Persuasion

Regular readers of this blog know that I am an avid gardener, a weekend activity that has taken on a more prominent role for me in recent years. Prior to my early 40s, I wanted nothing to do with gardening… it was too closely associated with “weeding,” a weekend assignment from my youth that left […]

This post was written by Hannah Morris, Director of Assessment & Advancement at The Latimer Group.   I have three kids and they all speak a different language than I do. When they start speaking MINECRAFT, I feel lost, and to a certain extent, excluded. It is not something they are doing intentionally or malevolently or even consciously. […]

This post was written by Lauren St. Germain, Facilitator and Coach at The Latimer Group. I love Winnie the Pooh. So much so that I’ve got a collection of quotes from his stories by A. A. Milne on the coffee table in my living room. It’s a little green book called Pooh’s Little Instruction Book and I […]

Does your message stand out? Do you make it easy for your audience to remember what you say? Does your message make an impact on the mind of your listener? You need to care about this, because there is so much competition for the mindshare of every audience. There are so many things that come at each of […]

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 and been met with what feels like an ocean of silence? Have you ever wondered how to create more engagement? Sure, […]

My colleagues and I write and talk all the time about having a message plan. And furthermore, we write and talk all the time about how strong listening skills can make your message planning stronger and easier. But what do we listen for? Listening is great and important, and most people don’t do it very well. But is it enough […]

Simple idea today, that comes up in our coaching sessions all the time. My colleagues and I talk constantly about great communication skills, and all the things that help create those skills. We believe that when we take the time to prepare for our meetings, presentations and calls, we will do a much better job creating success, and […]

This post was written by Hannah Morris, Facilitator and Coach at The Latimer Group.   Situational awareness – being aware of what is going on around us – is a crucial element of successful communication and connection. It starts with paying attention to and getting familiar with a baseline of what is normal, what can be expected. Once […]

You can tell a lot about an organization by the way it behaves. The things that an organization says it cares about matter, of course. But what matters more is whether the organization’s actual behaviors match up with its communication. It is one thing to say “our customers come first.” But what matters more is whether, […]

This post was written by Lauren St. Germain, Facilitator and Coach for The Latimer Group. Here at The Latimer Group, we live by the idea that communication skills should no longer be considered a “soft skill.” We believe that communication is a “power skill”, and earlier this year, McKinsey & Company helped prove this to be true […]