title: The psychology of briefing. A review and seven recommendations for improving performance.
abstract: In many operational settings, briefings take place at the beginning of a work period. Often, such briefings are made without much forethought and training. This article outlines some of the problems that are likely to be encountered in such situations and provides seven recommendations that should improve the memorability and comprehensibility of briefing sessions. It is recommended that briefings should begin with an outline of the critical points, be devoid of unnecessary detail and be confined to not more than six topics. Guidelines are provided for the use of pictures and graphs and combining these with verbal descriptions. The value of handouts and the use of summaries and prompts at the end of the briefing session are also considered.
authors.affiliation: University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology, Human Performance Research Group, Department of Applied Psychology, Llwyn-y-Grant, Penylan, Cardiff CF3 7UX, UK.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Quayle