As one of the most used programmes in the business world, Microsoft Word remains a popular resource for document creation of all types. Each day millions of Word documents are written and saved, and as such, when it comes to boosting office productivity, it certainly helps to have a couple of useful tips up your sleeve.
Microsoft Word was one of the very first Microsoft Office applications to be introduced. Now an essential part of daily life for most, Word is not just a handy tool for writers and teachers, it is also a business tool often used to create invoices and other necessary business documents. The programme was first launched back in October of 1983 and originally it was called the Multi-Word Tool. It was later simplified to what we all know it as today, which is Microsoft Word.
As the go-to Office application used by around 90% of businesses around the world, most employees are already proficient in the use of this application. But there are still a handful of tips and tricks that you can tap into, if you are looking for a way to improve your productivity.
- Text to speech
Did you know that Word has a handy feature that allows you to talk to your computer and have it turn your words into text? Since research has proven time and again that most of us speak faster than we can type, this handy feature can come in very helpful if you are looking to save time or if you are just too tired or lazy to type things out. You will need to install a feature called Dictate, which is available from Microsoft, in order to convert your speech to text.
- Look up synonyms
Want to sound more professional with your writing? Or maybe you have just used the same word one too many times and now it is looking a little repetitive, Word has a synonym feature which will allow you to highlight a word, right-click to open a drop-down menu, and then from there select the synonyms option to find a better word.
- Improve your proofreading
In business, grammatical and spelling mistakes can look sloppy and unprofessional. With Word, you already know it will protect you from the more obvious mistakes, but there is a way that you can take things to the next level, by enhancing your proofreading. Open the file menu and from there go to the options. After that click on proofing, which should be displayed in a tab and have a look at the various enhancements available.
- Do some research
You don’t necessarily have to go into a browser each time you are looking for new information. Instead, with Word’s new Researcher tool, you can run a Google search from the programme while you work. This awesome feature is guaranteed to give your productivity a boost and it is going to save you loads of time. This feature is also designed to give you only the best quality resources.
- Use Read Aloud
With the latest versions of Word, under the review tab there is a feature called Read Aloud. This is a proofreading tool of sorts and it basically reads your text out to you. This is an especially helpful feature for those who have big blocks of text. While reading over your text is the most common way to proofread, it is not unusual to miss something while editing. Having it read aloud to you by someone (or something) else, is often a better way to spot and correct mistakes.
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