Ⓜ️ail Ⓜ️erge Ⓜ️astery

In today's digital workplace, efficient and personalized communication is key. Microsoft Mail Merge feature is an essential tool for creating a variety of customized documents and emails quickly and accurately.

We'll cover:
➡️Fundamentals of Mail Merge: Understanding the basic concepts and setting up documents and data sources effectively.

➡️Advanced Merging Techniques: Utilizing advanced features such as inserting fields, troubleshooting common issues, and applying specific formats to numeric and date fields.

➡️Email Mail Merge: Creating personalized email campaigns, handling attachments, and working with various data sources, including Excel and Outlook contacts.

➡️Rules and Conditional Merging: Implementing IF-THEN-ELSE logic for customized content delivery and using FILLIN fields for interactive merges.

Key Takeaways:
Participants will learn to efficiently set up and execute Mail Merge projects for both print and electronic formats. They will be able to automate the customization of communications, reducing manual input and improving accuracy.

🦋Morphing Delights in PowerPoint🦋

Dive deep into PowerPoint's Morph feature in this session designed for Microsoft experts. Discover advanced techniques and hidden functionalities to create sophisticated animations and seamless transitions. Learn how to apply Morph creatively and efficiently to captivate your audience and enhance your presentations.

Key Takeaways:

Advanced Techniques: Uncover the full potential of Morph for complex animations.
Seamless Transitions: Learn strategies for creating smooth, narrative-driven slide transitions.
Creative Applications: Explore real-world use cases to apply Morph in innovative ways.

🪄What I wish I was told about Microsoft Teams🪄

➡️Linking Outlook with Teams
➡️Channel Tricks and impact
➡️Managing Tasks with Teams and Planner
➡️Essential Prompts in Copilot meetings
➡️Power Automate Ya Conversations

🗣️Bullet Proof Presentations🗣️

Few things in life are more painful than a presentation with too many bullets. We need less slides and less bullet points when presenting. In this session will look at alternatives such as:

➡️Reusing slides
➡️Cameo
➡️Shapes (merging em too)
➡️Icons
➡️Images
➡️Cutout People
➡️Stickers (not a fan)
➡️Videos
➡️Illustrations
➡️Cartoon People
➡️3D models
➡️SmartArt
➡️Charts
➡️Power Bi
➡️Forms
➡️Zoom
➡️Headers and Footers
➡️WordArt
➡️Audio
➡️Screen Recording and more............

Who knows we may cover them all 😆

📈Cheating my way to Linkedin Impressions with ChatGPT📈

Using ChatGPT has exploded my Linkedin expressions and views. All by using ChatGPT.

🔓Unlocking the Power of Outlook Search: Mastering Advanced Search🔓

Efficiently managing and retrieving information in Microsoft Outlook is essential for productivity in any professional setting. The advanced search features in Outlook are powerful yet underutilized tools that can significantly enhance the way users handle large volumes of emails and data.

What Will Be Covered:
➡️Advanced Search Techniques: Deep dive into using search operators, filters, and refining tools to pinpoint information quickly.

➡️Search Settings Customization: How to tailor search settings to match specific user needs, including results prioritization and indexing options.

➡️Search Folders: Utilizing search folders to automatically categorize and manage emails based on custom criteria, improving email management efficiency.

➡️Practical Tips: Strategies for integrating search functionalities into daily email management practices to save time and increase productivity.

Key Takeaways:
Participants will learn how to effectively use Outlook’s search capabilities to streamline their email management process. They will gain insights into setting up and using search folders, customizing search settings for optimal performance, and applying advanced search techniques to handle large quantities of emails swiftly and efficiently.

Free Tip:
CTRL + Shift + F

This will give you advanced search!

⚙️Life is Short, Automate Your Tasks⚙️

In today’s digital-first environment, the ability to streamline workflows and integrate services seamlessly is essential for enhancing productivity. Power Automate serves as a pivotal tool in automating routine tasks across various Microsoft services and third-party applications.

What Will Be Covered:
➡️Introduction to Power Automate: Overview of capabilities, including the types of flows such as automated, instant, scheduled, and button flows.

➡️Creating Flows from Scratch: Step-by-step process to create flows that trigger based on specific conditions, manage emails, notifications, and more.

➡️Using Templates for Quick Setup: How to utilize existing templates for common tasks like email notifications from Teams messages or starting approval processes from form submissions.

➡️Managing and Sharing Flows: Best practices for maintaining, sharing, and copying flows within your team or organization.

➡️Mobile Flows: Leveraging the Power Automate mobile app to create and manage flows on-the-go, including the use of button flows and mobile notifications.

Key Takeaways:
Participants will learn how to effectively leverage Power Automate to enhance their daily productivity and automate routine processes.
They will gain hands-on experience in building custom automation flows, using templates, and managing their flows for optimal performance.

Free Tip:
Automate conversations in Teams. Conversation ellipsis ➡️ More actions ➡️ + Create New Action ➡️ Workflows!

💪🏾Optimizing Team Collaboration with Microsoft Planner💪🏾

Efficient project management is pivotal in achieving team goals and deadlines. Microsoft Planner offers a dynamic way to manage projects through intuitive task organization, progress tracking, and team collaboration tools.

