Army Briefing Techniques.pdf - UNC Charlotte Army ROTC

Army Briefing Techniques ■ 71Execute: Deliver the BriefingThe success of a briefing often depends on how well you present it. A confident, relaxed,and forceful delivery, clearly enunciated, helps convince the audience. You should alwaysmaintain a relaxed, but military, bearing. Use natural gestures and movement, but avoiddistracting mannerisms. Conciseness, objectivity, and accuracy characterize good delivery.You should remain aware of the following:• The basic purpose is to present the subject as directed and ensure that the audienceunderstands it• For brevity’s sake, avoid a lengthy introduction or summary• Conclusions and recommendations must flow logically from facts and assumptions.Interruptions and questions may occur at any point. If and when they occur, answereach question before continuing, or indicate that you will answer the question later in thebriefing. At the same time, do not permit questions to distract from the planned briefing.If answering the question later in the briefing, make specific reference to the earlier questionwhen you introduce the material. Be prepared to support any part of the briefing. Anticipatepossible questions and be prepared to answer them.Assess: Follow UpWhen the briefing is over, prepare a memorandum for record (MFR). This MFR recordsthe subject, date, time, and place of the briefing, and the ranks, names, and positions ofaudience members. Concisely record the substance of your remarks. Also recordrecommendations and their approval, disapproval, or approval with modification, as wellas any instruction or directed action. This includes who is to take action. When a decisionis involved and doubt exists about the decision maker’s intent, submit a draft of the MFRto him or her for correction before preparing it in final form. Distribute the MFR to staffsections and agencies required to act on the decisions or instructions, or whose operationsor plans may be affected.Critical ThinkingeYou’ve just learned that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs is stopping by your unitin Northern Kosovo the day after tomorrow on his way back to Washington fromthe Middle East. Your commander instructs you to prepare and present a briefingon the status of your mission. What kind of briefing will you prepare? How willyou get ready? How will you ensure that you don’t say something that mayembarrass you, your commander, and your fellow Soldiers?