Technical Briefing Skills Training: Writing & Presenting Briefs

Gain the knowledge and skills to plan and organize effective briefings.

Learn tips and techniques to write effective briefings on technical topics.

Learn how to present engaging technical briefs. 

Develop your ability to write and present concise briefings that convey your main message quickly and clearly is an essential skill for today’s rapidly changing environment.

In this workshop, participants will improve their writing and briefing skills and techniques so that the communication of their analysis of a situation or event will be clearer, better organized, and more useful to their audience.

Designed as a 3-day workshop, this briefing skills course can be tailored for a 1 or 2-day session.

Participants learn and practice essential strategies for writing and delivering short, structured briefings.

The course focuses on the writing and presentation principles that lead to well-reasoned and presented finished briefs. During this highly participative course participants engage in a variety of individual and team activities that include opportunities for personal feedback.

Your written briefs and briefing presentations are reviewed and critiqued by your instructor and you with useful coaching and tips.

Class size is limited to 15 participants to ensure individualized attention.

No matter how good your analysis is, without good writing and presentation skills, your briefing may be worthless.

Who should attend?

This course is designed for anyone who wants to deliver clear and succinct technical briefings. The course is especially valuable for:

• Staff from governments and non-governmental organizations
• Technical experts working in the public sector, in academic institutions or in consulting, private and civil society organizations
• Technical advisers and field staff who provide briefing to stakeholders 

Learning outcomes for this Technical Briefing Skills Workshop

• Target the writing and presentation to your audience

• Learn how to stick to the point and avoid rambling

• Provide technical information to non-technical people

• Analyze your audience and the setting

• Define the objective and build your message accordingly

• Organize your key points in a logical and concise manner

• Utilize the correct style and tone to convey your information

• Develop a powerful wrap-up

Course outline

Day 1

• Communicating through Briefings
• Managing Perceptions
• Analyzing your audience
• Types of briefings
• Analytic Writing
• Building Better Sentences
• Improving Paragraph Structure
• Accurate, Brief and Clear language
• Avoid overwhelming non-technical people with technical data
• Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF) format
• Executive Summaries
• Editing Your Own Work
• Peer Editing
• Briefing Tips and Techniques

Day 2

• Eliminating Presentation Barriers
• Techniques for overcoming presentation anxiety
• Knowing your audience
• Briefing preparation checklist
• Preliminary Planning
• Preparing the presentation
• Preparing and using visuals
• Explore impact of body, voice and visual aids to enhance presentation skills
• Do’s and Don’ts of PowerPoint and other visuals
• Using your environment to your advantage
• Effective delivery skills
• Using a simple model for organizing a persuasive or informational presentation
• Opening statement
• Making supporting statements and claims
• Using transitions, pivots and so-what's to enhance briefing impact
• Practice writing and delivering
  • Transitions
  • Pivots
  • So-what's
• How and when to use humor
• Handling questions (including hostile questions)
• “Web-Briefing” important notes for this format
• Develop a powerful close 
  • Make the message "stick"
  • Motivate the call-to-action
• Practicing your briefing

Day 3

• Delivering Presentations
• Briefing Situations
• Extemporaneous Briefings
• Practicing Presentations
• Final evaluations and final critiques

Bring this workshop to your organization and begin applying powerful new technical briefing techniques immediately. Participants leave this session with necessary skills to writ and deliver technical briefs to clients, coworkers, executives and groups of all sizes.

To receive more information about this training call toll free at 877-385-5515. 

You may also email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..