WEEK 6
ORAL BRIEFINGS

The Definition of A Briefing

An oral briefing is the most likely forum you will be given to communicate the results of the work of your team and your study or project.  It is worth thinking about what makes an effective briefing because a briefing is a powerful and flexible communication tool.  A good briefing is not a speech or even an illustrated speech.  Rather, it is creative combination of spoken and visual techniques that together are particularly effective in communicating often complex and detailed information to a general audience.  Briefings are not always effective.  A briefing is likely to fail if your group does not:

  • Motivate the audience by making it clear from the outset why the subject under discussion is important to them.
  • Have a clear organization and structure to it.
  • Make a direct connection between the significance of the problem to be overcome and the solution identified through your study or project.
  • Keep the briefing at a sufficient level of generalization so that the audience is not overwhelmed with excessive, unnecessary detail.
  • Present simple, easy to understand charts, overheads or briefing books.

An effective briefing should take between 10 and 30 minutes with an additional 10-20 minutes for questions and answers.  The briefing should always start right on time and finish on or earlier than scheduled.  Do not attempt to report the day-by-day experiences of the team throughout the project period. Do not replicate your learning process in public, organize your message so it can be easily understood. Tell a logical, interesting story.  Prepare a briefing that could be understood by an intelligent outsider to the organization.

Your briefing should identify:

  • The problem your team was seeking to understand or overcome.
  • The overall approach you took and the design of your study or project.
  • The assumptions, theories and data used in your analysis.
  • The changes, policies or programs you are recommending.
  • The costs and benefits and pros and cons of your recommendations, and;
  • The actions you believe should be considered over the short and long term.

In preparing for your presentation and when delivering it, keep the following ten steps in mind:

  • Keep it simple.
  • Decide what is essential and then cut the presentation at least by half. A briefing should have an easily understood structure. It should have a beginning, a middle and an end.
  • Keep details, numbers and data to a minimum--hit the highlights.
  • Be interesting enough to hold the attention of the experts but simple enough to be understood by the novice.
  • Be prepared, thoroughly understand the substance of your project or study.
  • Speak lively--if you don't sound upbeat and interested in the topic no one else will be.
  • Slides, overheads, charts and handouts must be flawless--no typos, spelling errors or grammatical mistakes. They should reinforce and support your message, not dominate it. Have paper back up for all audio-visuals and if the projector breaks down, do not attempt to fix it. Move quickly and positively to paper back up.
  • Practice, Practice, Practice.
  • If you can't answer a question, seek the help of your colleagues or say "I don't know".  Always be honest and promise to find the answers to questions you can't answer. Never become defensive or rude—even if your audience is being unpleasant.
  • Never go over the time limit--it is rude and a sign of poor preparation.

Think about your listener. Think about steps you can take to makes it easier for them to understand the content of your talk. Generally, one person should give the briefing, or at a minimum moderate or anchor the talk if others must speak. The moderator should begin and end the talk. If the project is analytic in nature—do not become an advocate—present both sides of the story and let the data speak. If a recommendation is expected or required, point out the pros and cons of your recommendation.

  • VIEW VIDEO OF SIPA MPA WORKSHOP BRIEIFINGS
  • CRITIQUE BRIEFINGS
  • DISCUSS STATUS OF FINAL BRIEFING PREPARATIONS