Briefing and Intent

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Briefings are a means of presenting information to commanders, staffs, or other designated audiences. The techniques employed are determined by the purpose of the briefing, the desired response, and the role of the briefer. A briefing assignment has four steps:

1. Analyze the situation

This includes analyzing the audience and the occasion by determining:

• Who is to be briefed and why?
• How much knowledge of the subject does the audience have?
• What is expected of the briefer?

2. Construct the briefing

The construction of the briefing will vary with its type and purpose. The analysis provides the basis for this determination. The following are the major steps in preparing a briefing:

• Collect material
• Know the subject thoroughly
• Isolate the key points
• Arrange the key points in logical order
• Provide supporting data to substantiate validity of key points
• Select visual aids
• Establish the wording
• Rehearse before a knowledgeable person who can critique the briefing

3. Deliver the briefing

A successful briefing depends on how it is presented. A confident, relaxed, forceful delivery, clearly enunciated and based on full knowledge of the subject, helps convince the audience. The briefers delivery is characterized by conciseness, objectivity, and accuracy. Be aware of the following:

• The basic purpose is to present the subject as directed and to ensure that it is understood by the audience.
• Brevity precludes a lengthy introduction or summary.
• Logic must be used in arriving at conclusions and recommendations.
• Interruptions and questions may occur at any point. If and when these interruptions occur, the briefer answers each question before proceeding or indicates that the questions will be answered later in the briefing. At the same time, the briefer does not permit questions to distract from the planned briefing. If the question will be answered later in the briefing, the briefer should make specific reference to the earlier question when introducing the material. The briefer must be prepared to support any part of the briefing. The briefer anticipates possible questions and is prepared to answer them.

4. Follow-up

When the briefing is over, the briefer prepares any follow-up actions such as who is to take action, recommendations and their approval, disapproval, or approval with modifications. When a decision is involved and doubt exists about the decision maker's intent, the briefer provides the decision maker a draft of the decision for review before finalizing.

The Five Communication Responsibilities for all firefighters are:

1. Brief others as needed.
2. Debrief your actions.
3. Communicate hazards to others.
4. Acknowledge messages.
5. Ask if you don't know.

Some briefings lack enough information, other briefings provide too much information. Somewhere in between is what most of us are looking for: a useful briefing. How often should briefings be given? The answer is: as often as they are needed.

Briefings are to be given whenever there is a change in the situation or incident that affects strategy, tactics or assigned resources. The elements of a proper briefing can be located on the inside back cover of the National Wildfire Coordination Group (NWCG) Incident Response Pocket Guide (PMS #461; NFES #1077). A proper briefing should include:

Situation:

An overall picture of the situation/incident so those being briefed have a general idea of what is going on. After the big picture, focus in on where and how those being briefed fit in. Using maps or terrain models scraped together on the ground will help provide a clearer perception of the situation.

Mission/Execution:

The portion of the briefing where chain of command is explained; Leader's Intent is delivered; specific assignments and tactics are given; and contingencies are proposed.

Communication:

Where the Communication Plan and Medical Plan are explained. The methods, channels and frequencies being utilized for receiving and passing information to other resources on the incident. How often personnel should check-in and provide updates. The critical times for information delivery such as weather updates and resource needs for the next shift. What to do in the event of an emergency, what protocols to follow in the event of an accident or injury.

Service/Support:

What other resources are on the incident, and how they might be accessed if needed. This portion would also include how to get supplies, equipment, or transportation.

Risk Management:

A discussion of what known and potential hazards may exist in the work environment, methods to communicate those hazards to others, and whether to AVOID, MITIGATE, or ELIMINATE the hazard. This is also the portion of the briefing where LCES - Lookouts, Communication, Escape Route(s), and Safety Zone(s) - would be addressed, as well as any identified trigger points.

Questions or Concerns:

Every briefing should be concluded with an opportunity for feedback from those who have been briefed. Questions about assignments can be asked and answered, concerns that the leader didn't realize or understand can be expressed, and perceptions can be brought more in line with reality. Remember your Standard Firefighting Orders includes: Give clear instructions and be sure they are understood.

Briefings may be something you do on a regular basis and are comfortable doing them, but you might want to improve the effectiveness of your briefings:

• Consider the audience listening and tailor the message accordingly.
• Avoid the use of unnecessary jargon or slang.
• Speak clearly, and make eye contact with the listeners.
• Try to give the briefing in an environment that will not be interrupted by intrusive sounds.
• Pay attention to the feedback you receive from a briefing…does it reflect that you imparted accurate information? If not, why not?

