Communication

One of the key elements of successful persuasion and consensus-building is how you frame the choices for your audience. I spend time in every single workshop I teach, trying to help our clients think about a problem from at least two angles: what they want the audience to think/feel/do; and how much urgency they will […]

I ask the following question in every workshop or coaching session I lead: “Have you ever been to that meeting or presentation that was so disorganized, that you regretted accepting the meeting invite?” Of course you have. We all have. The Latimer Group spends a lot of time working inside large organizations, and all of […]

We all know that one of the most important questions to address in our communication is why. Why are we proposing this change? Why is this a problem? Why should you care? Along with what, how, when, where, who, and next, the why helps our audience see the relevance and importance of our communication and […]

It’s a fact of modern office life: We all have to conduct business remotely. Many of us lead teams of far-flung colleagues or reports. This has been true for a while, but especially so over the last 2.5 years. This isn’t easy. We all know that absorbing information delivered virtually is much more difficult than in […]

In business, we have all sorts of plans… strategic plans, sales plans, operations plans, marketing plans. Plans, plans everywhere. And for the last twenty years our clients have also heard my colleagues and me talk at length about message plans. There is no shortage of plans in the world of business. But how many of […]

I recently re-read a great article that discussed the four behaviors most responsible for killing relationships at home. The article quoted John Gottman, author of The Seven Principles That Make Marriage Work. And Gottman was quoted in Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink. Anyone quoted by Malcolm Gladwell is worth a few minutes of my time. In […]

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 respecting our audience, and their time. When we do not prepare sufficiently, or make the point quickly and clearly, then what we are really doing is disrespecting […]

This is the second in a series of short essays written by CEO and Founder Dean Brenner, to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of The Latimer Group. In this series, Dean will share his reflections on, and learnings from, the last two decades. Twenty years ago, the person who got noticed and placed on the “leadership […]

Before you start your day, take a moment and walk with me… a quick, figurative one. I know you are busy and you have a lot to do today. Just a few minutes, is all I ask. Pause for a moment, and think about your life, and your journey to get where you are right […]

In all the communication coaching that we do, one question seems to come up all the time. “How do I get my leader to realize he/she needs some coaching as well?” Most leaders are really good at identifying your areas of possible improvement. But the very best ones are also good at identifying their areas of possible improvement. If […]