Blog

Not long ago, while teaching a client workshop, one of the participants verbalized a great way to think about business meetings… specifically, a great way to think about the level of information you need to be able to discuss. The participant described the difference between an “index card meeting” and a “full binder meeting.” Some meetings […]

My colleagues and I speak and write all the time about the importance of getting to the point. We talk about the importance of respecting your audience’s time, managing their attention span, and how our fast-paced 21st century world makes this skill a critical one. It turns out that a pretty famous guy, Winston Churchill, […]

At the heart of almost everything we teach is the concept of intentionality… preparing and communicating with intention and purpose. Great communication skills don’t just happen. Not without some thought, effort, planning, and yes, intention. In addition to being intentional about your message’s main points, we also encourage being intentional about the structure, sequence and […]

We all aspire to be better communicators. We all know that communicating well will help us accomplish our goals, drive good outcomes, and add value to our colleagues and customers, and generate business.  But while we all may agree on the benefits of good communication, we generally think about poor communication as a momentary setback. […]

I love to garden. Anyone who regularly reads this blog knows that. I write about it all the time. Its relaxing, gets me outside breathing the fresh air, and there is a distinct sense of satisfaction that comes from creating something and watching it grow. I also love the rhythm of the seasons with gardening. […]

Have you ever considered mapping your progress as a communicator? In short, the only way to REALLY be sure you’re improving as an effective communicator is to have some way to measure that improvement. When we work with clients at The Latimer Group, we use a three-stage rubric of Professional-, Leadership-, and Executive-Level communication… So how do we […]

(Author’s Note: I was scrolling through our blog archive over coffee in the early morning hours yesterday, when I came across this post from three years ago. The story is a simple one, and pretty self-explanatory. But as I always say to my clients, colleagues and friends, the simplest stories often have the most powerful […]

This is a killer episode, and we say that with great humility. In the latest episode of The Message Makeover Podcast, we interview Dr. Jared Horvath, an award-winning cognitive neuroscientist who has lectured at Harvard University, Harvard Medical School and the University of Melbourne. What’s special about this conversation? Dr. Horvath is the guy who […]

There is a disconnect that I witness every day. The disconnect is between our own perception of what is “clear” and what others think about that clarity. When we have an idea or a strategy or something in our head, and we have thought it through and worked it out, in our own minds it […]

(Author’s Note: I recently had a friend call me and ask for help with a toast, for an in-person wedding later this spring. He was really nervous about it because… its a wedding toast. Many people get nervous about speaking at weddings. But in addition, his nerves seemed to be coming from the fact that […]