My Most Viewed and Downloaded Videos for Excel and PowerPoint

My iTunes Podcast

Danny on iTunes

I began to post my videos as podcasts at the iTunes store this past summer. Since then, my video lessons for Excel and PowerPoint have been viewed and downloaded many times. I am thirlled. And, I thank you for your support and encouragement.

Here are the links – on my website – to the most popular video episodes. I have organized them by category in the order of their popularity. You can click on any link to view or download that video from my website. Or, you can go to my video Podcast by clicking on this link – “Danny Rocks Tips and Timesavers” Podcast on iTunes.

Merging and Consolidating Excel Worksheets

 PowerPoint Presentations

Data Visualizations

What-If Analysis in Excel

Importing Data From Other Programs

Pivot Tables

Excel Tables

Social Media

Formula Errors

Please add your comments below – or on my iTunes Channel. I welcome your feedback.

You can learn how to “Master Excel in Minutes – Not Months!”

Sincerely,

Danny Rocks

My Video Podcast has been downloaded 4,800 times

My iTunes Podcast

Danny on iTunes

OK, so let me brag a little. I launched my Video Podcast, “Danny Rocks Tips and Timesavers,” in June 2010 on iTunes. When I looked at the number of downloads and views, I was amazed to see that the number had surpassed 4,800 – I am thrilled.

Thank you for your support and encouragement. And, one viewer has reviewed my podcast:

Customer Reviews

Concise training      

by ChipAv

These are very specific and concise training modules on individual aspects of Excel and Powerpoint. (Also a few on meeting management and social media.) No nonsense, down-to-business, accurate, and professional. If one of these matches the skill you want to quickly acquire, you should like these.

I invite you to view, download, subscribe or review my video podcasts – either individually or as a whole. Here is the link to my iTunes video podcast:

http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/danny-rocks-excel-tips/id374923275 – If you like what you see, then pass this link on to a friend or colleague.

You can add your comments below and feel free to use one of the Social Media Icons at the bottom of this post.

 

How to Lead Meetings that People Want to Attend

Don’t Laugh at the title of this post! It is possible – it is desirable – to learn how to lead meetings that produce results. To learn how to lead a meeting that people want to attend.

This begins by re-thinking your meetings. Stop thinking about the meeting itself. Successful meetings are part of a process – a three-step process – that I walk you through in this video.

Click here to read or download this as a Text Doucment – Published on www.ezinearticles.com

(Note: This is a re-post so that I can feed this to my Podcast at the iTunes store.)

You can view, download and subscribe to my podcast – for free! Click here to follow the link to my Podcast at the iTunes store.

How to Set Goals in Five Steps

Many people create goals – but few of those goals are ever reached. In this video I show you how to write a contact with yourself to reach your goal in five structured steps.

(Note: This is a re-post so that I can feed this video to my free Podcast on iTunes.)

You can view or subscribe to my Podcast at the iTunes store, “Danny Rocks Tips and Timesavers” by clicking on this link.

Are You Interested in Subscribing to a Podcast?

Update: My Video Podcast, “Danny Rocks Tips and Timesavers” is now available – free of charge – on iTunes. I add at least three episodes per week. Follow this link to view, comment, or subscribe to my Podcast.

Based on the positive response to my recent post, “Statistics Do Not Tell the Complete Story,” I am planning to initiate a podcast.

Initially, I am planning to produce two podcasts per month. The subject area is” improving communications skills.”

Are you interested in subscribing? Or do you need more information? Do you presently subscribe to podcasts?

I would like to hear from you on this topic. Please take a moment to “vote” on this topic – I have added a poll  to the right sidebar of this page. (the poll is in the middle of the sidebar.)

Thanks in advance for voting on this topic!

Sincerely,

 Danny

Introducing My PowerPoints Blog!

As I continue to develop content for The Company Rocks I am creating specialized blogs to meet your specialized needs.

Introducing the new PowerPoints blog – http://www.thecompanyrocks.com/powerpoints

The focus for this blog is to offer tips that help you to improve your communications skills.

Yes, I will share tips and techniques to help you get the most our of MS PowerPoint. But, this is not a blog that is limited to MS PowerPoint.

MS PowerPoint is just one tool that you may use to help you craft and deliver a powerful message.

Remember these PowerPoints:

Your MS PowerPoint slides are not your message

MS PowerPoint does not deliver your message. You do!

Therefore, the tips and techniques that I share with you to get the most out of MS PowerPoint have a unified message:

“How will this tip help me to make a Powerful Point?”

Click here to visit the PowerPoints blog.

I have posted my first video lesson on the blog. Check back frequently for new articles and video demonstrations.

The Video Does Not Lie

“Auditioning in a Video Resume” – that is the title of the article in yesterday’s NY Times. (Click here for access to the complete article.) Your resume on a video? Say it isn’t so! Today, I noticed that it was the most emailed article on the Times’ website. So, obviously, this strikes a nerve – and possibly gives people an edge on their competition.

Continue reading “The Video Does Not Lie” »

Communicate to Motivate Your Staff

“Setting and communicating the right expectations is the most important tool a manager has for imparting that elusive drive to the people he supervises.”

– Andrew S. Grove

Recently, I have been thinking about and studying the subject of effective communications.  Where most managers, leaders and marketers go wrong – and are guilty of ineffective communication – is quite simple:

They give an order, or write a memo, or place an ad and … they presume that the message is communicated.  They assume that the order will be acted upon to their satisfaction; that the memo will be completely understood by all who read it (if they do read it) and that the ad will naturally generate orders for the product or service.

NOT!

Communications is a participatory sport.  At a minimum it involves “give and take” from two parties.  You give me an order and I take away a clear understanding of what you want me to accomplish; how the task is to be done and when it is to be completed.  Simple enough, right?

