Oral Briefing Skills
Group - One Day Course
Course Description
This course provides skills to officers so that they can give ministers/senior management clear, concise information. The program has been developed by a former ministerial staffer, in conjunction with senior officers of federal and state departments. We have also surveyed ministers on how they prefer to be briefed.
The course recognises that oral briefings usually supplement written material, and that briefings may be needed at very short notice, and may need to be carried out quickly.
A similar course is available for those whose briefings must be in writing.
Who Will Benefit
Senior staff, particularly in the policy development area. Although usually given at senior government level, this program is equally valuable in other areas, such as briefing CEOs and board members.
Course Outline
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Outcome setting
A simple checklist for arriving at exactly what needs to be achieved through the presentation/discussion on the topic of the briefing.
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Developing one clear theme
If the officer has only 5 minutes with the minister, what is the pertinent point? We teach an easily recalled formula to meet this objective.
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Structuring
A well-structured message is easier to deliver and is more easily understood. We look at a logical structure or sequence in brief and expanded versions. The same structure can be used to give watertight answers where questioning or debate is expected. This formula has also proved valuable in briefing ministers for handling questions in cabinet or parliament. The course gives practice at using these structures, proving their value when called on to give a spontaneous response.
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Face-to-face skills
These include non-verbal behaviours to establish and keep a responsive mode at the briefing and also responding skills to clarify meaning, to ensure that what is said is relevant to the minister's meaning. These are practised in pairs in the group to show their effectiveness, and to give familiarity in their use.
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Combining skill, structure and style
Using video, officers see how they come across in briefing and responding. This gives polish and confidence in what has been taught during the day. Tapes are retained by participants for further consolidation of their skills.
In the past, some courses have had the advantage of a prior meeting between the minister or staff member, and the course director. The additional fee for such a meeting results in a more tailored approach than is otherwise possible.
Course Arrangements
This program has a group limit of six people.