The Self-Evident Truths of Communication Today
Posted On May 7, 2021 BY Dean Brenner
What does the world of communication look like right now? What are the barriers to getting our point across today, at this moment in time? There are a bunch, and none of them are inconsequential. Truth #1: The world continues to be a really noisy place. There are lots of people and things competing for attention span and mind share, and […]
Brevity, According to Winston Churchill
Posted On April 30, 2021 BY Dean Brenner
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, […]
5 Ways Poor Communication Can Hurt Your Organization
Posted On April 26, 2021 BY Dean Brenner
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. […]
Video: How to Communicate at the Highest Level
Posted On April 21, 2021 BY Dean Brenner
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 […]
It’s Never as Clear as You Think It Is
Posted On April 14, 2021 BY Dean Brenner
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 […]
How to Give a Great Wedding Toast
Posted On April 12, 2021 BY Dean Brenner
(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 […]
Drowning is a Silent Death
Posted On April 9, 2021 BY Dean Brenner
One of the strongest and most enduring myths about drowning is that it is loud. Thank you, Hollywood…. Drowning is often incorrectly depicted with lots of splashing and screaming for help. But in reality, it doesn’t happen that way. Not even close. Drowning, in fact, almost always happens completely silently. The silence is caused because the […]
The War on Detail
Posted On April 7, 2021 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 participate in cover way more […]
The Art of Negotiation (as taught by a four-year old…)
Posted On April 2, 2021 BY Dean Brenner
(Author’s Note: I was recently scrolling through our archive of old blog posts. And I came across this one, which I wrote in 2014. It is a simple story about an interaction with my then-four-year-old son, where he outmaneuvered me at the frozen yogurt shop. But as is often the case, the simple story illustrates […]
The Foundation of Strong Relationships
Posted On March 31, 2021 BY Dean Brenner
Relationships matter. A lot. In all aspects of our lives. Relationships are the connective tissue, and create the fabric of our existence. And considering the journey all of us have been on over the last 12 months, I have been thinking a lot lately about relationships. In our work lives, we have to do a […]