Canva is an excellent, free, design tool that can save us time and money. It makes sense to use this instead of paying for expensive designers. This step by step guide addresses the problem of not being able to create a transparent background logo in Canva (without paying). When the background is white or doesn’t match your document, it ends up looking unprofessional. Solution:  The logo is created in Canva.  Once created and saved, we use a separate website to make the white background transparent.  It can then be used for multiple documents with ease and have that professional look to it.

This resource covers Tabs, Tables, Quick Parts, Graphics, Drawing tools, Short cut keys and practice exercises. It is set out in an easy to follow format and in a Word document so that it can be easily edited if necessary to accommodate version changes. I have used this as a basis for group training for a wide range of audiences and they have really appreciated the productivity skills contained within the training manual.

This resource is for those that are new to Microsoft Excel and want to quickly learn and practice using calculations in Excel. The spreadsheet has a number of different sheets within it that have clear instructions and practice exercises to use for yourself or your learners to quickly master basic concepts. I have used this to teach students and workplace learners with much success. Covers addition, subtraction, multiplication and division on sheet 1. Sheet 2 has Autosum and subsequent sheets practice using these with common spreadsheets such as invoices and profit and loss scenarios. Simply give learners a copy of this spreadsheet and work through together or let them try by themselves. ** Leave a review for this resource and receive one free resource of your choice from my shop. Communications, Workplace, ESOL and Computing Resources

This lesson summarises Thomas Kilmanns framework on Conflict Resolution. It covers the different styles of competing, avoiding, accommodating, compromising and collaborating in an easy to understand visual table. There is a task for learners to complete that has them filling in examples of the styles. There is also a word document that has reference to a couple of you-tube videos that can be useful to introduce the lesson. Files are presented in pdf and word format for editing if required. ** Leave a review for this resource and receive one free resource of your choice from my shop. Communications, Workplace, ESOL and Computing Resources

This resource contains information on how to plan and run an effective meeting as a step by step process. There is also a gap fill activity for learners to complete and both Agenda and Meeting templates that learners could fill out. I use these documents for learners to conduct a mock team meeting. ** Leave a review for this resource and receive one free resource of your choice from my shop. Communications, Workplace, ESOL and Computing Resources

This is an excellent resource to use for groups of people that have just come together, as a class or as a project team. It consists of an interactive powerpoint presentation that introduces the topic of values and starts the thought process of what values really are and why they are so important to identify on a personal and group level. The resource also contains a three page worksheet that has over 50 values listed. The group go through and identify their own values and then as a team agree on the top 5 values going forward. This is a great bonding exercise and allows the group to identify their own values and beliefs instead of having a teacher and / or facilitator imposing them on them. It is also a good team building activity that tests their negotiation skills. Sets the stage for an excellent learning programme to commence with motivated learners. ** Leave a review for this resource and receive one free resource of your choice from my shop. Communications, Workplace, ESOL and Computing Resources

Microsoft Word Tables is a 20 page step by step training manual with screen shots that will have yourself and/or your learners mastering tables in Microsoft Word in no time at all. This will add professionalism to worksheets, reports and other documentation. It is an essential skill. It includes a Teacher Training Manual, a Student Training Manual and exercise files. It has 5 exercises at the end of the Manual for students to complete. You are supplied with both Word format and pdf. In case you wish to edit the manuals for your own purposes. This can be used for instructor led training and / or for students to work through on their own.

This resource contains a very graphic filled PowerPoint presentation that makes learning easy as well as an iPad training manual that can be printed or updated as required. It can be used as a self tutorial or as a full lesson workshop style. I used it to train a group of adults that were new to using iPads. They really enjoyed the session and learnt a lot of useful skills. A lesson plan is also included if you intend to deliver workshop style.

This is a 25 slide engaging PowerPoint presentation that covers the important topic of Active Listening. It includes information on Body Language, Questioning, Paraphrasing, Facial Expressions, and best practice techniques. Teachers notes are included that contains additional information and answers to questions that are posed to students. There is a pdf version and a ppt version that can be edited if required. ** Leave a review for this resource and receive one free resource of your choice from my shop. Communications, Workplace, ESOL and Computing Resources

This is a PP presentation that covers cause and effect and the use of a fishbone diagram to establish the root cause of a workplace issue or problem. The PP is interactive and has tasks for learners to complete. I have used this with many different organisation types and sizes and it is always very well received. It is an extremely effective tool for project planning for the workplace or classroom. The PP is editable in case changes are needed to suit your audience. ** Leave a review for this resource and receive one free resource of your choice from my shop. Communications, Workplace, ESOL and Computing Resources

