Expect the Pit
Posted On December 7, 2020 BY Hannah Morris
This post was written by Hannah Morris, Director of Assessment & Advancement at The Latimer Group. My third grader learned a very important lesson at the start of this school year. It was about “the pit”, or “the learning pit”. Her teacher explained that all learners fall into the pit sometimes, and they feel helpless, don’t know […]
Why Is Virtual Communication Exhausting?
Posted On December 4, 2020 BY Hannah Morris
This post was written by Hannah Morris, Director of Assessment & Advancement at The Latimer Group. Zoom fatigue is real. For many of us it is due to the sheer volume of videoconferences that we are on each day. The increase in the use of videoconferencing tools in 2020 is staggering. There is both anecdotal and empirical […]
Talking on Mute
Posted On December 2, 2020 BY Hannah Morris
This post was written by Hannah Morris, Director of Assessment & Advancement at The Latimer Group. No, this is not about all the times when we try to contribute to conversations, only to realize that we have disabled our own audio. It is not about tallying the number of times that “You’re on mute.” gets said in […]
Video: The 4 Skills of Great Communication
Posted On November 30, 2020 BY Dean Brenner
Ask anyone who performs at a high level: athletes, dancers, singers, etc. They all prepare and practice their skills the same way. They break their skill down into smaller “sub-skills,” then practice each one individually, then put them all back together, and their overall skill level has improved. The same is true with communication. “Great […]
Let’s Pause, Be Grateful and Aware
Posted On November 25, 2020 BY Dean Brenner
The Latimer Group team is taking a much-needed and well-deserved break this week. Like many of you, we have experienced a wide range of highs and lows this year. So, I have encouraged our team to try to pause, and take a really deep breath for a few days this week. Deep breaths are good […]
Lean Into Your Partnerships
Posted On November 23, 2020 BY Dean Brenner
We all have learned a great deal in 2020… I know I have. And the learning is not over. It never is. But every once in a while, even though the learning and the growth continues, it makes sense to pause and think about what has been learned. So, as we start to close in […]
Meetings: Ditch the Agenda, Open with The Executive Summary
Posted On November 20, 2020 BY Dean Brenner
In nearly every workshop I teach, the topic of “the open” comes up for deep discussion. My colleagues and I focus a great deal of time and attention to teaching people how to engage their audience, right from the first moments of the presentation or discussion. And one of the biggest mistakes we see people make is […]
It’s Time to Start ‘Picking Our Moments’ Carefully… Again
Posted On November 18, 2020 BY Dean Brenner
Good communication requires a lot of things… listening, planning and preparing, and practice are definitely on the list, among other things. But one of the deceptively important elements of being a good communicator is about “picking the correct moment” carefully. Certain types of messages can be delivered at almost any time. Telling someone something good, […]
Can “Virtual” Connection Be Real?
Posted On November 16, 2020 BY Hannah Morris
This post was written by Hannah Morris, Director of Assessment & Advancement at The Latimer Group. Like many of you, I had some experience with virtual communication prior to this year, but it was not yet a mainstay of my work. And, like many others, I was skeptical about its use as a replacement for face-to-face interactions. […]
Don’t Waste the Chance to Help Someone Fly!
Posted On November 11, 2020 BY Dean Brenner
Writer’s Note: We continue our focus on the positive in this week’s blog. Our goal is to make you smile, and give you something positive to think about. Today, we are reposting something I wrote in 2017, about how and when to push a child, and how that relates to our relationships in the workplace. […]