It's a noisy world out there.
It's a noisy world out there.
Welcome to The Latimer Blog.
Once a week, The Latimer Group’s experienced facilitators deliver clear, succinct, and actionable lessons about business communication to tens of thousands of readers worldwide. These are real-world observations from our team, underpinned by working with over 25,000 participants since 2000.
Get these lessons delivered once a week by email, read on below, or search for specific topics, themes or authors:
The Things We Should Not Say
At The Latimer Group, we care deeply about what you say. We coach it every day. Clear message, strong structure, a point worth making. But here’s something I’ve noticed over the years. Almost everyone preps
Speak So They Love to Listen. Listen So They Love to Speak.
There’s a line I come back to often: “Speak in a way that others love to listen to you. Listen in a way that others love to speak to you.” It’s two short sentences, but it’s a powerful
Have You Earned the Right to be Heard?
I've sat through a lot of meetings where someone leaves frustrated because "nobody listened to my idea." Almost every time, my first question isn't "was the idea good?" It's "did you
Weak Language is Sort of a Problem
The best speakers I know don’t waste words. The best speakers I know say what they mean, as clearly as possible, in as few words as possible, as often as possible. They don’t
Control Your Communication Outcomes
“That’s not what I said…” “That’s not what I meant…” “You’re not hearing me…” You’ve probably said at least one of those three things at some point
Prioritize Listening
When we think about communication in the workplace, all too often we focus on the delivery part: what we will say, what our slides will look like and how loudly we should speak. All that’s important, but what about the other side?
What’s Your Default Setting for Detail?
Making consistently good choices about how much detail to include is a critical component to being a consistently good communicator. So, if the amount of detail you must include is variable, then what is your default setting? We all need to have one. But what is the correct one?
5 Ways to Start Calming Your Public Speaking Anxiety
Whether you're preparing for an important meeting, conference call, or presentation, chances are you'll have opportunities to communicate that are mission critical to your success. So how do you take a step forward and prepare yourself to succeed?
The Search for Brevity
Have you ever sat through a meeting, or a conference call, or a presentation, and thought to yourself… “Oh my god… I wish this person would get to the point…“? Yeah. Me too. Many, many times.
Make Your Audience Feel the Problem
Getting people to listen to you in today’s modern workplace is hard enough. We write about that challenge all the time. But once you get people to hear you, your challenge is not over. Getting people to hear you is a great first step… but only a first step.
5 Steps to Giving Your Message More Impact
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
Can Great Public Speaking Be Learned?
The short answer is, “Yes, absolutely.” The slightly longer answer is, “Yes, but you have to work at it.” Some will have to…
A Moment of Silence is Not an Absence of Music
Well-timed moments of silence will enhance the experience for everyone in the room.
Think “Conversation,” not “Presentation”
One of the questions I get asked all the time is, “How can I be less nervous when I stand up to present?” Here are a few things that will help build your confidence, the first two of which will not surprise you in any way.
Speaking Tips: Think in Periods, not Commas
Have you ever sat through a meeting, listening to someone who just rambles on and on and on? Brutal, isn’t it?
Sound and Silence
Most people think of their communication as a tangible and clear output: words on the page, images and messages on a slide, words coming out of the mouth. And there is truth in that belief.
Four Keys to Shortening Your Presentation
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.
Speaking Tips: Open with the Summary
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?
3 Keys to Stronger Message Retention
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?
Eliminating Distractions from Your Speaking Style
Have you ever listened to that person who says something like “um” over and over and over? After a while, all you hear are the “ums.” How about the person who says