Persuasion

Whitney and I are planning in earnest for another trip to Australia for client work, in 2015. We’re finalizing dates, logistics, content, etc. And when we are getting ready for a big trip with lots of client time, we always make sure to spend some time getting (or remaining) familiar with the client’s situation. We […]

Knowing Your Audience is Complex

Posted On December 3, 2014 BY

I am out in Minnesota, teaching a three-day workshop on executive communication skills for our largest client. And over the course of the day yesterday, the group had a great conversation about the complexities of understanding audience perspective. Knowing your audience is critical to great communication… we all know that. But in 2014, the business world […]

If you can persuade others to think or act in a certain way, influence their decisions and behaviors, and build consensus among your colleagues, you have competitive advantage. Period. Full stop. In the 21st century business world, (where information is more available, attention spans have plummeted, organizations are leaner, and everyone is less loyal and […]

Practice DOES Matter

Posted On November 20, 2014 BY

I had an outstanding experience yesterday with a workshop participant from one of our major client companies. This young man had participated in one of our one-day presentation skills workshops about six weeks ago. And then he signed up for a different workshop this week, a two-day “executive communication skills” workshop. In the October session, […]

The Global Need for Respect

Posted On November 17, 2014 BY

During the past year of client work, we’ve spent time with professionals from over 25 different countries… busy, ambitious, successful, intelligent professionals. They worked in finance, engineering, marketing, communications, procurement, and all sorts of leadership and management positions. Our client base is certainly a diverse group! And any time we have an intense period of […]

The Death of Spin Communication

Posted On November 10, 2014 BY

The recent election cycle in the United States has made one thing very clear to me… that we have now reached a critical breaking point in our tolerance for “spin” communication. What is “spin” you ask? Anyone who lives in the USA knows exactly what it is, because that is all we hear anymore in […]

Today’s post was written by Whitney Sweeney, Director of Client Relationships at The Latimer Group At The Latimer Group, we teach the importance of leadership communication. To be a leader people will want to follow, you must know how to deliver your message in a way that people will hear and internalize. You must be […]

It is a little after 4am on a cold and dark October morning in New England… jet lag. I’m home for a few days after a great week of client work in Paris. And in a few days, it’s Singapore, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. During stretches like these, where we have several busy months, and […]

It is very early in the morning in Paris, and I am preparing for day two of a workshop on executive communication skills and presence. The room will be filled again today with a culturally diverse group of executives from this client company, all of whom are serious about their communication skills, and this class. Over […]

Anyone who knows The Latimer Group knows that “Know Your Audience” has been one of our enduring themes since our founding thirteen years ago. We believe it is one of the fundamental rules of great communication. And the concept has lots of implications and manifestations. Knowing your audience means, in its simplest form, understanding what will […]