Presentation Skills

The single most frequently asked question I hear regarding public speaking is this… “Dean, how can I be more confident as a speaker?” I’ve been in this line of work for more than twenty years, and every year, I hear that question more than any other. And throughout my time leading The Latimer Group, my answer has remained […]

We think and talk about persuasion a lot over here at The Latimer Group. We believe that the ability to use your words to create good outcomes is a critical skill in our world today… this has probably always been true, but perhaps never MORE true than it is today. In a world where communication and information […]

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 […]

When we are listening to music, and there is a moment of silence in the piece of music, that moment of silence is not an absence of music. No. Rather, the moment of silence is part OF the music. I love this idea. The silence is a conscious choice by the composer. The silence contributes […]

This post was written by Kendra Raguckas, Senior Director of Learning at The Latimer Group. Recently, we had a wonderful experience facilitating a written communication training for the leadership of a local fire department. As we do with all our learning experiences, at the end we asked what made the most impact on them during the […]

This post was written by Lauren St. Germain, Facilitator and Coach for The Latimer Group. Every year, our CEO and Co-Founder, Dean, shares his advice on how to give a great wedding toast.  This year, I told him I wanted to have a crack at providing some advice and started my making my own independent list of […]

“Music is the space between the notes.” ~Claude DeBussy In many workshops, we see two parallel fears come up over and over. People fear silence when they’re speaking. Silence makes them uncomfortable. Therefore, they often fill the silence with more sound — extra words and non-words (we call them “verbal pauses’). And at the same time, people fear […]

How often do you sit in a meeting, or on a conference call, or listen to a presentation, and feel disengaged within the first two to three minutes? Yep… me too. It usually takes speakers forever to simply get to the point, and find ways to engage the audience. And by the time they do, […]

There are a few questions we frequently hear from our workshop participants. And perhaps the most vexing is the question of detail: how much do I need, where do I put it, how much is too much? Without exception, it comes up and is a major topic of conversation in every workshop. Why? For two simple, […]

I love to use metaphors when I teach. And this is one of my favorites. The best photographers carry around a camera bag, and in that camera bag they carry many different kind of lenses. Different situations call for use of a different lens: lighting, background, desired shot, timing and other variables can drive the […]