WRONG!

How often have you been disappointed when your staff did not complete a project the way your wanted it?  Quite a bit if yours is the typical office or store.  Why?  Who is to blame?  What went wrong?  How could they possibly not understand me when I said, “I need this done ASAP!”  How, exactly, did you define ASAP?  Are you sure that you communicated your exact interpretation of ASAP to your employee?  Did he or she tell you what was exactly possible from their perspective? Does their ASAP match your ASAP? If not, you have a problem – that needs to be fixed – ASAP!

This is how communications break down.  This is how morale starts to slip in the workplace.  This is not the right way to motivate your staff.

Let’s examine the opening  words of the Andy’s Grove quote that I used to start this post:

“Setting … and communicating … the right … expectations…. ”

Each word packs a lot of power.  And the power to motivate is included in each one:

“Setting expectations.”  Confident managers and leaders don’t set expectations by themselves.  They involve their individual employees or their team members when setting their expectations.  They ask questions.  They evaluate skill levels and potential.  They are aware of other – possibly conflicting – goals that employees are working towards for other departments.  Today, leaders set expectations in consultation with their staff.  They still make the final decision, they maintain control, but… they actively invite participation in setting expectations.

“Communicating expectations.”  Effective leaders are skilled at communicating clear, concise and precise direction.  And they make sure that their staff completely understand – and are committed to fulfilling – these expectations.  Confident leaders choose the right words when communicating.  They choose the words that work – the words that their team “hears” and understands. The words that the team responds to.

“The right expectations.”  Expectations that are challenging and interesting – but achievable.  Expectations that help the team to grow, learn additional skills and build self-confidence.  And confident leaders realize that they must coach and praise their team members as they work towards meeting the right expectations. 

Offering specific and timely praise for positive performance is the strongest force for motivating your staff. 

Use these tips as tools for “imparting that elusive drive to the people (you) supervise.” 

You will love the results!

Let me know what works for you – and why it works.  Drop me an email – danny@thecompanyrocks.com or post a comment about this article.  Share your thoughts with your fellow readers.

Death by PowerPoint – Part 2

I was just re-reading “What Clients Love,” by best selling author Harry Beckwith.  Under the heading, “Lincoln Had No Slides at Gettysburg,” Beckwith offers some classic advice about how to avoid the mistakes that arise froman over-dependence on PowerPoint when making a speech or a presentation:

1) You are not selling the slides, you are selling the people who are clicking the slides.

2) When prospects gaze at slides, they are not looking at what you are selling: you and your ideas!

3) Use slides only to illustrate a point that you cannot express as well with words alone.

4) A slide filled only with words is neither a visual nor an aid.

5) Make contact with your audience – you must look into their eyes and let the audience look into your eyes.

Thank you Harry.  Your advice is invaluable.

Personally, I think that many presenters use PowerPoint for their own selfish reasons. Rather than just outline their talking points (so that they remember what they are going to say) presenters create PowerPoint slide shows.  They think – wrongly – that “if my outline presents my ideas in a logical fashion, why not add some graphics and show the audience how clever I am with PowerPoint!”

As Mr. Beckwith reminds us, the audience is not interested in how clever you are.  They are interested in your ideas – as they pertain to their interests.  However, the audience is most interested in you – how capable you are in executing the ideas that you are presenting.  And… how well you connect with your audience – your clients.

I wonder what would have happened if Lincoln had, in fact, used PowerPoint to “enhance” his speech on the battlefield at Gettysburg?  It would have been easy to fit such a short speech (“Four Score and …”) up on a screen.  But would we have remembered the speech?  Or just read the words ourselves?  And, it might have been a challenge to find the right visuals – hard to top the stark visual presented by the battlefield itself. 

Think about this the next time you are preparing for a presentation.  No slide show can ever cover-up your weaknesses.  Present yourself.  Make contact.  Leave a lasting impression.

Death by PowerPoint

I have been preparing for a few speaking engagements coming up soon.  So I was delighted to find a wonderful article in today’s Wall Street Journal, “Tips for PowerPoint: – Go Easy on the Text – Please, Spare Us,” by Jared Sandberg.  (Click here for a link to the full article.)

According to the article, there are an estimated 30 million PowerPoint presentations given each day around the world!  And most of them are poorly crafted and delivered in a manner designed to put most audiences to sleep.

The “point” of using PowerPoint has been missed.  We should use the program to make it easier for the audience to see our point; to deliver a more powerful presentation.  Instead, most presenters use PowerPoint simply because the program makes it so easy to put together their presentation – any presentation.  The focus should be on the audience – why are they there in the audience; what does your need to know; what do you want your audience to do as a result of your presentation?

As the article point out – just because PowerPoint is so easy to use, audiences are subjected to:

Bullet points gone wild – writing paragraphs instead of points.

Presenters who then go on to read these paragraphs to their audience.

Special effects on steroids – just because you can make your text “tap-dance”…

30 slides in a 30 minute presentation (I do hope that you think this is too many.)

In today’s WSJ article the author talks about a salesman whose company sent him to a class to learn how to make an effective presentation without using PowerPoint – they did this because all of his competitors were using PowerPoint and this would be one way to stand out from the crowd.

Indeed, I think that far too many presenters feel that their job is over once they have created the final PowerPoint slide.  They think that the brialliant content they just put on their slides will speak for itself.  Their logic will be irrefutable.  Their audience will clap and cheer when they finish. Wrong!  Wrong!  Wrong!

Audiences need to be engaged.  The presenter’s job is to communicate their message to their audience so that the audience understands the message – and is prepared to take action as a result of that message.  If PowerPoint can help you to achieve your goal, use it.  If not…?  Well, it is less addictive than sleeping pills.