Effective Briefing Techniques

Purpose and Goals
 Effective presentation skills are critical to leadership. The
employee who can deliver a convincing, well thought-out, cogent
presentation is one who will earn the respect of his or her
colleagues, superiors, and customers. This skill is key for those
seeking to bring their careers to the next level. Those who speak
well influence others, and that is the essence of leadership.
Organizations need leaders who can make their point with clarity
and brevity.
 Goals include: overcoming nervousness and anxiety, being a
great presenter, projecting your desired image, analyzing and
focusing on your audience, planning strategy, building your
message, honing your skills, the power of persuasion, captivating
your audience, managing the audience, how to manage a
meeting successfully, presenting as a team, and using multimedia
visuals successfully.

Goals
 Confidently prepare and give a
presentation or briefing
 Efficiently manage an effective meeting
 Successfully deliver a formal
presentation with a cohesive team

Norms for Behavior
 Be present and focused.
 Respect airtime (three before me).
 Focus on what we can do.
 Everyone contributes.

Introductions
 Name
 Position
 Why are you here?
 Hobby

A.W.A.R.E.
 Action
 Work It!
 Acknowledge and Accept
 Relax
 End

Action – Be prepared.
 Know your content, your strategy, and your
resources.
 Test your technology in advance.
 Practice in front of the mirror, a camera, or
a friend.
 Anticipate potential problems and
questions.
 Use visualization to imagine the entire
presentation from start to finish.

Work It! – Embrace the Speaker Role
You have done the hard work of preparation; you
deserve to do well.

Work It! – Don’t hide.
Use confident body language, project your voice,
and look at your audience. Smile and step out
from behind the desk or podium.

Acknowledge and Accept
It’s normal to be nervous!

Acknowledge and Accept
 It’s human nature to be fearful of the
unknown.
 Your audience wants you to succeed.
 Even famous performers get nervous!
It’s normal and it’s okay.

Relax – Release adrenaline.
Adrenaline sends
the blood rushing to
the fight or flight
centers of your
brain at the base of
the skull.
 Place your hand on
your forehead and
press gently on the
bony points.
 This will bring the
blood to the parts of
the brain that need
it to present your
speech best.

Relax – The art of letting go.
 Breathe deeply.
Breathing Exercise
 Stretch.
Stretching Exercise

Relax – Yul Brynner’s Wall Push
 Stand about 18" away and
place your palms flat.
 Push against the wall. As you
push, your abdominal muscles
will contract.
 As you breathe out, hiss and
contract the muscles below
your rib cage as if you were
rowing a boat against the
current.
 Repeat and banish stage
fright.

End
 Your nervousness
WILL end!
 Don’t forget to
remind yourself
that this feeling
will go away
eventually.
 Make sure to let
your audience
know when your
speech is over
and have a call to
action.

Five Things Every Presenter
Needs to Know About People
by Susan Weinschenk
Link

The Secret Structure of
Great Talks
by Nancy Duarte
Link

Reflect and Journal
1. How can you relate this to the presentations
or briefings you are expected to give?
2. What techniques from Weinschenk resonate
the most with you?
3. What techniques from Duarte resonate the
most with you?
4. What are three to five specific techniques
from the morning session that you can
reasonably incorporate into your next
briefing?
5. Which ones are you most excited about?

Personal Branding
Personal Branding—
the ongoing process
of establishing a
prescribed image or
impression in the
mind of others about
an individual, group
or organization.

Knowing your audience is as
important as knowing your content
and being a good presenter.

Why is it important to know your
audience?
 Create the best content
 Pinpoint an effective approach and strategy
 Craft appropriate language
 Identify focus areas
 Find balance between logic and emotion
 Determine the degree of audience interaction
 Plan for situations that may prevent you from
reaching your presentation objectives

What should you find out about
your audience?
 Group size
 Prior knowledge
and experience
 Opinions, feelings,
and attitudes
toward your topic
 Needs, wants, and
expectations
 Priorities and Pain
Points
 Decision makers
 Position levels and
professions
 Audience makeup –
gender, education,
age, class, ethnic
background, political
leanings
 Potential problems
from the audience
 Mood and condition
of the group

Four Dominant Personality
Types

Director (Choleric)
 Focuses on goals, results, action, and achievement
 Highly competitive
 Forceful, authoritative, commanding
 Demanding and impatient
 Decisive, direct and blunt
 Exerts control – of self and others
 Seeks power, status, prestige
 Big (often fragile) ego
 Independent and self-sustaining – takes quick
initiative
 Does not show weakness
 A smart risk-taker and methodical innovator

How to present to Directors:
 Show self-assurance
and
confidence.
 Make your
presentation direct
and accurate.
 Be professional and
relaxed.
 Don’t ramble or be
vague in your
answers.
 Don’t be emotional,
cute, or clever.
 Don’t leave loose
ends in your
presentation.

