Office has so many features that there is no place to show all of them on screen. That is why, Microsoft has to use drop-downs and More… buttons. Unfortunately, most of us never even notice these buttons, leave alone clicking on them to find out what more is available. Due to this, thousands of brilliant features are never noticed. Here is the solution: Drop-down Gamification. This concept applies to More buttons and sub-menus as well. The objective is to make this self-discovery of feature gems as much fun as possible.
I am creating some videos. I needed background music. There are lots of free as well as paid libraries out there. I wanted to hear how the music blends into my voice narration – before downloading / purchasing the music.
Any audio editing tool can be used for mixing two audio files.
In this case, it does not work for me. Because the audio file is physically not available yet.
Here is the solution I found. Windows Volume Mixer. Right click on the speaker icon and choose Volume Mixer. Mute all sounds except the Voice Narration recording software – SoundForge in this case and the browser where you are previewing the music samples – Chrome in this case. Play the voice narration, adjust the sound levels and you can hear the mixed version immediately. Simple, elegant and useful.
I specialize in teaching people how to learn. Here is one powerful method which is simple to grasp and utilize: Specific to Generic. Spend few minutes to understand this concept and experience its power.
One precaution you must take while presenting is to check if the projector lamp is set to maximum brightness. Usually all projectors have two settings: Standard (or Normal) and Eco. The Eco mode shows dimmer image and saves energy. Make sure you set it to Standard mode for audience size of 10 or above.
While conducting a session at Delhi VAT department, I came across a Sony projector which had THREE settings: High, Standard and Low. Factory setting was Normal. I changed it to HIGH and got brilliant display. There were 60+ attendees – so this brightness boost was most useful.
Moral of the story: Reach early and check the lamp mode settings for EVERY projector you come across.
On many occasions, my sessions are labeled as “tips and tricks”. I don’t like the term “tips and tricks” being used for my lectures or workshops. Many people ask me the reason behind it. Therefore I thought I will explain the thought process behind it in this article.
