Publisher’s Note: This post was written by Lauren St. Germain, who has recently joined The Latimer Group as a Facilitator and Coach. We first met Lauren several years ago, in one of our workshops while she was working for one of our major clients. Lauren caught our attention right away as someone we might want to work more with some day… and we are grateful that “some day” finally arrived! We have been adding new voices to our blog, and are excited to share Lauren’s first post on our platform. Lauren’s voice is strong and engaging, and we know you will enjoy her just as much as we do.
Welcome Lauren! – Dean Brenner
As a new Coach and Facilitator for The Latimer Group, I’ve spent a lot of time learning and internalizing our training materials over the last few months. And with this focus, I started to see our strategies in action in more places than just the training presentations I was practicing from.
I’ve begun to call this: Finding Latimer in the Wild.
My most recent experience finding Latimer in the Wild was with an advertisement that I received in the mail from The American Automobile Association (AAA). They are a membership company, and with your membership, you receive 24-hour Roadside Assistance for your vehicle. The ad they sent was simple and utilized one of our most powerful strategies for creating a persuasive visual for your document: the side-by-side comparison.
I opened the envelope to find a one-page document that was divided in half vertically. On the left-hand side was a large frowning face with the label “If you don’t have road service already lined up, here’s what happens…” and listed below it were seven frustrating steps you’d have to take. On the right-hand side was a big smiling face with the label “If you’re a member of AAA, here’s what happens,” and beneath it was one step: Call AAA.
The use of this side-by-side comparison showed me instantly how a AAA membership was a great solution for all drivers who want to avoid the hassle and frustration of getting help when you need roadside assistance. The ad required minimal text, was easy for me to absorb and, best of all, it was convincing! Why would I want to take seven frustrating steps, when I could join AAA and only need to take one? This ad was the perfect use of our side-by-side comparison technique, and I was so excited to see this strategy in action! Yes, I recognize that’s a little nerdy, but what do you expect from a communications coach?
Do you ever see any of the strategies we teach outside of the workplace? If you start to look around, you’ll begin to see them everywhere.
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Does your team:
– Overwhelm the audience with too much detail?
– Make things too complicated?
– Fail to ask for what they want or need?
Does your organization:
– Waste time because of poor internal communication?
– Take too long to make decisions?
– Struggle to clarify and frame discussions?
Do your leaders:
– Exhibit poor executive presence?
– Lean on incomplete communication skills?
– Fail to align the organization?
We transform teams and individuals with repeatable toolsets for persuasive communication. Explore training, coaching, and consulting services from The Latimer Group.
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Love the real life example… this gave me a different and interesting way to look at junk mail.
Great to see you here Lauren and best of luck!