Briefing exercise questions.

78 briefing exercise questions from the bank, ready to practice out loud.

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BLUF: the one-page decision brief STAR and CARL: structuring your story Translating for non-experts: plain-language summaries Murder-boarding the brief: anticipating the questions Sequencing evidence in a brief: strong first, caveats owned

All 78 questions

Pilot program extension briefWalk me through a one-page briefing for the deputy administrator on whether to extend a pilot program.Lede with the recommendationMid–senior

Evidence structure for contentious briefWalk me through how you'd structure the evidence section in a brief about a contentious budget reallocation.Supporting evidence hierarchySenior–leadership

Anticipating questions on personnel briefWalk me through how you'd anticipate the senior leader's questions when briefing on a sensitive personnel issue.Anticipated questionsSenior–leadership

Technical brief for non-expertWalk me through how you'd write a brief on a technical topic for a leader who's not a subject matter expert.Plain Language framingSenior–leadership

Conference attendance under constraintWalk me through how you'd structure a brief on whether to attend an international conference under a tight diplomatic constraint.Lede with the recommendationSenior–leadership

Recommending against committed positionWalk me through how you'd write a brief recommending against a course of action the decision-maker is publicly committed to.Supporting evidence hierarchySenior–leadership

Q&A appendix for fast-moving incidentWalk me through how you'd build a Q&A appendix for a brief on a fast-moving incident.Anticipated questionsSenior–leadership

Converting report to briefWalk me through how you'd convert a 20-page interagency report into a 1-page brief.Plain Language framingSenior–leadership

Bad news and recommendationWalk me through your structure for a brief that has to deliver bad news and a recommendation in one page.Lede with the recommendationSenior–leadership

Citing advocacy group evidenceWalk me through how you'd cite evidence in a brief when the strongest analysis is from an external advocacy group.Supporting evidence hierarchySenior–leadership

Briefing a politically focused leaderWalk me through how you'd brief a leader whose questions are typically about the political consequences of recommendations.Anticipated questionsSenior–leadership

Handling technical caveatsWalk me through how you'd handle technical caveats in a brief without making it feel hedged.Plain Language framingSenior–leadership

Opening a contract cancellation briefWalk me through your opening sentence for a brief recommending the cancellation of a high-profile contract.Lede with the recommendationSenior–leadership

Structuring unverified contingent evidenceWalk me through how you'd structure evidence when the strongest case is contingent on a fact you can't yet verify.Supporting evidence hierarchySenior–leadership

Anticipating opposition party questionsWalk me through your approach when your leader's predictable question is 'what would the opposition party say?'Anticipated questionsSenior–leadership

Statistics for non-quantitative audienceWalk me through writing a brief on a complex statistical claim for a decision-maker with low quantitative comfort.Plain Language framingSenior–leadership

Recommending inaction under pressureWalk me through your structure when you're recommending no action, despite political pressure.Lede with the recommendationSenior–leadership

Briefing legal and political risksWalk me through how you'd build a brief on something with both legal and political risk dimensions.Supporting evidence hierarchySenior–leadership

Preparing press-ready briefsWalk me through preparing a brief that has to be 'press-ready' if asked.Anticipated questionsSenior–leadership

Trade-offs with no solutionsWalk me through how you'd write a brief about a topic that has no good solutions, only trade-offs.Plain Language framingSenior–leadership

Requesting procedural exceptionsWalk me through how you'd open a brief asking the leader for an unusual exception to standard procedure.Lede with the recommendationSenior–leadership

Using compelling anecdotal evidenceWalk me through how you'd handle a brief where the strongest evidence is anecdotal but compelling.Supporting evidence hierarchySenior–leadership

Briefing an emotionally resistant leaderWalk me through how you'd prepare a brief for a leader who you know dislikes the topic emotionally.Anticipated questionsSenior–leadership

Condensing a lengthy recommendationWalk me through how you'd brief a 30-second elevator version of a recommendation that took 200 pages to develop.Plain Language framingSenior–leadership

Presenting two options without commitmentWalk me through how you'd structure a brief that recommends two options without committing to one.Lede with the recommendationSenior–leadership

Addressing conflicting data interpretationsWalk me through how you'd brief on a topic where the same data is being used by different sides to opposite ends.Supporting evidence hierarchySenior–leadership

Preparing for in-meeting decisionsWalk me through how you'd prepare for a brief where the leader is likely to make a decision in the meeting itself.Anticipated questionsSenior–leadership

