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January 2009 Newsletter
A Successful Event – Fun was had by all!
“Your open house last Friday was spectacular. It’s always fun to attend and we learn so many things when we are there.” — Nancy R.
“Thank you so much for the invitation to your Open House. It was so much fun – delicious food, interesting people, and fantastic computer tips & tricks that I’m now using. … Keep up the good work, as they say … your company is the best! Very high class and friendly.” — Sandi Z.
At our Open House on January 16th, we formally launched our new division – Business Magic Training – for professional development training, coaching and consulting. Participants really enjoyed the learning experience as two of our expert writing and business management instructors, Jill Murphy and Marty Friedman, provided mini-seminars all afternoon as samplings of the new courses we offer. Our special guest speakers, Rita Duncan of Tyco Thermal and Ed Correia of Sagacent Technologies, each fascinated the participants by sharing their expertise in California Employment Training Panel reimbursements and in IT issues that participants had encountered. Attendees also benefited greatly from the computer software Tips & Tricks classes all afternoon delivered by our talented instructors Rebekah Threewitt and Derek Mathias. Food, prizes, free training, networking, fun … Don’t miss our next open house!
Be Successful in Difficult Times
BUSINESS Magic Training – Professional Development
The success of your company in difficult economic times depends upon the capabilities of your employees. How prepared are your employees to deal with increasingly complex issues in the workplace? Are they trained for success? Are they performing at their peak levels? Providing your employees with the right training improves your return on investment – the business results you are looking for.
Developing strong leadership, writing, communications, collaboration, performance management, conflict management, influencing and selling, time management skills … these are the tools and the foundation required to be successful. BUSINESS Magic Training can evaluate your needs and develop a training plan to take your company’s performance to the next level. Contact Sharon Root for more information.
When you do not have enough participants for a training class at your offices, use ours. Public enrollment class dates for Professional Development:
Feb 13 or 27 – Collaboration: Building Relationships that WorkFeb 19 – Business Writing / Email Etiquette
Feb 25 – Preparing Effective Presentations
Feb 27 – Delivering Effective Presentations
Mar 2 – Performance Management: Coaching, Counseling and Discipline
Mar 9 – Performance Feedback: Hands-On Discussions the Right Way
April 1 – Business Etiquette
April 7 – Business Writing / Email Etiquette
April 10 – Conflict Management: From "You vs. Me" to "You and Me"
April 20 – Communication Styles: Understanding Yours and Others'
April 27 – Performance Evaluations: Objective, Legal and Fair
June 1 – The Manager as Team Leader: Facilitating Team Responsibility, Communication and Productivity
June 9 – Preparing Effective Presentations
June 12 – Influencing and Selling: How to Get People to Buy What You're Selling
June 15 – Coaching for Performance: Creating a Partnership for Success
June 19 – Business Etiquette
June 26 – Delivering Effective Presentations
June 30 – Business Writing / Email Etiquette
When Times are Tough…the Tough get Training
Computer Magic Training – Software Training Classes
Your opportunity for success in a constricting economic environment may depend upon employees taking on additional responsibilities. Help your employees be successful; provide them with training that will increase their proficiency and efficiency using the software tools available. Computer Magic Training can assess your employees’ skill levels and develop a customized plan to increase your employees’ effectiveness. We offer training at your offices and for a smaller number of employees, public classes. You are asking them to do more with less; give them the opportunity to be successful.
| You may be interested in these classes: | |
| Access Level 1 – Feb 5 | Adobe Acrobat Level – March 4 |
| QuickBooks – Feb 10 | Adobe Illustrator – March 13 |
| Office 2007 Upgrade New Features – Feb 12 | Adobe InDesign – March 17 |
| Outlook Power User – Feb 18 | Excel Tips & Tricks – March 18 |
| Adobe Dreamweaver Level 1 – Feb 19 | PowerPoint Masters Class – March 24-25 |
| Adobe FrameMaker Level 1 – Feb 24 | Excel VBA – April 21-22 |
| Adobe Photoshop Level 1 – Feb 25 | Access Macros – April 28-29 |
| Visio Level 1 – Feb 26 | Excel Macros – May 8 |
MURPHY’S MANNERS
POLISHING YOUR PROFESSIONAL IMAGE
Dear Murphy,
I’m in a silverware sweat. The boss invited me to attend a very formal dinner event with a client. I just got out of college, and my fine dining experiences in the last few years have consisted of pizza, burgers, and Pop Tarts. I’ve heard there’s a trick to knowing which fork to use, but I don’t know the trick. Can you set me straight?
Dear Silverware Sweat,
Our table manners speak volumes about us as professionals. There is a pretty simple rule for dealing with lots of utensils surrounding your plate. The trick is to work from the outside in. Start with the knife, fork, or spoon that is farthest from your plate, then work your way in with each course. The salad fork is the farthest out, followed by the dinner fork. The soup spoon is the farthest to the right, then the beverage spoon, salad knife, and dinner knife. Your dessert spoon and fork are above your plate or they are brought out with dessert. Murphy’s Minor Warning: The order could change slightly depending on such things as whether the salad is served before or after the main course. Don’t let it throw you. Stick with the outside in approach and you’ll be safe.
Dear Murphy,
I’m a Systems Engineer and I spend a lot of time working at the client location. My boss says she wants the Systems Engineers to interact more with the clients and establish a good rapport with them. The trouble is that I’m shy and I can’t make small talk. What should I do?
Dear Can’t Do Small Talk,
Some people seem to be born with a knack for small talk, but fear not, the rest of us can learn. One thing you can do is think of things to talk about ahead of time and go to the client prepared with a list of topics. Read the local newspaper and you’ll find lots of things to comment on. Ask people questions about themselves. Asking people about their jobs or a project they are working on often does the trick. People love to talk about themselves. The more you practice small talk the better you get at it. You can practice in less stressful environments than the client’s office. Chat up the clerk at the grocery store or try striking up a conversation at your workout club.
For all the curious readers who have been waiting for months to find out … WHO is MURPHY? The mystery was unveiled at our Open House! Jill Murphy is one of our fabulous instructors for Business Magic Training … She teaches our Business Etiquette, Business Writing, Email Etiquette, and Technical Business Writing courses. She makes it fun and interesting to learn how to write well – learn proper grammar and effective writing styles without being bored. Also a professional writer, Jill has authored a number of the computer training books that we use in our classes for Computer Magic Training. Take her classes and find out how much you’ll benefit from better writing abilities.
Let us empower you and your employees to achieve success in your professional goals and increase your productivity with individual or group classes of the highest quality! Please call us at (408) 261-2600 or email us at sharon@computermagictraining.com. Or visit us at www.computermagictraining.com for more information & on-line registration!