1. Database- how not to look foolish - Get more done in less time

2. How to tell a great story - Business success

1. Database consistency. How not to look foolish

Your Quick Fix
It doesn't matter if it's 1 or 10,000 names. Your quick fix is the Proper function in Excel. You'll find it in the functions menu (fx). It's a veritable gem, changing the first letter of each word to upper case, the rest to lower case.

So {NAMEL} becomes {NAMEP} or {NAMEU} becomes {NAMEP} (bet you're wondering how I did that huh?)

To use it simply enter a new empty column next to the one you want to turn proper. Click fx; select proper. Then all you do is put your mouse in the very first cell of the column you want changed. Hit okay and then drag the right hand corner of the cell down to the very last piece of data. Voila! The whole column is proper. Don't forget to highlight your new column, copy. Then paste "paste special" right over it to turn it from a 'formula' to actual text.

2. How to tell a great story

Whether you are going for a new job, want a to hold a convincing discussion, or need to sell or give a great presentation there's a secret - and that's stories. Everyone loves a good story and stories can carry your message very well. But there's skill to telling a good story.

Here's 3 tips to improve your story telling skills.

I/You Ratio
People are interested in themselves. So turn your story around. Example, instead of beginning with "my partner did this" change it to "I'm sure you have a person in your life that did this (like my partner"). Don't make yourself the heroine/hero all the time. Tell it in a different way.

Description/Dialogue
Good stories have flesh and blood characters and dialogue. For example I used to tell a story about hiring a new office manager. I told it in bare detail. Now I talk about Rose. I describe with words and my hands what she looked like. I tell some of the story as a dialogue between her and I. It works! Do you know my actual office manager went to a dinner party two weeks ago and told someone new to her who she worked with. The first thing that person asked Kirsty was "Are you Rose?"

Hollywood it
The story doesn't have to start in the beginning. Why not look for dramatic impact. Start with a statement that grabs them and makes them want more. Example - I heard a wonderful long story at a conference by an American speaker about how he was bumped to first class, sat next to Richard Simmons (the exercise guru), wasn't allowed to eat by Richard and then R.S. started to drink and had everyone in first class doing jumping jacks.

After I went to the speaker and suggested that a "Hollywood" way to tell the story would be to begin this way: "There I was. 10,000 feet in the air. In first class. Doing jumping jacks."