Getting Started with Microsoft Office: Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Microsoft Office is one of the most common sets of programs in offices, schools and small businesses, so learning it well is a useful first step in computer skills. The three programs most courses start with are Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The exact version and the features shown in a course can differ, so always check what a course covers.

Word is for documents: letters, reports, CVs and forms. The first things to learn are typing and formatting text, paragraphs and lists, headings and styles, tables, page setup, images, and saving or exporting a file as PDF. Good habits here, such as using styles instead of formatting every line by hand, save a lot of time later.

Excel is for numbers and lists. Start with entering data, formatting cells, simple formulas such as sum and average, sorting and filtering, and then move to references, basic functions and simple charts. Many learners find Excel difficult at first because they try to memorise functions; it is easier to learn each one while solving a small real problem, such as a monthly budget or a class attendance sheet.

PowerPoint is for presentations. Learn how to plan a short story for your slides, use clear titles and few words per slide, choose readable fonts and colours, add images and simple animations, and practise presenting. A good presentation is mostly good planning, not decoration.

A sensible order is Word first, then Excel, then PowerPoint, and then using the three together, for example a report in Word with a table from Excel and a short presentation of the results. Whatever the course, practise on tasks from your own life or work, keep your files organised in named folders, and learn a handful of keyboard shortcuts such as copy, paste, save and undo, which make everyday work faster.