Dean Brenner

I had an interesting question come up in a workshop last week. One of the participants made a statement and then asked me to validate it… he said “You can never go wrong being self-deprecating… right?“ I thought about it for a few moments, and quickly responded with “I am not sure I agree with […]

This is the sixth and final short essay written by CEO and Founder Dean Brenner to commemorate the 20th anniversary of The Latimer Group. In this series, Dean has been sharing his reflections on, and learnings from, the last two decades. In today’s essay, Dean shares the lessons and learnings that have had the most […]

We coach people to be as powerful in their communication as possible. But sometimes, your audience is just not open to what you have to say. Our clients often share experiences where the audience is not always open minded. Some of our clients tell us, “They don’t want to hear that from me,” due to […]

This is the fifth in a series of short essays written by CEO and Founder Dean Brenner to commemorate the 20th anniversary of The Latimer Group. In this series, Dean will share his reflections on, and learnings from, the last two decades. Today’s topic is management of the stress and emotions that, for many, often […]

Several of my coaching conversations have been focused on the same thing of late… when I am speaking to my boss, how do I stay out of the weeds? I get stuck in the deep detail, and he/she gets frustrated with me. Sound familiar? “Too much detail” is a constant issue in the 21st century business […]

We do an enormous amount of writing here about how to prepare well, and not waste other people’s time… especially if that person is your boss. We all know how important it is to be able to communicate well to people above you on the org chart. But let’s flip that around for a moment. […]

My colleagues and I always talk and teach about the importance of knowing your audience, and preparing for your work communication correctly. And at the center of that work is the ability to clarify the message and “the ask,” to try to anticipate what the audience will care about, and the questions or objections they […]

Every day is a good day to express some gratitude. But the Thanksgiving season here in the United States seems like an especially good time to pause, reflect, and say “thanks” to those around us. My colleagues and I are putting the finishing touches on another very busy stretch of client time, and will spend […]

When you stand up to speak in a professional setting, there are three primary ways you are interacting with your audience: the message you have developed, the slides you have created, and the delivery skills you exhibit. All three matter, because all three impact your audience’s experience. Many people think about their work presentations this […]

Hello friends! We continue our #LatimerAt20 journey today, where we share our best communication insights and learnings from the last twenty years. In today’s animated story, we address a sensitive issue that we hear about from many, many people… and in most cases, those people come to us privately and cautiously. Feeling some level of […]