Speaking Tips: “Presentation” vs. “Conversation”
Posted On September 19, 2018 BY Dean Brenner
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 […]
How Does the Concept of Clickbait Apply to Presentation Titles?
Posted On September 12, 2018 BY Kendra Raguckas
This post was written by Kendra Raguckas, eLearning Designer and Facilitator at The Latimer Group. This week I began working on a new eLearning module for creating strong slide decks. In our work with clients, we always give the same advice: make sure your slides complement the speaker, capture the audiences’ attention, and help them […]
Virtual Meetings: Bringing A Remote Team Together
Posted On September 10, 2018 BY Dean Brenner
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 […]
Speaking Tips: Build Your Message in Three Acts
Posted On September 6, 2018 BY Dean Brenner
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 […]
Virtual Meetings: Nine Key Strategies For A Stronger Remote Presentation
Posted On September 4, 2018 BY Dean Brenner
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 […]
The Message Makeover Podcast: The Rise of the Matrix Organization
Posted On August 29, 2018 BY Dan Cooney
This post was written by Dan Cooney, Director of Coaching and Senior Facilitator at The Latimer Group. A Gartner Group study found that two-thirds of workers need to check in with more than one boss to get their work done. Yes, the rise of the matrix organization has contributed to this dynamic, but so too […]
John McCain and the Lost Art of Compromise
Posted On August 27, 2018 BY Dean Brenner
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 […]
Feeding the Appetite for Self-Improvement
Posted On August 23, 2018 BY Dean Brenner
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 […]
Help Us Solve a Universal Business Problem
Posted On August 20, 2018 BY Dean Brenner
We’ve written on this topic before, but it is such a global business issue, that I am writing about it again. We have clients across a range of industries and on five continents. And no matter where we go, no matter what the industry is, everyone complains about the exact same thing. Everyone wants their […]
Teamwork, and the Difference Between “Cooperation” and “Collaboration”
Posted On August 15, 2018 BY Dean Brenner
I heard a keynote recently by a guy who built much of his talk around the distinction between the words “cooperate” and “collaborate.” His point was that the concept of collaboration was a few steps beyond the concept of cooperation. His use of the terms was that when people cooperate they do the bare minimum […]