What Will Be Covered:
Introduction to Microsoft Planner: Key features including task creation, setting due dates, and assigning tasks to team members.

➡️Managing Tasks: Detailed walkthrough on adding, organizing, assigning, and monitoring tasks. Exploration of advanced features such as task buckets, priority settings, and progress updates.
➡️Team Collaboration: Strategies to enhance team communication within Planner through task comments, file attachments, and integrated group emails.
➡️Utilizing Planner with Microsoft Teams and Outlook: How to incorporate Planner into daily workflows with Teams and Outlook, enhancing visibility and accessibility of tasks and plans.
➡️Monitoring and Reporting: Techniques to track overall project progress using Planner's Charts and Schedule views, and how to export data for reporting purposes.

Key Takeaways:
Attendees will learn how to effectively use Microsoft Planner to streamline project management processes, enhance team collaboration, and monitor task progress. They will also discover how to integrate Planner with other Microsoft 365 tools to maximize productivity and teamwork.

5️⃣0️⃣ M365 Shortcuts from a 20 Year Vet 5️⃣0️⃣

When you have been teaching M365 for over 20 years you pick up the odd shortcut or two!

Here are a few to get us started:

➡️Microsoft
-Type cttune in Windows search and thank me later
-Windows and full stop/period to make an emoji

➡️Excel
F11 to create a chart

➡️Word
CTRL + Spacebar to format text to default

➡️Outlook
Control and enter to send email

➡️PowerPoint
Shift and F5 to start show from current slide.

Learning just a few shortcuts will make your productivity 🪚

📝Mastering Microsoft Forms: From Simple Surveys to Complex Quizzes📝

Microsoft Forms is a versatile tool that allows users to create surveys, quizzes, and polls efficiently. This session explores how to utilize Forms to gather data effectively and make informed decisions based on real-time feedback.

What Will Be Covered:
➡️Survey Creation: Techniques for constructing comprehensive surveys with multiple question types including multiple-choice, rating, and text input.

➡️Quiz Configuration: Step-by-step guidance on setting up quizzes with automated grading, using mathematical equations, and customizing feedback for participants.

➡️Advanced Form Features: Utilizing branching logic to guide respondents through different paths based on their answers and embedding forms into various Microsoft ecosystems such as Teams, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

➡️Results Analysis: Best practices for analyzing survey data and quiz results, including integration with Excel for advanced data manipulation and visualization.

➡️Form Customization and Management: Personalizing form appearance, managing access and responses, and employing multilingual support to reach a broader audience.

Participants will acquire skills to design, distribute, and analyze surveys and quizzes effectively using Microsoft Forms. They will learn how to enhance the interactivity of their forms and integrate them seamlessly into their daily workflows and communication platforms. And who doesn't want that?

🕶️Enhancing Document Design with Styles in Microsoft Word🕶️

Using styles with confidence will completely transform how you present your document in two ways:

1. It will ensure that your document is consistent
2. It unlocked advanced editing options including a table of contents
3. Once you add branded colours it will go through the whole of your M365 ecosystem.

👉🏾Understanding Styles: An introduction to what Styles are in Word, including the benefits of using Styles for document formatting.

👉🏾Applying and Modifying Styles: How to apply predefined Styles, modify existing Styles, and create custom Styles to meet specific formatting needs.

👉🏾Navigating the Styles Pane: Detailed exploration of the Styles pane, including how to use it to manage and review Styles within a document.

👉🏾Advanced Style Options: Techniques for leveraging advanced features such as Style Sets, linking Styles, and using the Style Inspector and Reveal Formatting tools to fine-tune document design.

Attendees will leave with a comprehensive understanding of how to effectively use Styles to enhance document formatting, consistency, and efficiency. They will learn practical tips for applying, modifying, and managing Styles, which will aid in creating visually appealing and professionally formatted documents.

🔎Advanced Outlook Search Mastery: Streamline Your Workflow for Better Mental Health

Struggling to keep up with email overload can be a significant source of stress, leading to burnout and decreased mental well-being for busy professionals. This session focuses on how mastering advanced Outlook search techniques can not only boost your efficiency but also positively impact your mental health. Learn to transform your inbox from a chaotic mess into a well-organised, manageable tool that reduces stress and improves focus.

We’ll cover expert-level search functions, custom search folders, and best practices for managing high volumes of emails. By gaining control over your email workflow, you’ll free up mental space, reduce anxiety, and reclaim your productivity—all crucial elements for maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Key Takeaways:

👉🏾Learn advanced Outlook search techniques to quickly find what you need and reduce time spent on emails.
👉🏾Discover how organised search strategies can help lower stress and improve focus in your daily workflow.
👉🏾Understand the mental health benefits of efficient email management, including reduced overwhelm and better work-life boundaries.
👉🏾Equip yourself with practical tips to turn Outlook into a supportive tool that works for you, enhancing both productivity and well-being.

Software:
Microsoft Outlook

I will provide handouts to ensure delegates can focus on the session.