Happy new year to all! We trust and hope that your holidays were happy and healthy. We’re back today from a well-deserved and welcomed break, and are excited for a great 2015.
Over the course of our holiday break, we spent a lot of time thinking about the year gone by, and the year to come. And we, as you would expect, spent a lot of time thinking about some valuable communication resolutions for 2015. Here is what we will be working on, for ourselves and with our clients:
1. Preparation. We are going to double down on our effort to think through our communication, and what we want our audience to hear… and what our audience NEEDS to hear. We are going to focus more than ever on understanding our audience and communicating in a way that will be valuable to them.
2. Clarity and brevity. The immediate output of good preparation is the ability to make the point clearly and get to the point quickly. Clarity and brevity. We resolve to work hard to make communication valuable and not waste people’s time.
3. Practice. Preparation is not enough. Great communication skills require practice, out loud. Record yourself, practice in front of others. Listen to yourself. How does it actually sound? What will you actually say when you begin your meeting, conference call, presentation or important conversation? (NOTE: Reviewing your notes or slides in total silence is NOT practice!)
These are not new themes for The Latimer Group. But they are the correct things to be talking about as the new year gets underway. Think about your reputation as a speaker and a communicator. And think about how powerful it would be for you if everyone thought of you as someone who was always prepared, and always got to the point quickly and clearly.
What a powerful brand that would be.
Make it happen in 2015!
Have a great day.
At The Latimer Group, our individual Coaching services are highly customized and designed to help you achieve your specific goals. Typical engagements focus on developing skill sets in Leadership Communications, Public Speaking, and Executive-Level Business Presentations. To learn more, e-mail us at info@TheLatimerGroup.com
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