Energizer (Sanguine)
 Imaginative, innovative, intuitive, and risk-taker
 Dreamer, visionary, idealist who loves big ideas
 Impulsive, intuitive, spontaneous, and emotional
 Great at synthesizing ideas and concepts
 Unconventional and unorthodox in solutions
 Mercurial—enjoys exciting, meaningful change
 Thrives on admiration and recognition
 Dislikes rules, regulations, or tradition
 Easily distracted and bored—changes direction
and focus frequently
 Excellent communicator who takes pride in
influencing people and events

How to present to
Energizers:
 Show your interest
and/or passion for
your subject
 Use lots of relevant
visuals that illustrate
your points.
 Ask for feedback and
participation.
 Don’t be too
impersonal, formal, or
detached.
 Don’t act like a close-minded
know-it-all.
 Don’t be dismissive of
their ideas and
feedback.

Affable (Melancholic)
 Hates and avoids conflict, controversy, or debate
 Highly sensitive to their own feelings and those of
others
 Can’t say no
 Supportive team players
 Indecisive, tentative, and afraid to commit
(especially quickly)
 Needs approval, validation, and lots of genuine
affection
 Dependable, loyal, easygoing, and sincere
 Dislikes dealing with details and cold, hard, facts
 Can appear weak and wishy-washy, especially in
demanding situations

How to present to Affables:
 Show sincere,
personal interest in
the audience.
 Be solution-focused
and positive.
 Show step-by-step
plans that will guide
the audience toward
the goals.
 Don’t be assertive or
intimidating.
 Don’t become
impatient or rush
them to make
decisions.
 Don’t ignore the
human side of the
audience.

Thinker (Phlegmatic)
 Objective, rational, methodical, and orderly
 Cautious, skeptical, prove-it-to-me cynic
 Slow and methodical in decision making—
meticulous researcher and fact-checker
 Serious, stoical, reserved, conservative—hides
reactions and feelings (but can suddenly erupt with
wacky or goofy humor or behavior when unguarded)
 Craves solving complex, challenging problems
 Can be inflexible and sees issues as black or white
 Follows rules, procedures, and protocols with little to
no deviation
 Prefers incremental changes to radical innovations

How to present to Thinkers:
 Be prepared and
detailed.
 Use examples, valid
evidence, and facts.
 Be prepared to
answer questions
with detailed and
concrete answers.
 Don’t exaggerate or
estimate.
 Don’t use personal
or emotional
appeals.
 Don’t challenge their
expertise.

Presenting to a mixed
group:
Use a combination of techniques to appeal
to everyone in your audience.
 Be prepared and knowledgeable.
 Research your audience.
 Have a strategy and outline.
 Be relaxed and professional.
 Use facts, figures, visuals, and
examples.
 Make sure there is a call to action.

Presenting to a mixed
group:
Use Nancy Duarte’s presentation structure
(if possible) to inspire your audience.

Above all…
Find a balance of techniques, methods,
and strategies that makes you feel
confident and comfortable while giving
your presentation or briefing.

Call to Action
 Elevator Pitch: What do you do?
 2 minutes
 No notes
 Use what you learned today.
 The purpose of this exercise is to put into
practice everything you’ve learned today.
 Get over your nervousness.
 Use the qualities of a great presenter.
 Project your desired image.
 Use what you know about your audience to be effective.
 Link

Peer Feedback
 What techniques,
methods, and
strategies from
today’s sessions did
you notice the
speaker using?
 What did you learn
from this speaker
about presenting?
 Respectfully, what
should the speaker
focus on doing or
not doing as he or
she goes forward?
 Final thoughts.

Reflect and Quick Write
 What went well today?
 What methods, techniques, and
strategies do you want to focus on as
you move forward with briefings and
presentations?
 What questions do you still have?

Day Two: Meeting Management
1. Review Elevator Pitch
2. Honing Your Skills and Rehearsing
 Voice
 Body Language
3. Persuasion
4. Captivating Your Audience
5. Managing the Audience
6. Meeting Management Experience
(Fishbowl)

Effective Briefing Techniques

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