Dean Brenner

My colleagues and I coach people on their communication skills for a living… all day, every day, for the last 21+ years. Over that time period we have learned and re-learned a lot of things about communication, and the realities inside the typical corporate entity. In many ways, my teammates and I are not just […]

I love to use metaphors when I teach. And this is one of my favorites. The best photographers carry around a camera bag, and in that camera bag they carry many different kind of lenses. Different situations call for use of a different lens: lighting, background, desired shot, timing and other variables can drive the […]

Let’s talk about the people that you bring into your organization. And in particular, let’s talk about the early career professionals that you bring in. Here’s the reality. As we often say here at The Latimer Group, we are operating in a complicated, fast paced, noisy world. And one of the best ways to make […]

In our communication workshops, we work with clients from many countries, across several continents, and of course, in varying age groups, from just-out-of-college Gen Z’ers to Millennials to Gen X’ers to late Baby-Boomers. In our work with these individuals, we often find a disconnect between how the generations speak to each other. These differences across […]

I recently re-read a great article that discussed the four behaviors most responsible for killing relationships at home. The article quoted John Gottman, author of The Seven Principles That Make Marriage Work. And Gottman was quoted in Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink. Anyone quoted by Malcolm Gladwell is worth a few minutes of my time. In […]

Do you want to be an effective communicator? Be more memorable? Do you want people to follow your lead, support your idea, or buy your product or service? Of course you do. When I say “be memorable,” I’m not suggesting that you do something outrageous so that they remember that crazy person who did “x.” I mean […]

What we care about most at The Latimer Group is your ability to communicate your message — your story — powerfully and persuasively to your audience. Virtually all the work we do points back to that theme of great communication, and great storytelling. Even in the workplace, great stories and great storytelling are what will stand out among your clients […]

How do you prepare for that big sales call, or that important meeting with your boss? If you prepare at all (not trying to insult you, but a shocking number of people still try to “wing it”), and if you are like most people we meet, then your prep goes something like this… organize your […]

In so many organizations, we see discussions around problem solving go wrong. In order for an organization to be effective at solving problems, there has to be a framework of questions that will lead towards full alignment on the issue. Once we have that alignment, then we can have a serious conversation around legitimate solutions. And […]

We are living in a very noisy world, the kind of world where good communication skills are an essential requirement for success… for you as an individual, AND for your organization. We all need to be able to communicate effectively, to a variety of stakeholders, if we want to be heard, and be successful. When […]