Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

What are you really trying to say?

July 26th, 2011 - by Angela

communicating Lately, I have been burning the midnight oil trying to get all of my summer project to-do list completed. I completely underestimated how long each task would take because I had not correctly figured how much my two year old son would be “helping” me. I thought that he might play some on his own, but he really, really wants to help Mommy on all of her tasks. Since I know that he is working so hard to want to really be my assistant, I have not discouraged him from being my helper.

So, I have been working late many nights, leading to a very tired Mommy. Some days I have had a hard time trying to put a complete sentence together. As I stumbled over words in a conversation the other day with my friend, who by vocation is a freelance writer, she mentioned an article that she wrote that I should read. She said I would think it was interesting since I had apologized for messing up my words when I ended up saying something completely different than what I meant.

That comment took us off into a different direction as we discussed how easy it is to even just emphasize different words in a sentence to make it mean something different in the English language. Since so many of use email, chat, etc. to communicate, it can be so easy to say something that you do not mean depending on how the receiver places an emphasis on your words. Here is an example from my friend. I have put the word that should be emphasized in brackets so that you could see how the sentence changes.

[I] didn’t steal that car.

I [didn't] steal that car.

I didn’t [steal] that car.

I didn’t steal [that] car.

I didn’t steal that [car].

If you really read them carefully, you will see that they all have a different meaning because of the emphasis you put on different words. Her example made me realize how important it was to be overly clear in my text communications with business and personal contacts. This would be even more important if you work with people who do not have English as their first language.

What a mess we can create simply by using the incorrect word or a cliche that is not understood by the receiver of the text or email. I know that I will be working extra hard to make sure I communicate the proper meaning.

I will also be working on getting more sleep!

Tags: communicating, communications
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Software Training Therapy Session

July 18th, 2011 - by Angela

therapy-session-2 Today, I was privileged to do training for two really great women. I am always a little nervous before I meet a new client. I want to make sure I do a good job. Because of this, I am anxious to find out if I am going to be able to help the new client and answer all of their questions.

I honestly do not know why I am nervous. My husband now laughs at my anxiety because he says it is unfounded. He reminds me that every time I talk to him after a session, I always say that it went well and that we had a great time.

Today’s training was no different. I was nervous before meeting them. Then, I had bad directions from the online map that I had printed out. (I learned today to never trust these directions near the downtown part of a city that is in constant construction.) I usually arrive a little bit early to make sure and help get everything set up. Today, I made it right in the nick of time because I had to drive around in circles trying to find the client’s location. Instead of getting there with time to spare, I showed feeling frustrated, frazzled, and very stressed out, even though I did not let on that I felt that way. I must give kudos to the receptionist who stayed on the phone to expertly guide me through the construction to their beautiful offices.

After helping the client finish the room setup, I got to chat with the ladies for a couple of minutes. We had already talked ahead of time and had the general elements that they were looking for in the 3 hour session. So, we just talked for a few minutes to see if they had come up with additional items. Once we got going and started digging in to Excel, the women got very excited. They were so enthusiastic about what they were learning, especially over some hints and tips that I showed them.

Their zeal rubbed off on me and really made the stress and anxiety disappear. The 3 hours passed by quickly because we were enjoying what we were doing. When I called my husband to tell him I was coming home, he asked about the training session. I told him about how the training actually helped me to reduce my stress and anxiety. Both of the participants in the training had said that they really enjoyed the training, too. He said that training was “therapy” for all of us today.

I am looking forward to going back for more therapy with these two women. I loved being around their very contagious passion for learning! If you are interested in some technology training “therapy”, just call or email me and set up a session.

Tags: Therapy, training
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Taking Risks

July 11th, 2011 - by Angela

taking-risks I must admit, I am pretty conservative in most decisions in my life. I do not try too many crazy things, except white water rafting on vacation and playing in traffic on the freeway daily. I prefer to make stable, solid investments and considerate, reliable lifestyle choices.

So, I had to do some re-evaluating of my risk aversive lifestyle when I recently ran across a quote by Erica Jong. She said, “The trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” I realized that I might need to adjust a few things. I know that in some parts of my life, I could probably reap much greater rewards by taking a few more risks.

In my worklife, I am extremely conservative. I do not try anything too crazy or outside the box because I want to make sure that I do not get on anyone’s “bad list”. I know that many of my friends and family are still hunkering down and trying to stay under the radar so that they can keep their jobs. With the state of the economy right now, some of us just want to do anything to be able to not lose our jobs.

However, I am not sure that is the best approach. I think it might be better to take a few risks in my job. I could at least try to learn something new and get more creative and inventive in how I do my work. That is a calculated risk that might pay off in the long run. Even just learning how to use my current tools better could help.

