Best alternatives to PowerPoint
PowerPoint isn’t the only game in town. Our favorite alternatives to PowerPoint: SlideRocket, Google Docs and Prezi.
Year: 2012
Words to inspire
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” — New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow, quoting Proverbs 27:17
You want it perfect … but does the boss?
Phil, an administrative assistant, recently lamented that his efforts to improve his boss’s communication were going unheeded. But perhaps it’s not what Phil’s boss wants from Phil. When someone hands you his work to look over, first determine what he wants in return.
Wife limits ‘job search’ to online applications
Question: “My wife seems to be trapped by her fear of looking for work. She used to do freelance projects, but she has never had to find a permanent position ‘from scratch.’ Her idea of conducting a job search is to stay home and complete online applications. Because of my job, we recently moved to a new city where she doesn’t know anyone. If I suggest making phone calls or visiting potential employers, she breaks down…”
Avoiding sweet rewards at work
With vendors bringing in sweet temptations, birthday cake-filled office celebrations, and a vending machine stocked with goodies, it’s hard to stay healthy. Some tips and strategies from admins:
3 OH NO moments in Excel and what to do about it
‘My Ribbon is gone!’ This is a common exclamation by new Office 2007 and 2010 users. We come from a long line of “double clickers” even though precious little needs a double click. One of the things you might actually double click on is a tab on the Ribbon (Home, Insert, Page Layout, etc.). If […]
Set yourself up for Twitter
If you spend any time at all on Twitter, you’ll eventually run into this problem: It’s overwhelming. A person can easily be consumed by constantly scanning the scroll of a Twitter feed. You can’t possibly read it all, of course. The solution: Twitter lists.
Don’t ‘agree to disagree’: Agree to ‘give it some thought’
At odds with a co-worker on how to handle a joint project? Tactfully Speaking columnist Colette Carlson suggests you politely point out that it is a joint assignment. Say, “Your perspective is very valuable and I’ll give it some thought.” That gives you time and distance to go back to your desk and think it […]
How to use bullet points effectively
In business writing, bullet points often replace regular old paragraphs, with good reason: Readers can scan them faster. Stick to these standards for using bullets effectively:
Caught in another ‘question trap’ on the job?
Sarah spent the afternoon working on a quarterly report for her boss, only to hear this when she delivered it at day’s end: “This isn’t a final version, is it? It won’t be a problem for you to work overtime today and fix this, will it?” Her boss just delivered a question trap—a leading question.