Briefings for Dummies (Old)

[Renomaki]

NOTE: This guide was made a long ass time ago, and while it contains information that is still helpful to this day, times changed an awful lot. Heck, even I changed how I do briefing slightly. However, the guide still had some good info for those willing to read it. Just keep in mind that some information stated here is a tad out of date as of now.

Hey, you.

Yeah you, baldie.

You tired of having to sit through really awful briefings? Think you can do a better briefing than that weenie of a commander over there in his little glass cubical? Well, sit your smooth as a baby bum down and lemme share a few things on how to be a better speaker.

___

Chapter 1: How to give shitty speeches

Over the course of my military career here on CM, I bore witness to many outright DREADFUL briefings, some displays so poor that it hurt marine morale right off the bat and jinxed the round for sure. If you wanna give better speeches, you might wanna avoid some of these common problems.

1: the single paragraph briefing

Some leaders don't really give a shit about going into detail during their briefings, and instead simply cram everything they want into a single small paragraph. Now, while it is great if you are strapped for time and need to get things moving quickly, it will negatively affect your marines in the long run, due to how difficult it can be to pick apart who does what in a single paragraph, moreso if you don't put emphasis on certain words, making it a struggle to remember it clearly. This is a very common thing, and naturally it isn't uncommon for marines to ask for a reminder on what the fuck they were supposed to do, even if they were paying attention.

2: briefings over comms

Some COs will do this as a way to ensure that EVERYONE gets to hear their briefing, which on paper seems like a nice idea... But in practice, what you get is a harder to read, less personal briefing that lacks the quality of a briefing with the good old megaphone. The reason is the fact that, rather than big, black and easily noticeable text, you get fat grey text than can easily get mixed up with the text of other officers, as well as a duller color that won't attract the eyes of those listening in as well. Hell, even then, the fact that you are giving them a briefing via comms seems a lot less personal, and thus you'll have a bit of a disconnect between you and your troops. Not a good thing to have for an aspiring CO.

3: briefings over the announcement system

Never, EVER do this. This is rare, but when it happens, it is the ultimate insult to your marines. A CO that goes through all the trouble to get his men gathered at briefing, only to conduct it from the comfort of his bridge is a CO that truly doesn't understand what it means to be a leader. Briefings aren't just for job assignment, it is to bond with your troops before they leave, many of them probably not even coming back.. This is your time to personally interact with them while you can, so DON'T throw it away just because the announcement system is very easy for people to read.

4: briefings starting at times over 12:20

Honestly, I don't like the idea of a briefing starting at 12:20 as is. I prefer to start a briefing either at 12:15 if the population allows it, or at 12:17-18 if they need a few more minutes. However, for whatever reason, 12:20 is the most common time for a briefing these days. However, sometimes you get THAT GUY who thinks that having a briefing at 12:25-30 is a great idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umDr0mPuyQc

Look, marines don't need that much damn time to ready up. Most of us don't wanna be kept waiting for an extra 5-10 minutes just to hear our orders, our attachments are not so important that EVERY MARINE HAS TO HAVE THEM. You have to remember, there could be innocent people planetside that are waiting for a hero to save them, some of them slowly dying from horrible injuries and sickness while you are wasting time up there putting on your makeup. So don't bother wasting everyone else's time because a few marines haven't got their lunch yet.

5: Abusing the flasher like a whiny bitch

When the devs added the flasher, it was to get marines to shut up and stop goofing off during briefing, which might be a pretty nifty idea at first until you realize that all it really does it make things worse. Flashing your whole platoon because some guy in Charlie won't stop singing the latest meme of a song is just going to make EVERYONE angry, and you don't wanna make grunts angry. Doing it more than once is going to make everyone's respect in you worsen, so you really should try not to use it unless a violent riot is already underway.

