Category: Communication

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Why Should We Still Learn Presentation Software?

According to April 2023 research from Statista, over 1.3 million companies worldwide still use Microsoft Office as their core business productivity suite. Worldwide market share is split relatively even between Microsoft’s Office 365 (~46%) and Google Workspace (~48%). More larger, enterprise-level companies use Office while smaller, entrepreneurial ventures tend to use Workspace. At their core, they are quite similar. Workspace is essentially a slimmed-down version of Office. To continue the analogy, Google Slides is Microsoft PowerPoint on a diet.

Presentation software is an essential tool for business professionals. It is widely used to communicate both business strategies and results. Business students who choose to become power users will find themselves with a competitive advantage over others. Here are several critical value propositions:

  1. Complex Made Simple:  Presentation software adds visual elements to help convey complex information more engaging and memorable. You can create compelling visuals and infographics that will communicate messages more effectively.
  2. Team Collaboration: Both software suites allow team members to collaborate on the design and editing of presentations. This increases everyone’s efficiency and makes communication easier.
  3. Use of Templates: Templates are the foundation for consistent design and content structure across multiple presentations. They ensure a company’s brand identity remains consistent.
  4. Judicious Use of Animations and Transitions: A little goes a long way to make a presentation more interesting, especially if the material itself is relatively dry.
  5. A Visual Tool To Support Your Presentation: Too often presenters lean too heavily on their deck to communicate critical messages. Presentation software is a powerful resource that enhances your words, style, voice inflection, etc.

In summary, there are many reasons to become adept at working with presentation software. It can help professionals and business students develop important communication skills that are essential for success in the business world.

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Introducing The “Effective Business Storytelling” Workshop

My Software Tutor is proud to introduce our newest training resource – Effective Business Storytelling. This workshop has been designed as a customizable, modular, on-site/off-site seminar for both internal and external-facing teams. The results will materially impact your bottom line through (1) more productive communication among team members, and (2) improved expression of core value proposition(s). Why is this critical?

  • A 2020 LinkedIn study showed that effective communication was cited 35x more frequently in job postings than any other soft skill set,
  • The more effectively your products and services are explained, the more likely they will be chosen over the competition,
  • Expanded client base = increased revenue

Organizations can select from up to eight customizable units. Sessions are delivered over one or more days. MST offers a number of impactful topics such as:

The Power of Listening

Listening is the single most crucial skill in business. Unfortunately, most people don’t listen to understand, they listen to reply.

What is Said vs What is Meant

When the meaning is the meaning, there is more clarity and less room for interpretation.

Works/Doesn’t Work

The more you can understand what works for you (and others), the less likely you will spend time doing things that don’t work.

How/Why Stories impact sales

A Google/Motista/CEB study showed that over 50% of B2B buyers are more likely to buy if they can connect emotionally with your brand, which creates a sense of trust.

The Art & science of storytelling

In today’s distraction-filled environment, how do you grab attention and stoke curiosity? You have less time than you think.

MST upskills and re-skills team members through three levels of real-time, practical courses in Microsoft Excel & PowerPoint. All of these courses are taught by a live instructor. This means learners can, without judgment, ask questions and get answers. MST will create customized versions of both curricula to meet specific business needs. This software training can also be integrated into the “Effective Business Storytelling” workshop.

My Software Tutor works with companies that value operational efficiency and core business productivity skills. Our team welcomes the opportunity to bring these innovative training tools to your team. Contact us today to discuss your organizational needs.