So, let me know if you would like to set up a one-on-one session or even a class at your organization. You could learn something new or just improve on your current knowledge. It could end up being a small risk with a big payoff! If you mention this blog, you can get $50 off your next training class. You can click here to contact me: http://www.versitas.com/contact.php

Tags: one-on-one, Risks
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Old Cat, New Dog and Training

July 6th, 2011 - by Angela

hallie-the-puppy Recently, I was talking with a colleague about his new puppy. He was pretty happy to have the sweet, excited, very big puppy. However, his older cat was not a big impressed with the new invader. He was doing the slow introduction process over a few days.

From my experience, I think it is easiest to bring on a new family member in stages so that the newbie and the veterans can get acquainted. It helps everyone involved to not rush in and end up with more conflict. The new puppy needed training, and, if done correctly, the old cat would be a great mentor to teach him the ropes. Of course, before the end of the conversation, I realized that I had a blog post on my hands.

Over the past few weeks, I have heard many reports of a strengthening economy and about some corporations slowly beginning to hire new folks. With many of us used to the belt-tightening and staff reducing years, we are going to have to start getting used to new kids on our precious, well-guarded blocks. Just like my colleague’s old cat, we have to be willing to train and help these new team members.

I think that one of the best ways to incorporate new people into an organization is to make sure they get the proper training. It helps to let them mix on-the-job training with some classroom or online training to ease them into the new procedures. Assigning a mentor is a great way to help guide them in those early weeks and months. The mentor/coach can provide them with some insight into the unwritten rules/culture, too.

We can also give them realistic expectations during the whole process so that they are not disillusioned. They will come in with their own ideas and experiences. It is important to help them understand the rules and culture of your team and corporation. Make sure they understand what they need to do to succeed individually and organizationally. Also, make sure they get the training and skills needed to succeed.

Most of all, remember to lend a hand whenever you can! You were the new kid on the block once, too!

Tags: puppy, training
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Microsoft Office 2010: Security Features

June 28th, 2011 - by Angela

big-lock Microsoft Office is the most popular office suite available right now. Because of this, hackers love to try to attack it in any way possible. Over the years, Microsoft has worked hard to find and fix problems with the different applications. However, in Office 2010, they tried hard to be more pro-active to make all of their programs less exposed to a vicious assault by hackers.

I am pleased that they tried to build in some of this security in the File Open process. That way, detection of any problems can happen before the file is even exposed on your computer. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint applications now use a File Validation process that looks closely at all files, especially those from prior versions of the Office suite. When the questionable files (or files from a 2007 or previous version) are opened, they open in Protected View. This keeps the file contained as a Read-Only view that does not expose your computer.

Other files that contain macros, are downloaded from the Internet, or use active content will also open in the Protect View. You have the option of converting them into editable form if you trust the file by clicking a single button. You do not have to click this button every time, just the first time. I appreciate that I do not have lots of pop-ups asking for my permission to open or trust the file. All I have to do it to click the “Enable Editing” button.

If you open a file and see a red bar across the top, you may have received an error that “Office has detected a problem with this file.” If you receive this warning, you will not have access to the “Enable Editing” button. If you choose to convert the document out of Read Only format, you will have to go to File tab and click “Edit Anyway” in the backstage view. I did run into an instance where the “Edit Anyway” button was disabled by the administrator. He said that any file that received the red warning was not to be opened on the network to help prevent network problems. If you encounter that same issue, you will need to contact your administrator to find out if there are specific restrictions.

Another security feature in Office 2010 helps with problems resulting from code that does not meet certain specifications when you have installed add-ins in your software applications. The Data Execution Prevention will check and the code from an add-in if it suspects any difficulties from poorly written or malicious code. It will halt the code when a problem is detected.

I really like that Microsoft is looking to prevent more problems instead of fixing them when they occur. I look forward to seeing what other improvements they can come up with in future versions!

Tags: Office 2010, Security Features
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Technology Tips for New Graduates

June 20th, 2011 - by Angela

diploma-computer This year has been a big graduation year for my extended family. Let me just say that we are going broke purchasing presents for all of them, but we are so excited to celebrate with them! In all of the fun and parties, I have seen several of the graduates get a new computer or laptop for a present as they enter the next stage of their lives. Since I work in the computer/technology industry, I love the idea of a computer or smartphone as a gift.

However, there are a few cautions that I try to pass along to the new graduates. Some of them will be going away from home for the first time and they need to treat these nice presents properly so that they can last for a long time. I thought I would share some of the tips so that you can pass them along to any graduates in your life, too.

- Antivirus/Internet security!!! I cannot emphasize how important this software is for your computer. Do not rely on your college or work network security to provide this for you or to protect you. You must put this on your computer first, before you get busy with surfing and social networking (and maybe a little college homework, too). One of the most annoying events to occur is to have a malware attack and have to reformat your hard drive, losing everything.