6: Winging it

While a quick, single paragraph briefing is already of poor form, trying to have a briefing that is more than one paragraph without a proper script prepared is going to bore the crap outta everyone. Moreso if you are a slow as crap typist who hasn't taken a lesson in proper typing skills. If you want a longer, more detailed briefing, pre-write it while the marines are kitting up, don't try to wing it on the spot. Winging it should only be as a last resort if you got the short end of the stick and haven't had time to prepare, and even then you should avoid making anything extreme.


These here are most of the types of briefings I had to endure during my time as a grunt, and while it might not be all of them, these are major offenders that I tire of seeing and want to see slowly removed over time. Hopefully this guide can maybe fix that...

Chapter 2: Preparing for briefing

So, you just woke up at the start of a brand new day, it is 12:04 and the marines are already rushing into the mess hall and slipping on soap. Naturally, your first action of the day should be to announce your presence to the boys and give them a time limit till briefing.

However, what would be the best time FOR a briefing? Well, that depends on a number of factors...

You could go with 12:15, which gives you and your crew 11 minutes to prepare for the day, although 11 minutes won't be enough time for the majority of your marines to be ready on higher population rounds. 12:17-18 give you a few extra minutes and are a good balance of haste and prep-time. A lot of commanders tend to prefer 12:20 for whatever reason, however. Why that be is beyond me, but to each their own

Now, some leaders might assume that this is the perfect time to goof off and do fuck-all while the marines are getting dressed, but YOU WOULD BE WRONG. If anything, you should be JUST as busy as your marines getting ready for briefing, although how you will be doing it will be more fitting of an officer: PAPERWORK.

As soon as you announce your briefing time, you should get to work on writing a good speech before your briefing begins. Be sure to have a pen, paper and a map before you hop to it, and then find a quiet place to get to work. Try to minimize distractions so you can get your briefing done on time, otherwise you'll risk being late, and nothing is more annoying than a CO/XO who is late to their own briefing.

When writing your briefing, you should think about how you are going to word these select things:

1: your greeting to the marines at the briefing hall.

2: your reason as to WHY your platoon is here

3: The objectives you want your men you work towards

These are the things you must work on using the time you permitted yourself. Not only do you have to think of what kind of objectives you want to give your men [and if you prefer, which squads to assign them to in advance], but also get a little creative to keep the marines entertained. There is no reason to get all bland and to the point unless you are really short on time, so try to get a little imaginative, most of all with the greeting and reason for the operation in the first place. Remember, command staff ARE RP roles, so make it interesting.

A thing to keep in mind when writing objectives, though, is to try to make it clear and understandable. You want to separate every objective VERY clearly when assigning tasks for the squads, and put a lot of focus and detail into each objective (but not too much that you drone on and on about building an FoB at a location). Clarity makes everyone's lives easier, and thus will improve their performance on the ground compared to if you just crammed all the objectives for all the squads in a single paragraph.

Another thing to look out for is length. You don't need to write a novel here, you only really need on average... A greeting paragraph, reasoning paragraph, a paragraph for each squad, and a closer if you wish to add it, which totals to about 6-7 small paragraphs. I say SMALL because again, you aren't writing a novel, and while I may be guilty of getting very wordy, I still try to keep things decently readable. If a single post floods the entire chat box, then you really need to reword your speech...

If, by any chance, you find people pulling you away from your work, try to handle their request quickly if you must, or simply have them wait till after you are done your paperwork. Unless it is important, they really shouldn't be bothering you from your work. After all, you must not be late for your own briefing.

3: Showtime

So, you probably have a decent little script by now, briefing is but a minute away and everyone is waiting for you to spout what probably are the same old objectives they heard for the 300th time already. Despite the possible predictability, you should still put on a good show to at least entertain them. After all, the briefing is a great moment for RP.

Provided no one is being a piece of shit and trying to start a riot because he hates your nose, you should quickly get into your little glass box and grab your handy-dandy megaphone, which is a nifty item that when interacted with makes your text big and clear for everyone within range. Use it, and use it a lot, because you want your men to pay attention. No, don't flash the platoon because some idiot is mashing his face against a window and making a lot of noise, use your megaphone to request everyone's attention in a polite manner. This shows you have maturity and the marines will respect you more for it.

