How I started teaching Excel?
Ankush Chopra 
Categories: : Your Dose of Excel
Ankush Chopra
FOUNDER, Qling
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Key Takeaways
- Story of how an innocuous call led to a teaching assignment
- Teaching is the best way to learn more about any subject
- You get the most joy by making the experience relevant for your learners
I have been using Excel since 1997 and teaching since 2011. If you work with data, then it is one of the most crucial skills to have.
If you haven't read my earlier blog 10 things most people do not know about Microsoft Excel, I would recommend that you read it to get more out of Excel. And you can also read my post on three common mistakes to avoid while working with Excel.
In this blog post, however, I want to share my story about how I started teaching Excel. I hope you will enjoy it!
The recruitment call
In 2011, my alma mater reached out asking for references of an industry practitioner who could be a guest faculty and teach Excel to students pursuing post-graduation.
After five minutes of discussing options, I realized I was in the mix for the position of guest faculty. And another five minutes later, the academic coordinator was discussing dates that would suit me.
An innocuous call led to a teaching assignment
I love Excel
I got introduced to Excel in the late 90s. I enrolled in a course where I first worked on Excel. It was fascinating to learn what all Excel could do, and it became my go-to tool for everything - calculations, analysis, notes, plans, etc.
In 2004, I truly realized it's power. It was my first client engagement, and one of my colleagues would spend 6 hours daily preparing a status report. I took it as a challenge and automated that report using Excel. All of a sudden, our team had 30 additional hours available each week!
There has been no looking back since then, and in each organization I have worked, I have been able to make significant contributions thanks to Excel.
One of the biggest advantages of being good in Excel is that you get involved in all the critical analysis of client's data. As a management consultant, it was vital for me as this provided me direct access to critical meetings with clients to explain the story that the numbers told.
Preparing my first course
Agreeing on dates to teach at my alma mater was easy. However, now came the challenging part - designing a course for some of the sharpest minds in the country.
Like most management students, these students had worked in leading organizations earlier. I knew this was not going to be an easy group to teach. And, I was looking forward to it.
Teaching is the best way to learn more about any subject
Day 1 of teaching
After spending several days designing and redesigning the curriculum, I was ready with the course. The first day of teaching went alright. The students were thrilled by what I taught them.
The next few weeks went by, and I had finished delivering my first course to two different cohorts. The feedback from both of them was outstanding, and I have continued to teach since then.
A deep sense of gratitude
The most satisfying part of teaching is when the students tell me that the course has made a difference in their lives. It keeps me going and encourages me to continue enhancing the course content and assignments. And work with the students as they go through the course and earn their certificates and badges.
You get the most joy by making the experience relevant for your learners
If you are looking to master Excel, then you can consider our course Excel Masterclass. This course is ideal for working professionals, as it focuses on what will help you deliver success at work. You can read more here.
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10 things most people do not know about Microsoft Excel
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- You can write formulas faster and free-of-errors using dynamic arrays
- The new formulas in Excel 365 have significantly reduced the complexity in solving business problems
Three common mistakes to avoid while working with Excel
- With systematic learning, nothing can stop you from using Excel with ease over time
- Most people teach how to use formulas in Excel. However people want to learn Excel to solve business problems
- Young professionals can benefit tremendously in their careers by mastering the skill of analyzing data in Excel
How a young employee achieved more with Excel?
- Limited understanding of Excel can prevent you from getting credible insights from data
- To be successful, you need to learn analysis and not the top 5 formulas
- Excel is an easily available tool that lets you find answers to business problem quickly
Thinking about taking our Excel Masterclass?
- Deciding which Excel course to take can be hard
- There are 5 important factors a working professional must consider while selecting an Excel course
- Good Excel skills enable you to add more value to your analysis, irrespective of your niche
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