Balancing facts and politicsWalk me through how you'd brief on a topic that requires careful balance between facts and politics.Plain Language framingSenior–leadership

Recommendation requiring partner cooperationWalk me through how you'd structure a brief when you're recommending an action that depends on a partner's cooperation.Lede with the recommendationSenior–leadership

Writing briefs that age wellWalk me through how you'd write a brief that has to age well — read just as cleanly six months later.Supporting evidence hierarchySenior–leadership

Opening a vendor contract approvalWalk me through how you'd write the opening paragraph of a brief recommending approval of a new vendor contract.Lede with the recommendationEntry–mid

Organizing mixed-strength evidenceWalk me through how you'd organize three pieces of evidence when one is strong, one is moderate, and one is weak.Supporting evidence hierarchyEntry–mid

Preparing for timeline delay questionsWalk me through what questions you'd prepare for if briefing your manager on a simple timeline delay.Anticipated questionsEntry–mid

Explaining budget variance plainlyWalk me through how you'd explain a budget variance in plain language for a brief to a non-finance leader.Plain Language framingEntry–mid

Opening a routine upgrade recommendationWalk me through your first sentence for a brief recommending we proceed with a routine software upgrade.Lede with the recommendationEntry–mid

Sequencing mixed evidence typesWalk me through how you'd sequence evidence when you have survey data, expert opinion, and a case study.Supporting evidence hierarchyEntry–mid

Office hours change briefingWalk me through what follow-up questions to expect when briefing on a proposed change to office hours.Anticipated questionsEntry–mid

Describing a three-phase plan plainlyWalk me through how you'd describe a three-phase implementation plan without using project management jargon.Plain Language framingEntry–mid

New collaboration tool adoptionWalk me through how you'd open a brief recommending your team adopt a new collaboration tool.Lede with the recommendationEntry–mid

Cost savings versus user feedbackWalk me through how you'd decide which evidence to put first when you have both cost savings data and user feedback.Supporting evidence hierarchyEntry–mid

Anticipating questions on contractor hiringWalk me through what questions you'd anticipate when briefing on a request to hire a temporary contractor.Anticipated questionsEntry–mid

Explaining stakeholder engagement plainlyWalk me through how you'd explain what a stakeholder engagement process involves to someone unfamiliar with the term.Plain Language framingEntry–mid

Recommending a policy reversal quicklyWalk me through how you'd open a brief recommending a significant policy reversal when the previous position was announced only six months ago.Lede with the recommendationSenior–leadership

Bridging opposing stakeholder viewpointsWalk me through how you'd structure a brief when your recommendation sits between two opposing viewpoints from powerful stakeholders.Lede with the recommendationMid–senior

Quantitative data contradicts feedbackWalk me through how you'd prioritize evidence in a brief when quantitative data contradicts qualitative stakeholder feedback.Supporting evidence hierarchyMid–staff+

Integrating conflicting agency analysesWalk me through how you'd build the evidence section when three agencies provided analyses with different methodologies and conclusions.Supporting evidence hierarchySenior–leadership

Anticipating questions on program sunsetWalk me through how you'd anticipate questions for a brief on sunsetting a popular program due to compliance concerns.Anticipated questionsMid–senior

Preparing for a feasibility-focused leaderWalk me through how you'd prepare anticipated questions when briefing a leader who tends to focus on implementation feasibility over policy merits.Anticipated questionsMid–staff+

Machine learning to skeptical executiveWalk me through how you'd write a brief explaining a machine learning model's recommendation to a non-technical executive who distrusts algorithms.Plain Language framingMid–senior

Compliance gap without alarmWalk me through how you'd use plain language to brief on a regulatory compliance gap without triggering alarm or legal exposure.Plain Language framingSenior–leadership

Mutually exclusive strategic choiceWalk me through how you'd lead with a recommendation when the decision requires choosing between two mutually exclusive strategic directions.Lede with the recommendationSenior–leadership

Structuring evidence with incomplete dataWalk me through how you'd structure evidence in a brief when the data is incomplete but a time-sensitive decision is required.Supporting evidence hierarchyMid–senior

Using confidential sources in evidenceWalk me through how you'd organize supporting evidence when your strongest case comes from a confidential source you cannot fully cite.Supporting evidence hierarchySenior–leadership

Reversing your own previous guidanceWalk me through how you'd prepare for questions when briefing on a recommendation that reverses guidance you personally provided three months earlier.Anticipated questionsMid–senior