With your megaphone in one hand, and your script in another, it is time to COPY AND PASTE. Activate your megaphone by clicking on it and copy a chunk of your speech to be pasted into it to begin. Keep in mind to not blow your load too soon and just spew the entire speech in 5 seconds, your marines are not fast readers. Take a moment between every post so the squad you are targeting have time to take it in before advancing onto the next (but not too long, keep in mind the size of a post and adjust accordingly).

Now, depending on how you written your speech, you may need to edit your posts a bit. When I go CO, I normally make the objectives and wait until briefing to look over my squads and see who would be best suited for each objective (creating flexibility in the process). However, some COs like to pre-select squads, so if that is your cup to tea, go ahead. Just remember to ask your BO for a squad report before pre-assigning jobs.

During the briefing, do your best to resist pressing the flasher button. No doubt there will be some idiot in briefing that is not really paying attention, but rather than punish the platoon as a whole, simply ignore them and continue on instead of wasting time causing a bunch of drama. If it is really a problem, remember that you got a megaphone, so simply call that asshole out and tell him to shut his pie-hole and pay attention.

When all is said and done, the last thing you'll want to do is to ask your marines if they understand their objectives. Chances are not all of then were paying attention, but if at least a few from each squad DO, then at least they can relay what they were told to their mates and you can safely send them on their way without having to waste everyone's time. Of course, whatever the case, it should be a habit to make a post-briefing announcement to remind everyone of their objectives in a simple, easy to read fashion. A quick reminder is always good to have, most of all for your BOs so they know who to give what to each squad.

Chapter 4: Wrapping up

So, there you have it, a rather simple guide that doesn't really ask a lot, and is more a list of "What not to do" more than anything. Hell, I probably missed quite a few other serious issues that bother me, but for the most part, I got the majority of things to try and avoid doing.

Will this make you a better leader having learned this? Not quite, but it'll make you a better Roleplayer, keeping the boys entertained while also making their objectives clearer and easier to understand, while also bonding better with the troops under your command. A good briefing before the marines depart is a good way to bond with the boys, so make it count while also trying to keep it from going on for too long. After all, you got a colony to save, and the bad guys aren't going to politely wait for your troops to land before they burn the colony to the ground.

So get out there, polish your bald head and make sure you zipped your pants before going on stage... I'll be watching.

[Nicboone]

Nice guide Renomaki- I particularly like the bit about personalization and knowing your units

[Swagile]

Ive won with just using announcements and getting my men out early due to them, but having my announcements be personal to compensate.

To each is his own, though.

[Renomaki]

Ive won with just using announcements and getting my men out early due to them, but having my announcements be personal to compensate.

To each is his own, though.

Honestly, if a CO/XO can't be arsed to even SEE his men before they go off to die in a war they weren't prepared for, it is kinda insulting and hurts morale a bit, but then that is just me.

I myself enjoy stepping up to a crowd and spinning some ARR PEE, since briefings are the best time for roleplay before you have to put your game-face on.

I do agree that it is important to get the boys down in a timely fashion, though, hence why I try to avoid winging it when I can and always prepare my speeches in advance as I stated here. Nothing sucks more than waiting till 12:22 for the CO to move his ass into briefing, only to spend an extra 8 minutes waiting for him to blurt out what we are supposed to do... That was a very shitty briefing for this weenie, I'll tell you that.

But then again, if you are able to get away with it, I suppose I won't stop you... Although I do suggest you try to get more up close and personal with your boys. It'll mean a lot to them and show them that you view them as more than just cannonfodder.

[Jroinc1]

+1 to charisma.

[Crab_Spider]

10/10 I love how you mention the flaws to alternative briefings. This is why you're the best CO around (I'm 15mg off my meds, so I'm kind of out of it)