How to write effective briefings

This post is written by Alex Nicholson, Head of Multilateral and International Nuclear Safety at the UK’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

• **The problem: **Your senior official is meeting a counterpart and you have been tasked with drafting the briefing for this meeting.
• Why it matters: The meeting presents an opportunity for you to advance the objectives of your team.
• The solution: Draft a briefing with a clear objective and a coherent structure that flows naturally from this objective.

Drafting briefings for senior officials and ministers is a key part of a civil servant’s role. You may have to write a briefing for several different reasons, but the core components remain the same. You need to have a clear objective, a clear set of ‘points to make’ to achieve that objective and sufficient background to provide the necessary context for the ‘points to make’ and to act as an additional resource for your senior official or Minister to draw from if required.

As individuals that typically work ‘at pace’ with competing priorities, there is always a temptation to draft quickly and hope that those in your clearance chain include what you have missed and edit where they see fit. This article will set out a series of steps you can take when drafting a briefing to ensure you best use your available time, and draft more effectively.

So, you’ve been tasked with drafting a briefing for a senior official who is meeting counterparts from an international partner, and you have a day to do this. Your first step should be to consider your objectives for this meeting. What do you want to achieve and why?

“This is not an exercise for you to demonstrate you are an expert in the policy, it is instead to support the ‘points to make’. “

Summarise, summarise, summarise

By being able to articulate this you will be able to ensure it is clear in the mind of your senior official and enable you to draft a briefing that is framed by it and flows naturally from it. As a tip, I’d write this objective at the top of your briefing: “The objective of this meeting is to achieve x”.

With this framing you are now able to draft the ‘points to make’ for your senior official to use in this meeting to deliver your objective. Good practice is to have three to four points to make that are concise and targeted. As a tip, I’d always read these out like you were delivering them, as this will show you if what you have written is too wordy.

Underneath your points to make you will have your background section. Good practice is to have one or two short paragraphs per ‘points to make’ that are again concise and targeted. This is not an exercise for you to demonstrate you are an expert in the policy, it is instead to support the ‘points to make’. Your senior official will be able to read these and understand the context behind each point, whilst also having additional content to draw from if required in the meeting.

You should be mindful that your senior official will receive a number of these briefings each day. Yours therefore needs to be clear and concise. Avoid adding content for the sake of having it – your senior official will always ask you if they need more!

Here is a checklist to consider when drafting:

Objectives:

• Do you have a clear objective?
• Why is this your objective and what do you want to achieve through it?
• Is this meeting an opportunity to advance objectives of your colleagues and if so, why?
• Is your objective clear at the top of the briefing?

Points to make:

• Are they clear and concise?
• Do they directly support the objective?
• Are they written in the style that your senior official prefers?

Background:

• Does each ‘points to make’ have a background section?
• Is this section clear and concise?
• Is the content relevant? Does it add context for the senior official or are you adding content for the sake of it?
• Can this section be used by the senior official if required for additional ‘points to make’?

General:

• Is your briefing clear and concise? Is all the content relevant?
• Have you considered what input you need from others? Why is this important? Does it enable you to deliver their objectives?
• Can you help support your colleagues by having a first go at drafting content and asking them to edit / clear?
• Have you considered additional sections to your briefing?
  • ‘Defensive points’ or ‘in case raised’: These sections seek to antcipate what your counterparts may raise and ensure your senior official has reactive points. These would sit between your ‘points to make’ and ‘background’ section

(Image Credit: Unsplash)

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