Or you may not have a lot of experience in delivering briefings. In that case:

• Use the inside back cover of the Incident Response Pocket Guide to guide your briefing.
• Practice giving briefings and have a supervisor or co-worker critique you.
• Ask your supervisor if you can have an opportunity to prepare and deliver actual briefings during appropriate situations.
• Listen to briefings of others using the Incident Response Pocket Guide back cover and ask for any information that is missing.
• Recognize that nervousness while speaking in front of a crowd is common. In one study, 77% of experienced speakers admitted to some stage fright on each speaking occasion. In another study, people had a greater fear of public speaking than death. Overcome your anxiety by being well-prepared with your message, use the Incident Response Pocket Guide back cover as an organizer and get comfortable delivering briefings by doing them often.

Listening is a process involving the reception and interpretation of messages spoken by others. A common misconception about listening is that it is easy. In fact, the opposite is true. Studies have shown that good listeners show increases in their physical activity when they are listening to others. Since the effectiveness of communications depends so heavily on good listening, it is important to develop our listening skills.

The Ten Commandments of Good Listening:

1. Stop talking. Obvious, but not easy.
2. Put the speaker at ease. Create a permissive, supportive climate in which the speaker will feel free to express himself or herself.
3. Show a desire to listen. Act interested and mean it.
4. Remove distractions. External preoccupation is less likely if nothing external is present to preoccupy you.
5. Empathize. Try to experience to some degree the feelings the speaker is experiencing.
6. Be patient. Give the speaker time to finish; don't interrupt.
7. Hold your temper. Don't let your emotions obstruct your thoughts.
8. Go easy on argument and criticism. Suspend judgment.
9. Ask questions. If things are still unclear when a speaker has finished, ask questions which serve to clarify the intended meanings.
10. Stop talking. In case you missed the first commandment.

(Source: K. Davis, Human Behavior at Work, McGraw Hill, 1972)

Preparation

If you know what the topic is ahead of time, learn something about it so you will not be an ignorant listener. Even some careful thinking will allow you to listen more accurately when the communication actually begins.

Seek intent

Try to discover the intent of the source; why is he or she saying these things?

Seek structure

Look for an organizational scheme of the message. If the speaker is an accomplished one, you won't have to look very hard; it will be obvious. But if the speaker is less skilled, the responsibility falls to you.

Analyze

Do not accept what you hear at face value; analyze what the speaker is saying and pay attention to body language.

Focus

Keep the main topic of the message in mind at all times, using it to bring focus to the information which the speaker supplies.

Motivate yourself

This may be the most important. Listening takes work, and to do that you may have to "psych yourself up."

(Source: P. Bradley and J. Baird, Communication for Business and the Professions, Brown, 1980)

At the heart of every briefing conducted for a group or individual is the purpose or objectives of the assignment. This is called "Leader's Intent." Leaders must communicate the purpose of a chosen action or direction so those being briefed have a clear understanding of the desired end state of an assignment. Clear and concise, the leader's intent includes a mission's overall purpose and expected results. With clearly communicated purpose and direction, followers can understand what they must do and why.

Leader's Intent consists of three parts:

1. Task: What it is to be done, or the "objectives"
2. Purpose: Why it is to be done, or "sense-making"
3. End State: What it should look like when done, 
   or "the goal"

The end state is the leader's vision; or how the leader would like things to look when all is said and done. In a mission-oriented situation, the desired end state is how actions will be measured to evaluate success.

When followers clearly understand the intent behind instructions, they are enabled to make better decisions on their own when conditions or the situation has changed. If followers know what the goal is, they will be able to determine what they must do to reach it, even if the leader is absent.

A concept that goes hand-in-hand with Leader's Intent is Command Presence. Command Presence is transmitted by your ability to communicate effectively. Do not equate command presence with yelling out orders. Effective communication is two-way communication and involves a good feedback process. For more information, read Lt. Col. Lawrence G. Shattuck's article "Communicating Intent and Imparting Presence."

This model, derived from the publication Leading in the Wildland Fire Service (PMS 494-2), illustrates that turning intent into action is both linear and cyclical process.

Initiating the linear process, the leader establishes an end state and sets objectives to accomplish it. Team members develop a strategy and make sure that the objectives can be accomplished given the available time and resources. Operational leaders then select the appropriate tactics and implement the action needed. The process is sequential, with each step requiring the completion of the previous step.

The process becomes circular when leaders evaluate the results of the action and modify the plan at each level according to changes in the environment or the team.

Read the article "Communicating Intent and Imparting Presence," by Lt. Col. Lawrence G. Shattuck describing the elements and importance of communicating intent to subordinates while imparting Command Presence.

Discussion on Leaders Intent with Mark Smith, retired Senior Non-commissioned Officer, U.S. Army Special Operations and leadership development consultant with Mission-Centered Solutions.

Cut this out and add it to your IRPG. The goal is not to replace the IRPG briefing checklist, rather to supplement with this template in order to create a more intuitive briefing. View the template (pdf).

Mission briefing format on full size sheet of paper for constructing your briefing. View the worksheet (docx).

Simple format for unexpected or changing conditions in order to provide quick and concise situational information. View the worksheet (docx).