Simon Sinek: Practice Being the Last to Speak

Simon Sinek is a favorite around here. We’ve written about him specifically in the past, and there’s a huge overlap in many of the themes we teach… This is a great addendum to some of the posts we’ve written in the past on listening, understanding, and seeing the other side. Simon’s advice, Be the last to speak. Take in all the information, ask questions to better understand, and listen to the feedback and questions of others.

But Sinek says the real skill is to reserve your own opinion till the end. Why? First, it let’s everyone else feel that they’ve been heard and that they’ve contributed. And second, it lets you hold back your own thoughts until you’ve heard everyone else’s, allowing you to form a more complete, better-formulated opinion.

There’s huge competitive advantage to listening first, understanding second, and then — after everyone else goes — being the last to speak.

Does your team:
– Overwhelm the audience with too much detail?
– Make things too complicated?
– Fail to ask for what they want or need?

Does your organization:
– Waste time because of poor internal communication?
– Take too long to make decisions?
– Struggle to clarify and frame discussions?

Do your leaders:
– Exhibit poor executive presence?
– Lean on incomplete communication skills?
– Fail to align the organization?

We transform teams and individuals with repeatable toolsets for persuasive communication. Explore training, coaching, and consulting services from The Latimer Group.

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Dean Brenner

A book about change

The Latimer Group’s CEO Dean Brenner is a noted keynote speaker and author on the subject of persuasive communication. He has written three books, including Persuaded, in which he details how communication can transform organizations into highly effective, creative, transparent environments that succeed at every level.