LET'S COMMUNICATE
Agriculture Communication Newsletter
June 2006, No. 126

Contents

Computer Support
Ag Calendar Items
PowerPoint Templates
Write the Right Word
New in the Staff Resource Library

Computer Support

Did your computer freeze up? Having trouble with the wireless at a hotel? Need help downloading an update? Just a reminder that calls for computer support now go to the ITS help desk at 231-8685 or ndsu.helpdesk@ndsu.edu . Summer hours are 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. CST.

Please don't call a technician directly. If help desk staff can't answer your question in a few minutes, a technician will get back to you.

Ag Calendar Items

Summer is a busy time for NDSU Agriculture and University Extension. To both market your events and avoid internal conflicts, please enter all events that expand beyond one county on the Ag calendar.

The entry site is at the password-protected Ag Info Center. Go to http://info.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu  and login with your Extnet password, not your NDSU password. If you don't remember your Extnet password, contact the help desk at 231-8685.

In the Ag Info Center, click on Calendar in the left column then follow the directions to Create a New Calendar Entry. Be sure to check Show this Event on the External Calendar if you want the public to see it on the Web. Otherwise, it will only be seen by staff when they login to the Ag Info Center.

Only the person who enters an event can later go back in to change it.

PowerPoint Templates

Don't just select a design template from the PowerPoint choices like everyone else. Personalize your presentation with an NDSU template.

Several options are at http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/ext-emp/emp-ppt.htm .

FYI the bison logo is trademarked by NDSU Bison Athletics and may only be used with permission. Contact Becky Koch, Agnes Vernon or Deb Tanner if you want to use the bison logo, and we'll check with Athletics.

Write the Right Word

When including a URL for a Web site in a newsletter, brochure, poster, news release or publication, make sure it works.

Being directed to a Web site for more information and discovering the address listed doesn't work is very frustrating.

Checking URLs is especially important when updating an NDSU publication or adapting a publication from another state for use in North Dakota. The URLs presumably worked when the publication was new, but Web addresses can change quickly. Organizations develop new Web pages, companies go out of business and online publications get pulled from the Web.

Human error is another common reason Web addresses don't work. Transposing letters or numbers, forgetting a key stroke, adding an unwanted character or using a dot instead of a backslash is all too easy when inserting URLs into text, especially if the URLs are very long.

Here are a couple of ways to check URLs:

* Place the cursor anywhere in the URL. Then hold down the Ctrl key and left click your mouse. This usually works unless the URL is long and part of the address is on a second line.

* If the first option doesn't work, highlight the URL, hold down the Ctrl key and press the c key. Then open Internet Explorer, delete the address in the Address box, and while the cursor is in the box, hold down the Ctrl key and press the V key. The address you want to check should appear in the Address box. Then press the Enter key.

Ellen Crawford, (701) 231-5391, ellen.crawford@ndsu.edu

New in the Staff Resource Library

How to Organize Your Work and Your Life by Robert Moskowitz
342-pagebook
This book shows you how to order your priorities, work to a deadline without ignoring other responsibilities, work efficiently on a plane, organize an effective filing and paperwork system, get off phone calls without losing friends and start an amazing effective program for achieving personal dreams.

The Time Trap by R. Alec Mackenzie
195-page book
Time is a unique resource. Although everybody has exactly the same amount of it, there are always people who complain they never have enough. This book is a no-nonsense guide to managing your way out of the trap.

The Art of Time by Jean-Louis Servan-Schrieber
138-page book
Most of us have a problem managing time. We rush through our daily activities and find discontent and stress. This book illuminates the causes of our dissatisfaction and provides gems of insight into how we can achieve serenity and effectiveness in all that we do.

Success is a Team Effort by Charles B. Dygert
95-page book
Learn why people lose their natural-born creativity, the secret of cooperative thinking, how to use the seven intelligences in team building, the keys to building a democratic environment and how to move from conformity to community.

The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
268-page book
This book gives tips for growing your business in predictable and productive ways. It shows you how commonplace assumptions can get in the way of running businesses and takes you through the steps of business.

Winning Moves: The Body Language of Selling
299-page book
This book isolates the winning body language of sales and shows how to make it work for you. It helps you become relaxed, confident and your best self. It also helps you to project in a winning way in sales and social situations.

See http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/staffres/library/contents.htm to check out these and many other books, audio tapes and CDs, and videos, or browse the shelves in the Distribution Center in Morrill 10.

Let's Communicate

Past issues and topics from Lets Communicate are at www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/letscomm/letscomm.htm. If you have questions or comments, or would like to submit information or make a suggestion for Lets Communicate, please contact me.

 

LET'S COMMUNICATE

If you have questions or comments, or would like to submit information or make a suggestion, contact:

Agriculture Communication
Attn: Becky Koch
7 Morrill Hall
Phone: 231-7875
FAX: 231-7044
e-mail: bkoch@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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