
It's a noisy world out there.
It's a noisy world out there.
Welcome to The Latimer Blog.
Twice a week, The Latimer Group’s experienced facilitators deliver clear, succinct, and actionable lessons about business communication to tens of thousands of readers worldwide. These are real-world observations from our team, underpinned by working with over 25,000 participants since 2000.
Get these lessons delivered, read on below, or search for specific topics, themes or authors:
Good Communication is a Service to Others
When we communicate well in the workplace — when we get to the point, when we articulate value, when we make the point clearly — what we are really doing is
Don’t Be a Static Leader
People are constantly evolving. As we grow, get older, and experience new things, the sum total of who we are is constantly changing. We are not the same people we were a year ago, two years ago, ten years ago. Because every experience,
The Common Language of the Playground
My family and I were visiting my wife’s parents in central Mexico recently, when an extraordinary thing happened. We took our two children to a nearby playground, and there were lots of local children playing there
Credibility is ALWAYS a Silent Ask
One of the most frequent debates that comes up in our workshops and coaching is this: “Sometimes I am not asking for anything, so there is no persuasion. Sometimes, it IS just an update.” And The Latimer Group’s standard reply to that question is
Capture Attention with a More Powerful Open
How often do you sit in a meeting, or on a conference call, or listen to a presentation, and feel disengaged within the first two to three minutes? Yep… me too. It usually takes speakers forever to simply
The Most Important Professional “Credential”
This is a blog about communication and leadership, and how to make ourselves more persuasive, and how to increase our presence and expand our credibility. And all of those things are vastly more powerful if we simply remember to…
Critical Mindset Shift: Be More Than a Messenger
We need to be thinking about doing more than just delivering information from point A to point B. Sharing or delivering information is fine. Providing our colleagues with a status update is important. But it is not nearly enough.
Leadership and Followership: Both Matter
No one, and I mean NO ONE, leads ALL the time. At some point, we all need to know how to follow. And following is not a bad thing.
A.I. Thoughts: Keeping “Artificial” Authentic
The world of communication is constantly changing… new vocabulary, new tools, new techniques and new norms are consistently available to us and expected from us.
And this reality continues to be as true today as it ever was. The rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence tools is changing…
How to Recognize and Manage “Listening Bias”
We all have bias, whether we will admit it to ourselves or not. And if we are not careful, and if we don’t manage our bias, then that bias may get in the way of real business progress.
Five Things People Never Say
What do people say about your meetings and presentations? Do you know? Are you sure?
First the Story, Then the Slides
The slides don’t matter until you first figure out what you want to be talking about. The slides need to be placed in proper perspective.
Emotion is Your Friend
There is one element that is consistently required for successful and persuasive communication…. creating an emotional connection.
Business Game Theory, Straight from the Poker Table
In business, just like on the poker table, success is simply about balancing what you have in front of you, and the variables around you, and the information available.
Your Garden is Never Complete… Neither is Your Team
Twice a week, The Latimer Group’s experienced facilitators deliver clear, succinct, and actionable lessons about business communication to tens of thousands of readers worldwide. Here’s the latest entry:
Be Ready to Argue BOTH Sides
The best preparation involves getting fully immersed in what the other side/person/group is going to say, and to try to see their point of view.
Meetings are the Organization’s Blood Cells
Meetings, conference calls and presentations are the blood cells that regulate the blood flow of your business. In a healthy organization, the meetings, conference calls and presentations are well run. In other words, the “informational blood flow” is healthy, because the “meeting blood cell” is healthy.
The Currency of Credibility - FATHOM Issue No. 9:
In any organization, leadership is built on credibility—a foundation of trust, expertise, and consistency that allows a team to work together with confidence in the organization’s overall decision-making and strategic vision.
Two Secrets to Being a Stronger Speaker
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 15 years, and every year, I hear that question more than any other.
And throughout my time leading The Latimer Group, my answer has remained essentially the same:
Leadership Must Be More Than Platitudes
Your people will follow you for one of two reasons: because they want to, or because they have no choice. One of those is better than the other. How will you choose to show up?