Persuasion

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 […]

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 […]

There are lots of ways to think about persuasion. And our team always advocates an approach that is based on preparation and a thorough understanding of the audience. But there’s one fundamental and additional element that can never be forgotten. In addition to a thorough understanding of your audience, you also need a thorough understanding […]

Death by PowerPoint. Or as Dilbert put it: “PowerPoint poisoning.” It is software that is so despised that it has been banished by many organizations, and is the frequent subject of cartoons about the proverbial drudge of office life. It’s easy to hate on PowerPoint. After all, it’s often the single common denominator between all the boring presentations […]

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 […]

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 […]

Communication clarity is really hard in the 21st century… a mantra I have recited over and over in this space. It’s hard because of the noise, the competition for mind share, and shrinking attention spans. But often the best way to combat difficulty and noise is to focus on the most simple, basic elements of […]

This post was written by Hannah Morris, Facilitator and Coach at The Latimer Group. Conversations are a dance. There are times when one partner or party clearly takes the lead, and other times where it is unclear who determines the next step. In these more delicate dances, we edge forward, check to see if our audience […]

We just finished an intensive workshop, designed in multiple modules and spread out over multiple days, with one of our top clients. The topic was Executive Communication Skills, and the goal was to coach a small group of ten rising executive stars in the art of persuasive, executive-level communication skills. We covered a lot of ground […]

Let’s get a few things straight about what persuasive communication is NOT. Persuasive communication is NOT about simply overpowering the other person. Persuasive communication is NOT about using the power dynamic in your favor to always get what you want. Persuasive communication is NOT about getting in the last word, and cutting the other person off […]