What Makes Excel Training Stick (Hint: It's Not More Features)

You've probably done Excel training before.

Maybe you watched a few YouTube videos.

Maybe you sat through a course where someone walked through formulas on a screen.

Maybe you even took notes.

And then… nothing stuck.

A week later, you're back to Googling the same problems.

Back to doing things the slow way.

Back to feeling like you didn't really learn anything.

The Training That Doesn't Work

Here's what most Excel training looks like:

Someone stands at the front (or on a screen) and shows you features.

"Here's how VLOOKUP works."

"Here's what Pivot Tables can do."

"Here's the syntax for this formula."

You watch. You nod. You think "that makes sense."

But when you sit down at your own desk with your own data, you can't remember how to do it.

Because watching someone else do something isn't the same as doing it yourself.

The Passive Learning Trap

Most training treats Excel like a textbook subject.

Learn the theory. Memorise the functions. Pass the test.

But Excel isn't a theory subject - it's a practical tool.

And practical tools aren't learned by listening to lectures or reading documentation.

They're learned by using them. By building things. By making mistakes and figuring out how to fix them.

That's where real learning happens.

What Actually Makes Training Stick

So if passive learning doesn't work, what does?

Simple: doing the work yourself.

Not watching someone else do it.

Not following along step-by-step with a pre-built example.

Actually building something that matters to you, with real data, solving your own problems.

Learning by Doing

Here's the difference:

Passive learning: "Here's how VLOOKUP works. Watch me do it on this sample data."

Active learning: "You need to match Customer Names to Account Numbers in your own spreadsheet. How do you think you can do it? I'll help when you get stuck."

One approach gives you knowledge. The other gives you capability.

And capability is what actually sticks.

Real Problems, Not Generic Examples

Most training uses fake data.

"Here's a list of Fruit Sales. Let's create a Pivot Table."

But you don't work with Fruit Sales. You work with Logistics Data, or Financial Reports, or Customer Information.

And when the example doesn't match your reality, your brain doesn't make the connection.

Training sticks when you're solving real problems with real data that actually matters to your job.

Making Mistakes Is Part of Learning

Here's something most training gets wrong: it tries to prevent mistakes.

Step 1, step 2, step 3 - follow exactly and you'll get it right.

But that's not how learning works.

You learn more from fixing a broken formula than from copying a working one.

You learn more from figuring out why your Pivot Table isn't grouping correctly than from watching someone build a perfect one.

Mistakes aren't failures - they're where the actual learning happens.

Building Confidence, Not Just Knowledge

The goal of training isn't to memorise every Excel function.

It's to feel confident that when you face a problem, you can figure it out.

That confidence comes from doing it yourself. From struggling a bit. From solving problems independently (with support when you need it).

Not from watching someone else make it look easy.

How Office Mango Training Works

Our training is built on one principle: Learn by Doing.

Not watching.

Not listening.

Doing.

Follow-Along Examples

We don't lecture while you take notes.

We work through examples together - and you're building alongside us the entire time.

You're not watching someone else's screen.

You're doing it on yours.

Right there.

In real-time.

Collaboration and Problem-Solving

When something doesn't work, we figure it out together.

If someone in the room gets stuck, we work through it as a group.

If someone finds a different way to solve the problem, we explore that too.

It's collaborative. It's interactive.

It's not one person talking at a room full of people copying.

Mistakes Are Expected

You're going to make mistakes during training. Everyone does!

And that's good.

Because figuring out why something broke and how to fix it is where real learning happens.

We don't skip past errors or pretend they don't exist - we use them as teaching moments.

Tailored to Your Reality

The examples we use aren't random.

If you're in Logistics, we're working with Logistics-type data.

If you're in Finance, we're building Financial Reports.

If it's a Company Workshop, we tailor it to the specific roles and data types in the room.

The data might not be yours specifically (unless we're doing Mentoring with approval), but it's relevant to your industry, your role, and the problems you actually face.

Practical, Not Theoretical

By the end of Training, you haven't just learnt the concepts.

You've built things.

You've solved problems.

You've practiced the skills you'll actually use.

And you leave knowing you can do it again - because you've already done it.

Why This Approach Works

Look, Excel is not complicated because the features are hard.

It's complicated because there are so many ways to solve the same problem.

And the only way to get comfortable with that is to actually solve problems yourself.

Not watch someone else solve them.

Not memorise the "right" way to do it.

Build things, make mistakes, figure out what works for your situation.

That's how you go from "I think I understand" to "I know I can do this."

Training Should Make You Capable

The goal of Training isn't to turn you into an Excel expert who knows every function.

It's to make you capable and confident with the tools you actually need.

So when you face a problem at work, you don't panic or call for help immediately.

You think: "I can probably figure this out." And then you do.

That's what good training does.

And that only happens when you do the work yourself.

Ready to Learn by Doing?

If you're tired of training that doesn't stick, we'd love to work with you.

We offer:

• Drop-in Days - hands-on sessions where you bring your laptop and build alongside us and other people from different companies

• Company Workshops - Tailored Training for your team, focused on the problems you actually face

• Company Webinars - Live, interactive sessions with real-time problem-solving

• Mango Mentors Programme - Develop in-house Excel champions who can support your team

All of our training is hands-on, practical, and built around doing - not watching.

📧 Email: info@OfficeMango.co.uk
🗓️ Book directly: Let's Explore Consultation

Because the best way to learn Excel isn't to watch more videos.

It's to build something that matters - with support when you need it.