- Online resumes and social networking. Many companies no longer use paper resumes. Most likely, if you are job hunting, you will be submitting online resumes. Be careful about the information you include and who you send it to. Additionally, watch out for what you post on your social networking sites. Some employers are looking at Facebook (and other sites) to check you out before you are hired (or even interviewed). Make sure your online reputation reflects what you want an employer to see.

- Protect your smartphone. Start by using a good PIN or security code. No, 1234, is not a good one. I know it is fun to download new apps and send pictures to people. But, only download apps from a reputable source. Also, be careful what pictures you send. Once they are out in digital space, you never know where they could end up.

Enjoy your new technology devices, but remember to do so responsibly!

Tags: Graduates, Technology Tips
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Outlook 2010 Tips

June 13th, 2011 - by Angela

outlook-ideas Outlook is a great program, but mainly I do one-on-one sessions for Outlook users. I do not tend to do as many Outlook classes as I do for applications like Excel, Access, etc. I do, however, get questions about Outlook from different students in some classes. I thought I might include some of the questions that I receive most on Outlook in this post, along with some tips.

- MailTips: For Outlook 2010 users who are on an Exchange server, you have a great feature available to you called MailTips. MailTips help you avoid common mistakes in Outlook For example, it would help you when you accidentally hit “Reply All” when you only meant to hit “Reply”. At the top of the message, it tells you how many recipients you are including in your reply, which would help you to quickly realize that it is going to 145 people instead of 1. To turn this feature on or off, go to the File tab > Options > Mail > MailTips.

- Calendar Share: Many of us work in a team or department. Sometimes, we need to be able to access someone’s schedule. Using Outlook, you can share your schedule via e-mail, on the Web, or using an Exchange server. To e-mail your calendar, choose the Home tab > E-mail calendar > choose the calendar to share > choose the date range > choose any other options > click OK. To publish the calendar online, go to the Home tab > Publish Online > Publish to Office.com. When you publish to Office.com, you can decide who gets to view the calendar. To share via Exchange server, on the Home tab, choose Share Calendar. You can pick the person(s) to share it with by adding them to the “To” line. The recipients are notified by e-mail that you have shared your calendar.

- Access Outlook remotely: Outlook used to be difficult to deal with when accessing it when you were away from the office. Now, you can use the Web Office Outlook to access your email from any of the major Web browsers. And, with cells phones, especially the Windows phone, you can get access to your Outlook information easily.

- Phone messages in Outlook: This is a fun, new feature in Outlook 2010 (if you use an Exchange 2010 server). You can access your voice mail (often in text and audio format) using the Unified Messaging and Voice Mail Preview elements.

- Conversation View: In Outlook 2010, you can now look at your inbox in conversations, instead of individual messages. Click the View tab and make sure there is a check in the Show as Conversations check box. You can choose to do this for All folders or just the current folder you have selected. When you go back to look at your inbox, you can open or expand a conversation by click on the small triangle/arrow to the left of the message header.

Hope some of these tips can help you enjoy using Outlook even more!

Tags: Outlook, Outlook 2010, Tips
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Broadcast Your PowerPoint Presentation!

June 6th, 2011 - by Angela

megaphone Did you know that you can broadcast a PowerPoint 2010 presentation? Essentially, you are able to send a link via email to the people with whom you would like to share the presentation. Then, they can all watch the show at the same time! If I have not mentioned this before, I LOVE this feature! In the education/training business, this tool is priceless! I can imagine that you could use this feature in so many ways in the corporate world, too!

To get the presentation to broadcast, you have to employ the use of a broadcast service. If you have a Sharepoint site set up with the Microsoft Office Web Apps installed, you can have your administrator create a broadcast site for you and the audience members. Note: The audience members must be able to obtain access to the Sharepoint broadcast site, too, for it to work correctly. Since I do not have a Sharepoint site, I use the PowerPoint Broadcast Service. Anyone can get a free Windows Live ID and then use it to broadcast their PowerPoint.

There are some factors to consider when setting up your PowerPoint for broadcast. First, you must have all of the audience members able to use Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Safari for Mac browsers to connect to the Internet. Second, some of your transitions, audio, and video may need to be adjusted. All transitions will have a Fade effect during the broadcast. Audio and videos will not show or play to your audience. So, you might need to upload the video to a separate site to be able to show it to anyone watching your presentation.

After making the above changes/adjustments, if necessary, you are ready to broadcast! Click on the Slide Show tab and then select the Broadcast Slide show button (in the Start Slide Show group). If you want to use the Broadcast service, then click “Start Broadcast” in the Broadcast Slide Show dialog box. If you are using another Sharepoint service, then you will need to click “Change Broadcast Service”. You will then need to select the service you would like to use to broadcast your show. If you cannot see the service you would like to use, then you will need to select “Add a new service”.

