick in his neck.

•Film yourself. No, I’m not encouraging narcissism, I’m giving you one of the most powerful tools you can use to improve your presentation. You will learn fascinating things about yourself, such as how often you say “um” or repeat yourself. You might not realize that your knee bounces when you really get into your subject, or that those certain earrings flop around your face when you talk!

•Dress professionally but comfortably. Try out the new outfit you bought. You might love what you see—or be embarrassed. If something about the outfit doesn’t work, you can correct it. And you can certainly choose different jewelry. Speaking of a new outfit, sometimes new clothes are not a good idea. It’s harder to appear confident if you just popped the button on your slacks or the new shoes are pinching your toes to distraction. Debut that new look in an easier situation.

•Be careful what you eat and drink before your presentation. Yes, it’s probably safer to skip the taco so it doesn’t end up on your suit. But just as important, beware of foods that can result in hiccups or belches. Choose beverages that moisten your throat without causing it to film so you aren’t coughing or swallowing 10 times a minute. Carry throat lozenges to prevent coughing or losing volume. Speaking to an audience is tough on your voice.

•Know your audience! My PowerPoint presentation is going to be different for an audience of architects versus an audience of manufacturers’ reps. It will certainly be different if the audience is over 60 or under 15. If you have a wide range, you can adjust the presentation to include everyone at some point—but only if you know who is listening.

One of the best features of PowerPoint is that it is so easy to adapt a presentation to fit multiple audiences. Don’t show irrelevant slides; hide them. Rearrange the slides to tailor the presentation to a new audience. One presentation can become an infinite number of presentations if you built a solid presentation to start with.

Remember that your presentation must be written from the audience’s point of view. The point is what they want to know or need to know, not what you want to tell them. Tell the audience why they want to listen to you. Grab their attention by explaining what’s in it for them right at the beginning.

•Take the circumstances into account. If you’re making a presentation at 1 p.m. to an audience that just came back from lunch after a four-hour morning session of PowerPoint presentations, don’t use PowerPoint! Regardless of the value of your presentation or your skill in front of an audience, they are going to be physically and mentally worn down. Change your presentation to help them stay involved. Use other tools. Are they eating while you’re talking? Then give them handouts with the details you want them to have. Even rubber chicken will distract them from the fine points.

Start Professionally and Finish Strongly

•Don’t apologize. Never start your presentation with an apology. If you must apologize for something (starting late, a scratchy throat, a spot on your shirt), save it for the end. The audience will figure out on its own that your voice is not at its best. At the end you can thank them for their patience with your scratchy throat instead of starting off with a negative about yourself.

•Prepare an introduction. Write out your introduction even if it is as simple as “Hi, I’m Bob Smith, managing partner with ABC Company.” The person introducing you may be nervous. Help them get your name right! Include details in the intro that tell the audience why they’re listening to you. For example, “Bob Smith with ABC Company has been an architect for 23 years and has won 47 design awards.”

•Lose the jokes. Jokes aren’t required if you aren’t a stand-up comedian. If you aren’t positive that the joke will be a big hit, don’t tell it. Many of us can’t tell a joke well, especially if we’re nervous in front of a crowd. Sometimes the joke we like offends someone else. It’s OK in your presentation to state a different opinion, but giving a different opinion as a joke can often backfire. However, featuring anecdotes or telling a story to illustrate your point helps the audience remember your message.

•Enlist third-party credibility. Use links to Web sites, portions of other people’s presentations, graphics, videos and so forth to increase your credibility. I’ll listen if you tell me the typical cost per square foot for a school is $X, but you’ll get more credibility if you show me a scan of a report from a national education publication.

•Summarize your key points for the audience to help them tie all of the bits and pieces together. Restate the most important concept or idea you want them to walk away with. Emphasize again what’s in it for them.

•Include contact information in case anyone has follow-up questions. Someone may be too shy to ask their question during the presentation or they may be so impressed with your knowledge that they want to schedule you for another audience.

•Thank your audience! Out of the 30 million presentations given today, they took the time to listen to you. Let them know you appreciate their time.

Categories: Writing