This resource contains rules, examples, and short challenges for commonly confused words and grammatical errors. It covers the following: 1. There, Their, They’re 2. To, Two, Too 3. Accept vs Except 4. Your vs. You’re 5. A lot vs alot vs allot 6. Lose vs Loose 7. Its vs It’s 8. No vs know 9. Threw vs through 10. Correct use of semi-colon (;) This resource contains 10 rules and example cards that can be used in the following ways: 1. As a revision e-book for anyone that needs a quick refresh on the most common writing errors. 2. As a group or pair activity for learners to practice and test each other in various ways. Instructions / Ideas for Group Activities Activity 1 – Group or pair competition 1. Print out the rules that you would like your learners to work on. (Laminate to keep them fresh, if you want). 2. Hand out 1 card to each pair or group. Have them read it and complete the short challenge. (Check to see if they have it correct – an answer sheet is provided) 3. Learners then present their task to the rest of the groups to complete (on whiteboard). This can be timed. 4. Groups get 1 point for each task that is correct. 5. Groups then brainstorm ideas to remember the associated rules. 6. Points are tallied up and the winner is announced. Activity 2 – Group discussion and trouble shoot session 1. Learners select a card and read it to the group 2. They complete the task themselves first of all writing up sentence and answer on whiteboard. 3. Group members state whether they agree or not with the answer and share their thoughts 4. The correct answer is revealed by the teacher 5. Groups brainstorm ideas to remember the rules. Activity 3 – Individual work 1. Print out the resource in its entirety, or print out parts that you’d like to work on. 2. Learners complete by themselves, and then check their answers in pairs. 3. Answers revealed by teacher and corrected if necessary. Activity 4 – As a Warm up Activity 1. Select one card at the beginning of the session 2. Group discuss and agree the answer for the task. 3. In pairs or individually think up more tasks to challenge the rest of the group.

This resource is a Powerpoint Presentation that can be used to train people on how to write emails effectively. I have used this on a leadership course and it was well received. There are some time saving gems in here that can be easily implemented into your work day. There are also tasks that can be completed in pairs or groups. Lots of areas for discussion. Also a good opportunity for businesses to think about and discuss best practice for their own organisation. The average office worker receives around 80 emails each day. With that volume of mail, individual messages can easily get overlooked. Follow these simple rules to get your emails noticed and acted upon: Don't over communicate by email. Make good use of subject lines. Keep messages clear and brief. Be polite. Check your tone. Proofread. ** Leave a review for this resource and receive one free resource of your choice from my shop. Communications, Workplace, ESOL and Computing Resources

This is a 20 slide powerpoint presentation that tackles the subject of Workplace Diversity. Our workplaces are made up of many different races, cultures and languages. This often creates communication problems that slow down production, cause misunderstandings and generally can create a divided workforce if issues are not addressed. There is an editable ppt file and a pdf. This powerpoint is for Supervisors and Managers that work in such an environment. It contains practical advice for dealing with language issues in particular. Topics covered: Definition Manager’s responsibilities The employee’s perspective Use clear english Other ways to bridge the gap Assess understanding

This resource contains step by step instructions with screen shots to show how to convert a pdf file to a google document, so that it can be edited. Two methods are outlined. Method one converts directly from Drive and Method 2 involves downloading a google conversion app. The steps are not difficult, but the benefits and time saving of this feature is worthwhile. Note that this does not enable a perfect conversion. It won't work well with large documents that contain a lot of diagrams, tables, or graphics.

This resource contains a PP and worksheets. I have listed this as a free resource for a short time so that you can sample my work. All I ask is that you leave a review please. An elevator speech can be used to introduce yourself, talk about your company, network or pitch an idea. Everyone should have an elevator speech for different situations. It allows you to clearly and concisely get your message across so that others understand you and your intentions. It can also be used as a 'get to know you' activity at the beginning of new classes. This presentation focuses on using an Elevator Speech in a workplace environment. By the end of the presentation learners will have created and practiced their own elevator speech. Learning Objectives: - Understand what an elevator speech is. - Understand why you need to have an elevator speech. - Learn how to prepare an elevator speech. - Learn how to deliver an elevator speech. For other free and low cost training resources please visit my shop: To view other free and low cost resources please visit my shop: Communications, Workplace, ESOL and Computing Resources And please remember to leave a review. Much appreciated :)

Use this cheat sheet to increase your productivity when using Zoom for online meetings and classes. It is here to stay and to make your life easier, I have put together a sheet of Zoom Shortcut keys that you can print out and use to get more efficient when collaborating online with work colleagues, students, learners and friends.