9 Ways to Stay Productive on SharePoint

When I paired up with fellow SharePoint expert Geoff Varosky (@gvaro) last year for a presentation at SPTechCon Boston, we decided to create a fake company as part of our effort to create use cases and working examples without having to rely on the Microsoft-provided generic company Contoso. During our working sessions, somehow the conversation degraded (if you know Geoff and I, this is not surprising) into a wild and silly fake company, where our characters (yes, we created characters) were also in a band together. So we found ourselves in Boston, presenting several beginner scenarios on how someone new to SharePoint could quickly become a "rock star," with all of our examples based around the activities two fake employees in a fake rock band called Horse's End.

Why Horse's End? Our fake company was called Hoffman Ruler Supply of South-East North Dakota, with the acronym of HRSSEND. Hence, Horse's End was born. Check out our fake 'Behind the Music' video. 

All silliness aside, there was actually some good content that came out of that well-attended session, where we provided a quick walk through of some of the basic Information Worker activities in SharePoint that can make you more productive more quickly. However, a couple conversation threads came out of that event around end user adoption, and I thought I'd expand on that topic.

One of the difficulties for any organization in trying to get a solid return on investment in any collaboration platform is getting their employees to use the tools. Many IT organizations treat productivity issues as a technical issue — they think that somehow more tools and more IT spending will solve many of the problems they face, but the problems organizations have are typically cultural issues, not technology issues. And the way to solve those issues is to change the culture around the platform by talking about it, sharing experiences and making change management (issues, feature requests, business alignment efforts) more transparent. 

At the core, however, it takes proactive end users who are seeking ways to improve their skills and overall productivity. In our SPTechCon session, Geoff and I outlined nine ways that end users could stay productive on SharePoint as follows: 

1. Use it

Sounds simple enough, but breaking the bad habits of managing documents through email, or sharing files with team members using web-based free tools, can take time. Make a concerted effort to move your content and activities into SharePoint, and get familiar with all of its capabilities.

2. Keep using it

Consistency is key, as it is very easy to slip back into those bad habits. Make an effort to use the full capability of the platform — don't just use it as a glorified file share, but add your content, tag it with relevant keywords, share it with those within your project team or organization, and slowly expand your knowledge around forms, workflow and social so that you can get the most out of the platform.

3. Solve one problem at a time

One mistake many organizations make is trying to solve all of the business problems at once. Don't try it. Instead, outline the business processes you would like to improve, and then prioritize them, attacking them one by one. This will allow you to learn from your mistakes, and refine your plans as you go. You'll also learn what can be done out of the box, so you won't rely too heavily on customizations.

4. Learn from others, share your experiences

Whether through forums, at conferences or within your company halls, share details on what you are doing with the platform, and look for how other teams have deployed similar solutions so that you can share your best practices, and learn from theirs.

5. Get involved in your company user group

Make SharePoint a social activity. Attend your company's weekly or monthly SharePoint user groups, or start one up. It might be two people getting together over lunch once a month to talk SharePoint best practices, but you'll be amazed at how much you can improve what you are doing — and learn about new functionality — by talking with others who understand your business, your industry and your company culture.

 

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Source : cmswire[dot]com

Scott Stratten's Tips For Becoming A Presentation Sensation

How to please your organizer, your audience, your wallet, even the A/V guys.

Speaking at events is a great way to generate potential business and position yourself as an expert in your field. However, problems usually occur when somebody speaks for free and needs to make money by selling from the stage. Those talks end up being a commercial, simply not valuing the audience’s time or providing any real content.

If you’re already a speaker, or thinking of getting into it, I have put together a collection of 18 tips that may help things go more smoothly for you on stage.

Be You

When you try to be someone else on stage, it makes you even more nervous. I dress like me, I talk like me, and I say what I think. I tell stories. That may not be your style. People will try to knock that out of you. Just in the past two days, one person said I should have better ‘‘hygiene’’ and wear a tie (I wear a black shirt and have facial hair). Another person said I was ‘‘over the top’’ with how I speak. What you don’t hear is the silent majority who like you being you and who are relieved that it isn’t another stuffed-up suit and tie on stage; and for some of us, ‘‘over the top’’ means really freaking passionate about what we say. I ain’t changing that for anybody. And neither should you.

