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

What do people say about your meetings and presentations? Do you know? Are you sure?

The slides don’t matter until you first figure out what you want to be talking about. The slides need to be placed in proper perspective.

There is one element that is consistently required for successful and persuasive communication…. creating an emotional connection.

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 15 years, and every year, I hear that question more than any other.

And throughout my time leading The Latimer Group, my answer has remained essentially the same:

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.

Twice a week, The Latimer Group’s experienced facilitators deliver clear, succinct, and actionable lessons about business communication to tens of thousands of readers worldwide. Here’s the latest entry:

As comfortable as I am as a speaker, managing nerves is important for all of us. Here are three strategies that help manage nerves, all of them backed by neuroscience.