A brief is a statement of fact aimed at achieving an objective: passing information for business purposes (written by an advertiser or sponsor), legal proceedings, meetings, security purposes, etc. Such information is incontrovertible by anyone who comes across it. A brief’s role is just making available the needed facts and figures and nothing more. And the onus lies on those to whom the brief is written to act as expected of them.

When writing a brief take note of the following:

1. Remember, your goal is to persuade, not to argue

Briefing does not call for an argument, only an act of persuasion. And persuasion is enabled by letting the recipient know the usages (in the case of products or services), benefits or goals (in taking an action), procedures to follow (in performing a task), strategies, etc., which should be enough to lead the actors through the whole process of execution.

2. Know your audience

This is key in any form of writing and must be the deciding factor at the beginning of the exercise. Writing a brief takes full consideration of how the audience behaves or would act. In the case of adverts, the users of products or customers have certain behavioural patterns (taste, reaction to change in prices, demand for close substitutes or complementary goods, etc.) which must be understood and provided for in the brief for onward action.

3. Know the facts

Of course, if facts are not inclusive then it is mere propaganda. The objectivity of briefs does not give room for sentiments because whatever is provided in the brief must be verifiable. It is the fact that sells and nothing more. So, why present what would later be trash at the end of the day? Helping those working with the brief with facts not only makes them do a good job but also helps give a true representation of its subject and source.

4. Brevity is Key

There is no need belabouring the content with more information than is necessary. Burdening the recipients of your brief with a verbose document could put them off. Concise but precise data is enough to do the job.

5. Quality

A brief is only good in the way it is written and presented. Depending on the kind of brief you are writing, it is traditional for the piece to be written based on generally accepted standards as regards the organization and content (which must be accurate, coherent, well expressed etc).

6. Stating the objective or goal

Another major factor is the objective of the brief, which speaks to the reason that the brief is being documented in the first place. Knowing the objective gives the direction of course: either to make sales, to persuade, or to inform, among other things.

7. Don’t cast aspersion

As said earlier, a brief is a statement of facts and figures and anything that detracts from such is not a brief. Whether you are referring to a competitor or your political opponents, it is unacceptable to smear, attack personality or use other anti-people tendencies to pass your information. Caution should be ensured so that you do not derail from the essence of the brief.

8. Don’t allow repetition

Repetition of claims could mean the author of the brief does not have much to say. Repetition could be an instrument of recall, which is in a way good but could prove a disadvantage if abused. However, repetition often exposes the writer as trying to buy time and make the brief long when they have nothing further to say. So avoid it as much as possible. Whatever needs to be said should be done with a sense of exaction or precision.

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