Persuasion

Does your organization accurately communicate your message and your brand to the street? Does your entire organization communicate a consistent message out to your customers, vendors, partners or shareholders? Are you sure? The larger your organization is, the more common it is to have communication gaps. Simple fact. And therefore, the larger your organization is, […]

It will be years before we understand the real and full impact of our COVID years. The impacts on our children and their education, the economy, how we socialize, and how we work are only now starting to become clear. But a few key things are already clear, at least for now. And not all […]

My colleagues and I spend just as much time changing the way people think about communication as we do anything else. Better communication is not about new tips or tricks (a line I hear in workshops a lot… “I am looking forward to getting some new tips.” Wow, does that drive me nuts.) Better communication is about a lot […]

There are a few scenarios that show up frequently in our workshops. And one of the most common is a request from a participant to help them sell their idea/initiative/recommendation. Nearly every day, we work with people who have looked at the problem, done the research, and believe they have the correct solution or idea […]

I have a wide range of conversations with the people I coach. Coaching discussions on communication and leadership skills can cover a lot of territory. But there is a short list of things that seem to come up over and over and over. And at the top of the list is this seemingly simple idea. […]

This post was written by Lauren St. Germain, Facilitator and Coach for The Latimer Group. I was recently listening to an old episode of Brené Brown’s podcast, Unlocking Us, where she arrives at a major “a-ha” moment, live during the show.  And I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.  Moments before her big realization, […]

This post was written by Jay Prewitt, Director of Coaching and Facilitation at The Latimer Group. I’m a big Stanley Kubrick fan, which may sound exceptional, or exceptionally trite, to you depending on your experience with art and movies. The 1964 satirical film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb has […]

Not everyone is naturally a great communicator. In fact, almost all successful communication — persuasive, engaging, inspiring — is made, not born. It requires preparation, skill and practice. And of course, it takes time… and we all know how little we have of that. If we are going to build a successful communication foundation, let’s […]

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 […]

One of the most common, and most tactical, comments we get from workshop participants is this: I understand why you want me to simplify my materials/slides. But I need to be ready for questions that may come up, and I need to be ready to support the person who wasn’t there. And I don’t want […]