Brain Rules for Presenters

Check out this SlideShare Presentation. It supports my cause that most PowerPoint presentations are poorly designed. I also love the idea of the activity to boost brain power (rule #1).

Brain Rules for Presenters

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ARTICLE: 8 PowerPoint Train Wrecks

This is just too good not to share. You have to check this out.

ARTICLE: Microsoft Won't Ship Office 14 This Year

Consumers and Microsoft just not ready for the new version of Office. This will also delay the Office Web version. No effect on Workspace.Office.Live.com. [Read the full article...]

I know a shortcut for that

I love shortcuts. I have more keyboard shortcuts stuck in my head for stuff. I still remember how to print from WordPerfect 3.0 for DOS. Why can't I forget those and remember the useful stuff. Oh well. Microsoft likes to assume things for you and they have assumed you, too, might like some shortcuts. Here are a few of them.

• Keyboard shortcuts in the 2007 Office system (Training)
• Work with the keyboard in Office (Training)
• Keyboard shortcuts for Word
• Keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint
• Keyboard shortcuts for Excel

Thanks to the Crabby Office Lady for compiling the list.

ARTICLE: Keyboard shortcuts speed Word, Excel work

If you like shortcuts and don't mind memorizing keystrokes, Dan O'Reilly has put together a nice list of some real time savers. I use a lot of them myself as I am a keyboard addict.

"If you're familiar with keyboard shortcuts, you probably know that you can cycle through your open windows by pressing Alt-Tab. But you may not know that pressing Alt-Esc moves between your open windows in the order they were opened." [Read the full article...]

Trends for PowerPoint Design in 2009

If you want to know what some of the new thoughts are for PowerPoint presentation design for 2009, you've come to the right place (or will soon after you click the link). Here is a list of MANY blog posts with their thoughts on the matter. A big thank you to Oliva Mitchell for compiling this list. My favorite is 10 crazy things to try with your PowerPoint presentation in 2009.

ARTICLE: Deceased Ex-Football Player's Shady Half Sister Foiled By Microsoft Office Fonts

By Sean Fallon, GIZMODO, the gadget blog.

I love stories like this. Choosing the wrong font can cause all sorts of problems. Read the full article here.

Vista Widget for Office Tips & Tricks

Anyone using Windows Vista? If so, you can install the Microsoft Office system Tips & Tricks widget which offers helpful hints designed to simplify everyday tasks. Get a different tip delivered to your desktop each day.

Presentation Help

I like PowerPoint. I really do. I just hate people who abuse it. Are you looking for some good tips on good presentation design? Check out Big Dog, Little Dog: Presentations blog post. The part I relate to the most is 9 ways to edit your presentation. Most of the items mentioned are what I find to be the main causes of "Death by PowerPoint."

Change New Word Document Defaults

Thanks to some questions I received while attending ASTD TechKnowledge, I decided to add this post. It's a question I get many times. "Why did they change the defaults in Word and how do I change it back?"

First, here's the answer to "why" in this article.

Next, here's the answer on how to get back your 2003 defaults. You need to remember that there are three levels of formatting: font or character, paragraph and section/page. You will need to change the default for all three levels.

We'll start with font.

1. Click on the Font dialog box launcher button.
   
2. In the Font dialog box, change the font to Times New Roman, Regular and 12 point.
   
3. Click the Default... button to change the Normal template.
   
4. Be sure to click the Yes button to confirm.

To change the paragraph spacing...

1. Click the Paragraph dialog box launcher button.
   
2. In the Paragraph dialog box, change the space after the paragraph to 0 points and the line spacing to Single.
   
3. Click the Default... button to change the Normal template.
   
4. Click the Yes button to confirm.

Finally, the Page margins.

1. Click the Page Layout tab and click the Page Setup dialog box launcher.
   
2. In the Page Setup dialog box, change the left and right margin to 1.25 inches.
   
3. Click the Default... button to change the Normal template.
   
4. Be sure to click the Yes button to confirm.

Once all three formatting levels have had their defaults changed, any NEW document you create based on the Normal template (blank documents) will be affected. If you prefer a visual, view this video.

Excel 2007: Easily Insert Rows or Columns in Excel

With a Microsoft Office Excel document open, you can insert extra cells, rows or columns by holding down the SHIFT key while you grab a cell, row or column by its AutoFill handle and drag it in the direction you want the insertion made.