Thinking About Your Audience
- Nathan
- 2 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Four important questions that will help you deliver more effective briefings.
As both a coach and trainer, I often have participants asking for guidance on what information to include when briefing senior leaders, both orally and in writing. It seems the expressions: “the audience is important, the audience matters, put yourself in the shoes of the audience” are not prescriptive enough.
As you think about your audience and what content to include in a briefing, consider the following four questions:
How will the audience make specific use of the information you are thinking of providing?
Will your audience need to speak to the information in a meeting? Will they need to write about it? Will it factor into a decision they need to make? If you are having a hard time imagining how the information will be used, maybe that’s a sign the audience doesn’t need it.
What is the risk if the audience does not know this information? How likely is the risk and how significant is the impact?
It is unrealistic to expect senior leaders to develop the same level of knowledge and understanding that every employee has. As a result, we have to make choices about what to share as we brief up. Thinking about risk can help us with prioritizing what information to convey.
What is your motivation for sharing the information?
Senior leaders are typically time-constrained, have competing priorities, and are pushed and pulled in different directions all day long. When briefing them, you should have a clear and solid rationale for including every piece of content. Showing off all that you know is not a good example. Sharing information so the boss is not caught by surprise and unprepared in a meeting is.
How is this information critical for the audience’s understanding of the issue you are briefing them on?
The point of a briefing is to help someone understand an issue, what that issue means, why it matters, and what proposed actions are necessary. So… everything in your briefing needs to contribute to understanding. A simple litmus test would be to ask yourself, “if I remove this content, does it meaningfully jeopardize their understanding?” If the answer is no, then maybe that is a sign you don’t need to include it.
With over 25 years of experience, Spectrum Solutions offers hands-on, scenario-based learning designed to help teams advance their leadership and communication skills.
If your training or coaching needs are not being met, feel free to connect with us. We can help. Reach out to nathan@spectrumsolutions.com.