But Remember, It's Not About You

Every time you take the stage in front of an audience, you need to be thinking about them. What are they looking for? Where are they in terms of how much they know and understand about your topic? I give a very different talk to a crowd who throws up no hands when I ask, ‘‘Who has a Twitter account?’’ than to a social media club. To make it great for every audience, you need to make it about your audience.

Don't Be A "Speaker," Be An Expert Who Speaks

Speakers are a ‘‘nice to have,’’ but experts are a necessity. There is a high demand for people who can both provide content and deliver it effectively from the stage. Some can do one of the two, most don’t do either, and a select few do both. Aim to be great.

Have Passion For What You’re Saying

If you don’t, your audience won’t, either. You are up on that stage for a reason.

Ask For The Conference Organizer's Mobile Number

Text them when you get in safely. A less stressed meeting planner/client means a happier one, too. This goes double if you’re the opening keynote the next day.

Make Your Organizers Feel Special

Record a video shout out to the conference’s potential attendees and let them get to know you. It can be only a minute or two long—just enough to allow the client to use the clip on its blog/site to help generate buzz for the event.

Change Your Presentation Every Time You Give It

Update stats; bring new examples. Own the content; don’t repeat it. This is especially true in a field like social media, where what ‘‘we know’’ is changing so quickly. You really need to be on top of things. Setting up a Google Alert on different topics will ensure you know about current related news stories and events. If you’ve given a certain presentation numerous times and feel it’s routine, either change it up or trash it. It may be the 20th time you’ve told a story, but it’s the first time that audience has heard it.

Do Some Pre-talk Connecting

If the conference has a #hashtag on Twitter, start finding people who are going to be there by searching with it. Talk to them, build relationships, and then track them down at the event to say hi. It’ll be like you already know them, because you do.

Do Some Pre-talk Research

Watch Twitter for mentions of your talk and let people know you appreciate them spreading your word. Post helpful tips that have to do with your content by using the same hashtag for the conference. It’s a great way to connect with your audience and also find out what kind of things they are looking for in your talk.

Arrive Early And End Your Presentation Early

It is always great to leave time for questions and/or feedback from the audience. You don’t want to have to rush off stage. Getting to know the audience beforehand and talking to them afterward to answer questions is a forgotten thing that brings the highest value.

The Power Is Not The Point

Slides are there as navigation points, not to be the content. If everything you say is on your slides, you’ve rendered yourself useless. Speak; don’t read. You should also be prepared to present without slides in case something goes wrong.
And then do it on purpose. Speakers are at their best during Q&A because they’re not handcuffed to a slide. Think about that.

Don’t Sell From The Stage

If you start every point with ‘‘In my book ...,’’ you’re doing a commercial, not a seminar. The best way to sell is to teach. I’m not saying ignore that you have a book, just simmer down a bit; we heard you the first five times.

Be More Interesting Than Angry Birds

You’re not their parent. Don’t tell them to put phones away; just ask as a courtesy to put the ringer on silent. I don’t understand speakers who tell audiences they can’t text or tweet during a talk. Make your content so good that people feel they have to tell others right away but great enough that they don’t want to miss a word.

Record Every Session You Do

Share the video on your blog and watch it yourself. Learn from it. This takes a single talk and makes it evergreen and scalable.

Ask For Testimonials

Don’t just assume the organizer will send one.

Keep Speaking

Once you start speaking, you are going to want to keep those talks coming. Social media is a great tool for getting the word out. Share videos; get to know other speakers online. Learn about conferences and get out and attend them.

And Last, Worth Saying Twice At Least: It’s Not About You

As with all parts of our businesses, let’s remember to focus on what our audience or customers are looking for and be the one they look to when they need it.

Excerpted with permission of the publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc., from The Book of Business Awesome / The Book of Business UnAwesome by Scott Stratten (c) 2012 Scott Stratten.

Follow Scott on twitter at @unmarketing.

Source : fastcompany[dot]com