Immediate action after stalled proposalsWalk me through how you'd anticipate questions for a brief recommending immediate action when similar proposals have previously stalled.Anticipated questionsMid–staff+

Explaining a cybersecurity incident plainlyWalk me through how you'd frame a technical cybersecurity incident in plain language for a board that has no IT background.Plain Language framingSenior–leadership

Framing reputational risk without specificsWalk me through how you'd use plain language to explain why a proposed vendor partnership poses reputational risk without naming specific concerns in writing.Plain Language framingSenior–leadership

One division's gain, another's lossWalk me through how you'd open a one-page brief recommending a course of action that will benefit one division at another's expense.Lede with the recommendationSenior–leadership

Structuring a pilot recommendationWalk me through how you'd structure the recommendation when you're proposing a pilot rather than full implementation due to risk concerns.Lede with the recommendationMid–senior

Layering evidence when precedents failedWalk me through how you'd layer evidence in a brief when the supporting data is strong but the analogous precedents failed.Supporting evidence hierarchyMid–staff+

Internal analysis versus audit conflictWalk me through how you'd build an evidence section when internal analysis conflicts with a recent third-party audit on the same question.Supporting evidence hierarchySenior–leadership

Unreliable cost estimates anticipatedWalk me through how you'd prepare anticipated questions when briefing a leader who will likely ask about costs you don't yet have reliable estimates for.Anticipated questionsMid–senior

Geographic expansion to skeptical CEOWalk me through how you'd anticipate questions for a brief on expanding into a new market when the CEO has expressed skepticism about geographic growth.Anticipated questionsSenior–leadership

Explaining failed initiative without blameWalk me through how you'd use plain language to brief on a failed initiative without assigning individual blame but still identifying root causes.Plain Language framingSenior–leadership

Acquisition rationale to organic founderWalk me through how you'd frame a complex acquisition rationale in plain language for a brief to a founder-CEO who prefers organic growth.Plain Language framingSenior–leadership

Opening a brief declining partnershipWalk me through how you'd write the opening of a brief recommending we decline a high-profile partnership opportunity.Lede with the recommendationSenior–leadership

Technical deck to one-page briefWalk me through how you'd convert a 50-slide technical deck from engineering into a one-page brief for the executive team.Plain Language framingMid–senior

Recommending external manager terminationWalk me through a one-page brief to the investment committee recommending termination of an external manager after three years of underperformance.Lede with the recommendationSenior–staff+

Broken investment thesis orderingA top-ten holding's investment thesis looks broken. Walk me through how you'd order the evidence in a brief to the portfolio manager.Supporting evidence hierarchyMid–senior

Anticipating questions on private creditYou're briefing the investment committee on adding private credit to the portfolio for the first time. Walk me through how you'd anticipate their questions.Anticipated questionsSenior–staff+

Underperformance brief to non-investor boardThe flagship fund trailed its benchmark badly in a market led by a handful of growth stocks. Walk me through how you'd brief the firm's board — none of whom are investors — without jargon.Plain Language framingMid–senior

Five-minute brief on guidance cutA large holding cut guidance overnight. You have five minutes with the portfolio manager before the market opens. Walk me through the brief.Lede with the recommendationMid–senior

Prepping CEO interview after layoffsYour CEO has a live broadcast interview in 48 hours, two weeks after the company announced layoffs. Walk me through how you'd run the prep session.Anticipated questionsSenior–leadership

Negative story before earnings callA negative story about your company breaks 90 minutes before the quarterly earnings call. You get 15 minutes with the CEO. Walk me through your briefing.Lede with the recommendationSenior–leadership

Security flaw to consumer pressYour spokesperson is a deeply technical founder who has to explain a serious product security flaw to consumer press tomorrow. Walk me through how you'd brief them.Plain Language framingMid–senior

Panel briefing during active litigationYour executive is speaking on a conference panel while the company is in active litigation on a related topic. Walk me through how you'd build the briefing book.Supporting evidence hierarchySenior–leadership

Training CFO for acquisition announcementYour new CFO — a first-time public spokesperson — will announce an acquisition under embargo next week. Walk me through the media training and the question prep.Anticipated questionsMid–senior

Trade reporter desk-side briefingYour VP has a 30-minute desk-side interview with a trade reporter next week. Walk me through the one-page briefing you'd prepare.Lede with the recommendationEntry–mid