Meetings

(Writer’s Note: This post is actually a few years old. But I recently stumbled across it in our archive, and it remains just as relevant today as it was when I first wrote it in 2013. In many ways, this problem has gotten WORSE. Anyway… this is a problem many of us are prone to, […]

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 […]

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 […]

In nearly every workshop I teach, I ask a question that sounds something like this: “How many of you attend too many meetings that run long?” Nearly every hand goes up, every time. “How many of you get too many emails that are too overwhelming to read?” Nearly every hand goes up, every time. “How […]

“Wow, that meeting was great. I wish it was a lot longer.” “When she explains things everything seems more complicated. It’s great.” “He never gets to the point. I love listening to him.” “His presentations are always so hard to follow. I love feeling overwhelmed.” “Her slide decks look like a passage from Moby Dick. […]

Any good coach will always do their best to understand the unique circumstances of the person they are coaching. No two people are the same, and therefore, no two coaching assignments are the same. You have to meet the person you are attempting to coach “where they are,” because a good coaching relationship is exactly […]

In a recent workshop, one participant asked a series of questions about how broad the application of the content we were teaching in the course actually was. I answered in a very “Latimer way,” by saying that our model applies to all forms of workplace communication: meetings, conference calls, presentations, email exchanges, etc. As I […]

When people are asking us questions — during an interview, sales pitch, presentation, or anything else — there are lots of ways to think about and prepare for those questions. Let’s think about this on several levels. The lowest, and worst level, is when we don’t think about the Q&A at all. We don’t anticipate […]

This post was written by Hannah Morris, Director of Assessment & Advancement at The Latimer Group. “I’m sorry.” And “Thank you.” These are expressions that we learned to use early in life. They were often shared at our parents’ insistence, and our reluctance, at least where siblings were involved. But I wonder if most of us have […]

Do you ever have to participate in a standard, regularly-scheduled meeting within your company, where you (or someone you work with) presents updated data and information on the business/project? (Most of you have either led such meetings, or at least sat in on them.) Do these meetings end up feeling like the same meeting over […]