Dean Brenner

We think and talk about persuasion a lot over here at The Latimer Group. We believe that the ability to use your words to create good outcomes is a critical skill in our world today… this has probably always been true, but perhaps never MORE true than it is today. In a world where communication and information […]

There are lots of ways to think about persuasion. And our team always advocates an approach that is based on preparation and a thorough understanding of the audience. But there’s one fundamental and additional element that can never be forgotten. In addition to a thorough understanding of your audience, you also need a thorough understanding […]

When we are listening to music, and there is a moment of silence in the piece of music, that moment of silence is not an absence of music. No. Rather, the moment of silence is part OF the music. I love this idea. The silence is a conscious choice by the composer. The silence contributes […]

We talk about this theme often here at The Latimer Group. But as with any important theme, it merits multiple mentions. When we are communicating in the workplace, we need to make sure we have the correct mindset. And that mindset is this… be more than a messenger. We need to be thinking about doing […]

Everyone always wants to talk about leadership. Every organization is obsessed with training its leaders, present and future. And many professionals invest in developing their own leadership skills. Important stuff, and I am not suggesting those are bad things to focus on. But leadership is only one part of the equation for a successful organization. […]

Most people think of their communication as a tangible and clear output: words on the page, images and messages on a slide, words coming out of the mouth. And there is truth in that belief. Strong communication is a series of clear outputs. We spend a ton of energy here at The Latimer Group helping […]

I spoke at a professional networking group last week, with a room full of CIOs and IT Leaders. It was a wonderful event, with tons of great questions, stories and discussions. But one story really resonated with me, and I have not stopped thinking about it since. One of the leaders in the room took […]

“Music is the space between the notes.” ~Claude DeBussy In many workshops, we see two parallel fears come up over and over. People fear silence when they’re speaking. Silence makes them uncomfortable. Therefore, they often fill the silence with more sound — extra words and non-words (we call them “verbal pauses’). And at the same time, people fear […]

We spend a ton of time helping our participants make the most persuasive argument possible, and are constantly hearing presentations seeking approvals, alignment, resources or a sale of some kind. And in many cases, we are helping our youngest clients advocate for themselves in a job interview. All of us need to be good advocates […]

The world is moving fast, the information and the content are coming at us as if from a fire hose… time is precious… organizations are leaner… attention spans have dropped… and everyone is being socially conditioned to “change the channel” very quickly. In other words, there is a world of opportunity for the person (and […]