Have You Earned The Right To Be Heard?
Posted On April 25, 2023 BY Dean Brenner
The people we speak with, or to, are under no obligation to actually listen to what we are saying. With so many choices available for information and content, it’s very easy for people to “change the channel” away from you and your message, and divert their attention to a message more relevant to them. As […]
Mapping Your Progress As a Communicator
Posted On April 21, 2023 BY Dean Brenner
Our work at The Latimer Group is all about helping our clients build strong and powerful communication skills. And to do that effectively, we have to be able to help them assess two things: current strengths and weaknesses, AND a path towards improvement. One without the other just isn’t that helpful. Skill development, in any […]
The Heart of Great Business Communication
Posted On April 18, 2023 BY Dean Brenner
The hardest thing for any subject matter expert (an “SME” in business vernacular) to do is to explain his or her area of expertise in simple and clear ways. When we are “in” it, when we are living the topic every day, when we know a lot about a certain topic, it often can be […]
3 Keys to Stronger Audience Retention
Posted On April 11, 2023 BY Dean Brenner
Your audience will only remember a small percentage of what you say. Some studies suggest it will be less than 20%. Fact. Other studies suggest that the average adult attention span is now about 8 seconds. Bummer. So what do you do about it? We could simply surrender, and assume that this is the new […]
5 Steps to Making a Message with More Impact
Posted On March 28, 2023 BY Dean Brenner
Does your message stand out? Do you make it easy for your audience to remember what you say? Does your message make an impact on the mind of your listener? You need to care about this, because there is so much competition for the mindshare of every audience. There are so many things that come at each of […]
Four Keys to Shortening Your Presentation
Posted On March 23, 2023 BY Dean Brenner
It’s a common occurrence in the business world. You prepare for a meeting or presentation, expecting that you will be able to speak for a certain length of time… only to find out that you will be allotted much less time than you planned for. Sometimes we even learn our fate as we are walking […]
What You Need to Know To Tell Your Story
Posted On February 28, 2023 BY Dean Brenner
At The Latimer Group, we talk and write all the time about the ability to communicate clearly. That is our purpose, our mission, our raison d’etre. To succeed in the 21st century global business environment, you need to be able to communicate with your colleagues, employees, customers, prospects, and shareholders, and you need to be […]
How to Choose the Appropriate Tone When Speaking
Posted On February 16, 2023 BY Dean Brenner
Sometimes it is hard to know the right way to say or write something. Sometimes it is hard to know the correct tone to take. How should I speak to these people? How formal or informal should it be? The answers depend on lots of things: the nature and seriousness of the topic; the level of […]
A Slide Template is NOT a Message Plan
Posted On February 14, 2023 BY Dean Brenner
One of the best parts of the client workshops we teach is that our clients are really smart people. We are blessed to be able to work with so many companies, which are full of bright, qualified, hard-working people. Sure… I am kissing up to our clients this morning… but it also happens to be true. And frequently someone […]
5 Ways to Sound More Confident During Q&A
Posted On January 31, 2023 BY Dean Brenner
Lots of people spend time working on their preparation for their presentations. But for many, we spend considerably less time preparing for what follows the presentation… the Q&A. And in fact, one of the questions we hear most often in our coaching sessions is this: Can you help me sound more confident, when I am […]