After choosing the Start Broadcast button, a web address (URL) will be created for you. You can send it out via email by copying and pasting the link into the body of your email. Each of the participants in your broadcast will then be able to click on the unique web address in the email and see the presentation after you have selected “Start Slide Show”. During your presentation broadcast, you will have a “Broadcast” tab that will appear with options for you during the presentation. You can end the show by hitting the ESC key to end your PowerPoint show and then click “End Broadcast”.

Enjoy using this great new feature in PowerPoint 2010!!

Tags: Broadcast, PowerPoint
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Are You an Expert?

June 1st, 2011 - by Angela

einstein As I am learning to parent my two year old son, I am realizing that I will never be a parenting expert. Honestly, I do not think I’ll ever move up from the novice level. I do not think that anyone can ever get to be an expert on children, since they are all so unique and change so much each day. Yes, I know that biologically they are very similar, but I am referring to children’s behaviors.

I know from my upbringing that I did learn quite a bit from my parents and teachers, but that I have received an entirely different education out in the working world. I ran across a quote by Charles Baron de Montesquieu that said it much more eloquently that I ever could: “We receive three educations, one from our parents, one from our schoolmasters, and one from the world. The third contradicts all that the first two teach us.” Even though he died in 1755, his statement is still relevant today.

How can anyone ever become an expert on any subject in our fast-paced, ever-changing world? If I think back even ten years ago, would I have been able to imagine what new inventions and creations we would have this year? Most of us might have one or two correct predictions, but many of us would not have been able to envision all that the changes that have happened. (Although, I might have made some different stock purchases!)

So, how do we keep up? Should we ever hope to be an “expert”? I think that what is crucial is to not ever stop or rest in our professional development. With my son’s development, I can never stop teaching him or training him to do new things. Some of the training areas with my son are considered the “biggies”, like potty training and learning the alphabet. However, some of the other things he needs to learn may not be seen as big a challenge. Those items are still important building blocks in his training, though.

For those of us who need to keep up with technology for our jobs and careers, even learning what may be considered a small step in the process is still important. My main advice is to always look for learning opportunities. Do not waste a chance to learn from a co-worker, supervisor, or workshop trainer. Sometimes, just going to lunch with a friend or two can be a great chance to gain knowledge about how they use certain software or technology in their jobs/lives. You never know what you might glean from a lunch hour!

You will never know everything about everything or even everything about a single topic. But, you can know a little more each day than you knew the day before!

Tags: Expert, training
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Windows 8 News

May 26th, 2011 - by Angela

windows-8 Even though I am a pretty quick adopter to new technology and software, I was really slow this last time to update my operating system. I waited long enough to move up from Windows XP that I completely missed Windows Vista. Based on the reviews of Windows Vista, I am glad that I waited.

When I finally moved up when Windows 7 was released, I was pleasantly surprised with the new updates and improvements. Because I had such a good experience with the XP to 7 upgrade, I have been watching out for any news on Windows 8. Unfortunately, there have been scant details forthcoming about Windows 8 so far.

Here is what I have found out that I thought I would share with those of you that are “first adopters” like me. As I more information is released, I will be sure to do an updated post.

- As more of us move to smartphones, my guess was that the two platforms (desktop and smartphone) would end up looking more and more like each other. Microsoft has now confirmed that Windows 8 will run on the same technology that smartphones and tablets use. That means that Microsoft will be able to use Windows 8 on any tablet that they release. Additionally, Windows 8 Welcome screen will be similar to the Windows Phone 7 operating system’s welcome screen.

- Windows 8 is going into the Cloud. It has two elements, sync and web sharing, that will help users to access files, features, and possibly other services across PCs. The people already using Windows Live Skydrive may be able to use that service within Windows 8.

- Office users who have become accustomed to the Ribbon in applications like Word and Excel, will most likely see the same Ribbon in the Windows 8 user interface. As a someone who now likes the Ribbon because of its user friendly setup, I welcome the new look within Windows 8. I can find many commands more quickly and in more common sense locations with the Ribbon.

- Gamers will like the possibilities that could happen when an operating system like Windows 8 is integrated with Kinect plus and Xbox. I am not a huge game player, but I can only imagine what amazing features could be developed when you fuse the body, facial, and proximity recognition of game stations with the most widely used operating system. I cannot wait to see what they come up with in this arena!

I will be looking forward to seeing what fantastic new features and services Microsoft creates in Windows 8, along with an increased security and privacy setup! I will fill you in as I learn new details.

Tags: Windows 8
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