September 10, 2026
I work with graphic design, communication, video, and several digital tools, but Excel keeps finding its way back into my training work.
A blank spreadsheet is not particularly impressive. There are rows, columns, cells, and a lot of empty space. Then someone brings a real problem to the training room. A report takes too long to prepare. Information is scattered across several files. Someone repeats the same calculation every week. A table has hundreds of rows, and finding the right information has become frustrating.
That is when Excel stops being a collection of buttons and starts becoming useful.
The moment I wait for during training
At the beginning of a training session, people naturally copy what I do. I click somewhere, and they click there too. I enter a formula, and they try the same formula. There is nothing wrong with that because imitation is part of learning a new tool.
The moment I prefer comes later.
A learner gets a slightly different problem and cannot simply copy my screen anymore. I sometimes see the hesitation. They try one method, go back, think for a moment, and try something else. I have learned not to interrupt too quickly because I want to see whether they can find their own way through it.
When they do, that tells me more than successfully repeating every step I demonstrated.
Excel has changed, and so have I
The Excel I teach today is not exactly the Excel I taught years ago. Depending on the level and the problem, I can work with more advanced functions, Power Query, Power Pivot, and other ways of managing information more efficiently.
Now AI is part of the picture too. Someone can describe a problem and receive a suggested formula almost immediately. I use new technology myself, so I do not see that as something to fear.
But there is a catch. If I do not understand my data or the problem I am trying to solve, I may not recognize when the suggested answer is wrong.
That brings me back to basic questions: What am I trying to calculate? Where did this information come from? Is the data clean? Does the result actually make sense?
Those questions are less exciting than a new feature, but they survive software updates.
Teaching keeps me learning
One thing I have accepted about teaching software is that eventually somebody will ask a question I did not prepare for.
Sometimes I know the answer immediately. Sometimes I need a minute. Occasionally, I have to say that I want to check before answering.
Years ago, I probably felt more uncomfortable about that than I do now. Excel is too large for me to pretend I know every function and every possible method.
I can still discover a feature and wonder why I spent years doing the same task the long way. I test it, compare it with what I already use, and see whether it really saves time.
If it does, there is a good chance I will eventually teach it.
That may be one reason Excel has stayed in my work for so long. Even while teaching it, I am still learning it.
