The War on Detail
Posted On May 19, 2014 BY Dean Brenner
Details matter in business, and in some industries, the details are everything. But the amount of detail we discuss in meetings and presentations, and the way in which we communicate it, is a daily source of frustration in most companies. Ask yourself this question: “What percentage of meetings that you sit in take your time […]
5 Things You’ll Never Regret About Your Business Communication
Posted On May 6, 2014 BY Dean Brenner
We’ve done a couple posts recently about some things you’ll never hear anyone say in the workplace. You can read those posts here and here. But our point in today’s post is that as you go about your communication in the workplace, be it with colleagues, clients, or teammates, there are a few things that […]
Are You “Other People Focused” in Your Communication?
Posted On May 5, 2014 BY Dean Brenner
Have you ever listened to yourself speak to your colleagues or customers? Have you ever just recorded yourself in a standard, nothing-special conversation, and actually listened to what you sound like? Try this. Record yourself in a typical conversation or phone call and listen closely to what you sound like. More specifically, count your pronouns. […]
What Kind of Teammate are You?
Posted On May 1, 2014 BY Dean Brenner
One of the themes that comes up in all of our leadership communication workshops is the concept of “how to be a good teammate.” People always seem interested in the steps towards being a better leader and a better teammate. First do this… then do this… then do this… People like specific steps, and information […]
Simple Advice: Don’t Go Silent When Bad News is Inevitable
Posted On April 30, 2014 BY Dean Brenner
I got some bad news the other day from a vendor we work with. A major deadline was going to be missed, and a deliverable we were counting on was not going to arrive on time. We had discussed this deadline with our vendor openly and emphatically as being important to us. We needed the […]
Simple Advice: Do What You Say, Say What You’ll Do
Posted On April 28, 2014 BY Dean Brenner
I was speaking with my good friend Tom the other day. Tom is a business owner, and the definition of a straight shooter. He doesn’t tolerate people who waste his time or who don’t deliver as promised. We were speaking about a few things on the phone, and he shared a story of a contractor […]
A Simple Tip to Simplify Your Slides
Posted On April 23, 2014 BY Dean Brenner
Over the last month, we have spent nearly every day in workshops with some of our top clients. And in every single one, the concept of terrible PowerPoint slides came up. Everyone wants to know how to make their slides simpler. Everyone wants to have a “Steve Jobs” level of simplicity with their slides. But […]
Teach Them to Fly, Part 2: Instilling Confidence and Courage
Posted On April 21, 2014 BY Dean Brenner
A little more than a year ago, I wrote a short post here about the importance of instilling confidence in the people around you. I used a vignette about my son to make the point — a little story about how he was still young enough to not care about what other people thought. And […]
Things People Never Say, Part 2
Posted On April 17, 2014 BY Dean Brenner
We just concluded a long stretch of workshops with several clients, and regardless of company or industry, a few things remain intensely clear to us. You’ll never regret clarity and simplicity in your communication. People will never tell you “that was too clear,” or “you got to the point too quickly,” or “your message was […]
Your Slide Deck is Nothing But Risk, Part 2
Posted On April 14, 2014 BY Dean Brenner
A little while back, I wrote a post called Your Slide Deck is Nothing But Risk. It’s caused a lot of discussion — in our workshops, in discussions with our clients, and in some of the social media where we spend time. It’s a premise that has cause a lot of people to furrow their […]