Dean Brenner

As you think about your next meeting, presentation, or sales call, consider how difficult it may be to persuade this audience to act on your message. Moving someone to action is a challenging task, especially if minds and behaviors must be changed in the process. But it can be done, and there are ways we […]

Originally published with the Forbes Coaches Council, September 2018. As a coach, I see a lot of different kinds of speakers: those who are confident and controlled and others who are nervous and still figuring out how to get their point across. And I’ve had people ask, “Don’t you sometimes want to laugh at how bad some […]

My colleagues and I always talk about the importance of knowing your audience, and preparing for your work communication correctly. We work with our clients on their ability to clarify the message and the ask, and to try to anticipate what the audience will care about, and the questions or objections they may have. And […]

My colleagues and I speak all the time about the importance of “knowing your audience.” And many people nod when they hear us discuss this, because we are certainly not the only people who preach this principle. But even though lots of people know about the concept, lots of people also don’t do it very […]

One of the questions I get asked all the time is, “How can I be less nervous when I stand up to present?” Confidence in public speaking continues to be a problem for lots of people. The spotlight is fully on you, everyone is listening, and we all want to do well. It is not […]

Originally published with the Forbes Coaches Council, August 2018 It’s a fact of modern office life: We all have to conduct business remotely. And many of us have to bring together a team of far-flung colleagues or reports. We all know that absorbing information given to us over the phone or through video conferencing is much […]

Here is a great way to think about your message, in three acts. ACT I: The Open You meet your audience, and your audience meets you. Your goal is to get them engaged right away, and the best way to do that is showing them what will be coming. Give them the topic, the main […]

Originally published with the Forbes Coaches Council, July 2018 Have you ever run a virtual meeting — over the phone or by video — and felt like no one was on the other end of the line? Have you ever asked a question in that situation and been met with what feels like an ocean […]

America lost more than a well-known politician on Saturday, August 25. We lost one of the last leaders of a breed that is not only dying, but might perhaps now be extinct. We lost a politician who was not afraid to speak his mind, but always did so with respect and decency for those with […]

Winston Churchill once famously said “the most important thing about education is the appetite.” We teach and coach communication skills all day, every day, here at The Latimer Group. And we see all kinds of people walk into our workshops. We see the willing, the unwilling, the motivated, the unmotivated… and everything in between. Some […]