Persuasion is Not a Jedi Mind Trick
Posted On January 16, 2024 BY Dean Brenner
I recently had a conversation with a person I am coaching, and he recounted a story to me. He recently had led a really hard meeting with colleagues, where he made a presentation on a challenging, divisive topic. He was trying to build alignment within the business unit on how to handle a significant business […]
Keeping the Right Communication “Clubs” in Your Golf Bag
Posted On January 8, 2024 BY Dean Brenner
In the game of golf, not every shot is the same. The variables change with every shot: distance to the hole, your lie, whether you are in the fairway/rough/sand trap, the weather conditions, what hole you are on and the score vs your opponent. All of these variables, and others as well, will dictate which […]
A Suggested New Year’s Resolution
Posted On January 2, 2024 BY Dean Brenner
Good morning to our clients and friends around the world! Happy new year! We hope you all had a restful and joyous holiday, and we look forward to charging ahead into 2024 with you. Here is a quick thought to get our year started off correctly, something that we are taking on here at The […]
Happy Holidays from The Latimer Group
Posted On December 22, 2023 BY Dean Brenner
Good morning, clients and friends! We are winding down our year here at The Latimer Group, and wanted to take a few moments to share some final thoughts before we close our office for the year. This is a great time of year to be grateful for the people and the things around us. And […]
Executive Presence: The Art Of Projecting Leadership
Posted On December 12, 2023 BY Dean Brenner
Think about the best leader you’ve ever witnessed, listened to, or seen in action. What made her/him compelling? I am sure there is a wide range of answers that you might give to explain what made them compelling. But among the many different answers, there would absolutely be some answers centered around said leader’s presence. […]
The Job Search is a Test of Communication Skills
Posted On November 27, 2023 BY Dean Brenner and Jacob Ward
If you or someone you know is set to embark on a job search, or has completed one recently, you will likely agree that the art of finding a job is a skill unto itself. Why do those with the best backgrounds or the best skills not always land in the final chair? Because prospective […]
5 Keys to Building Support for Your Next Idea
Posted On November 22, 2023 BY Dean Brenner
We spend a lot of time here coaching people on how to communicate in order to get the outcomes they want. And in some cases, the outcome is a sale of a product or a service. But in many cases, the outcome is the “sale” of an idea or a plan. The vast majority of persuasion […]
The Risk Of Your PowerPoint Slides
Posted On November 20, 2023 BY Dean Brenner
We had a fascinating conversation with a workshop participant recently. He shared a real story, about a presentation he gave soon after he joined his current company. He worked hard at it, he prepared, and he was nervous, but ready. He made the presentation, it seemed to go OK, and then afterwards he asked for […]
The Key to Finding Your Executive Voice
Posted On November 9, 2023 BY Dean Brenner
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 […]
The Art of Negotiation (as taught by a four-year old…)
Posted On October 31, 2023 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 […]