Storytelling Techniques: Opportunity → Leverage
Posted On July 22, 2015 BY Dean Brenner
We recently wrote about a powerful storytelling technique called Problem⇒Solution. It is a “cause and effect” technique, where you lay out the problem first, quantify the problem, and then share the solution and the benefits of the solution… and you do all of that as part of the OPEN in your presentation, conversation or meeting. […]
Dean Brenner on the Work That Matters Podcast
Posted On July 9, 2015 BY Dean Brenner
Several months ago, The Latimer Group started collaborating with Switch and Shift, a website devoted to, as they say on their website, “the human side of business.” In addition to writing several articles for Switch and Shift, Dean was recently the featured guest on an episode of their Work That Matters podcast, hosted by Shawn […]
The Recipe for Great Communication
Posted On May 13, 2015 BY Dean Brenner
If we look at our communication as if it were a meal that our audience will consume, we’ll of course want to prepare a communication “meal” they will enjoy. A meal that will satisfy their hunger for simple, valuable communication. And in order to do that, there are 5 ingredients that must be included in […]
Are You Ready for the Post-PowerPoint World?
Posted On March 30, 2015 BY Dean Brenner
How many PowerPoint presentations are given every day? No one really knows, but there is an oft-cited number of 30 million daily that seems to make its way around the internet. But this number has no apparent source, and there really is no way to truly know the correct number. But here is something we […]
5 Steps to Giving Your Message More Impact
Posted On March 16, 2015 BY Dean Brenner
Over our last several posts, we have been reviewing the key characteristics of great business communication: Clarity, brevity, context… and today’s topic: impact. Does you 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 […]
Context is King
Posted On March 11, 2015 BY Dean Brenner
Over our last several posts, we have been touching on a few of the important ingredients for great communication… clarity and brevity chief among them. Today we touch on a third critical ingredient: context. Context is critical. Context creates relevance. Context helps your audience engage and listen. Context helps your audience care. We are all […]
Global Communication and the 3 Things Every Audience Needs
Posted On October 9, 2014 BY Dean Brenner
In the coming weeks, we’ll be doing some work with clients on three continents, and executives from 15 different countries. In planning business travel of this scale, it always gets me thinking about how we communicate in that global environment, and how we have to adapt what we do to an audience that may not have […]
How to Edit Your Presentation When Time is Short
Posted On July 29, 2014 BY Dean Brenner
It’s a common occurrence in the business world. You prepare a meeting, presentation, or speech for a certain length of time, only to find out that you have a lot less time than you planned for. Sometimes we even learn our fate as we are walking into the presentation. We’ve spoken a lot lately about […]
It’s Never as Clear as You Think It Is
Posted On July 11, 2014 BY Dean Brenner
There is a disconnect that I witness every day. The disconnect is between our own perception of what is “clear” and what others think about that clarity. When we have an idea or a strategy or something in our head, and we have thought it through and worked it out, in our own minds it […]
Things People Never Say, Part 2
Posted On April 17, 2014 BY Dean Brenner
We just concluded a long stretch of workshops with several clients, and regardless of company or industry, a few things remain intensely clear to us. You’ll never regret clarity and simplicity in your communication. People will never tell you “that was too clear,” or “you got to the point too quickly,” or “your message was […]