Presentation Skills

Originally published with the Forbes Coaches Council, April 2018. When you have a great new idea, launching it successfully and refining into a unique value proposition are enormous accomplishments. But don’t stop there. To truly explore the potential of a new idea, you need to keep finding ways to communicate your passion and reach new audiences. […]

When you stand up to speak in a professional setting, there are three primary ways you are interacting with your audience: the message you have developed, the slides you have created, and the delivery skills you exhibit. All three matter, because all three impact your audience’s experience. Many people think about their work presentations this […]

We write constantly in this blog about all the different elements of good communication… clear messaging, effective visuals or slides, powerful presence and delivery, speaking with the “executive voice“… these kinds of topics are the dominant themes in this blog. But today, I want to write about the “net effect” of all of these things. […]

Originally published with the Forbes Coaches Council February 21, 2018. Many of us have big ideas: a new business, a new product, a new initiative at work. But taking that big idea from a dream into reality isn’t always easy — and it’s easy to feel intimidated by the process. All too often, we shelve our […]

At The Latimer Group, we believe there are five “ingredients” that must be present in order to have effective, persuasive communication: Clarity, Brevity, Context, Impact, and Value. We teach these concepts in our workshops and write about them here on our blog all the time, and we believe that all great communication contains these five […]

Have you ever led a meeting, handed out the slide deck, began discussing the topic and while still on slide 1 or 2, most of your audience has already flipped to the last slide? I’m sure you’ve seen this before… Perhaps you’ve been the one flipping to the last slide, or perhaps you were the […]

Most people struggle to get to the point. Most people struggle with clarity and brevity. And this affliction is largely due to an inability to plan out the message, and prepare appropriately. Getting to the point quickly and clearly is not just a delivery technique. It is the output of organization and preparation. However, on top of good […]

“Wow, that meeting was great. I wish it was a lot longer.” “When she explains things everything seems more complicated. It’s great.” “He never gets to the point. I love listening to him.” “It’s always hard to understand his main message, which is why I love his presentations.” “Her slide decks look like a passage […]

The short answer is, “Yes, absolutely.” The slightly longer answer is, “Yes, but you have to work hard at it.” We recently had an individual at a client company participate in one of our presentation skills workshops. When I saw his name on the roster the week before the class, I recognized it immediately. I […]

When we coach our clients on improving their persuasive communication skills, we don’t look at it as a matter of being “good” or “bad” at communicating. Obviously, not everyone communicates at the same level. For some, it comes very easily and naturally. For others, not so much. And for others, becoming more persuasive may be […]