Dean Brenner

My wife and I were recently organizing a box of keepsakes we have been collecting over the last few years: birth announcements, report cards, art class masterpieces… you get the idea. And in that box, we found a note we had written to ourselves, where we had laid out our intended “principles of parenting.” We […]

I love to garden. And I love being part of a team. So let’s connect those two topics today. Every skilled gardener knows that building a healthy and successful garden requires planning, effort and maintenance. You need to understand the environment for your would-be garden… sun, soil and water are the big variables. You need […]

We post frequently on this blog about listening skills. Listening is of critical importance to your ability to persuade, sell, lead, follow… everything in the work place. But here is an important question for you to think about. How well do you listen to people you don’t like? We all come in contact with people […]

Checking in from vacation with my family… Our son had a friend with us for a few days. And amidst all of the typical summertime outdoor activities, they asked for (and received) permission for some daily screen time. The two boys are both avid fans of Minecraft, a digital world I know precious little about. […]

Greetings from vacation with my family! I was thinking about power dynamics yesterday, as I watched my fourteen year old son and my nine year old daughter interact while building a sand castle on the beach. They get along great, but on some days it is an uneasy alliance. They are 5.5 years apart in […]

We spend all of our time here at The Latimer Group coaching and training people to get to the point, and to use their communication to drive good outcomes. In other words, we are teaching people to be persuasive all the time. And there are lots of things that contribute to being a persuasive communicator. […]

We preach preparation and audience understanding, all day, every day here at The Latimer Group. One of our foundational beliefs is that the more you understand about what your audience cares about, wants, needs, is motivated by, the easier it will be for you to build connection, anticipate roadblocks, and build message plans that are […]

Hey Friends, In the modern business world, there are really five ingredients that have to be present all the time for great communication to be possible. Depending upon who you’re “cooking” for, depending on what audiences you’re preparing for, you’re going to make choices of which of those ingredients needs to be most dominant. So, […]

Here is a common scenario that I have watched and experienced many times: the words that were spoken/written by someone were received in way that was different from the intended impact. The message that was received or the feeling that was created was not at all what the speaker/writer was trying to send or create. […]

The single most frequently asked question I hear regarding public speaking is this… “Dean, how can I be more confident as a speaker?” I’ve been in this line of work for more than twenty years, and every year, I hear that question more than any other. And throughout my time leading The Latimer Group, my answer has remained […]