Canadian Government Executive - Volume 23 - Issue 07

What are the communications goals of the brief- ing?Who is the audience? In what scenarios will the materials be used and what tasks will they enable?What are the downstream reuses?Work backwards from the answers when selecting and designing materials. The materials should show, not just tell. They should stimulate thinking, not supplant it. Consider these alternatives. * For “slideuments” see Garr Reynolds, Presentation Zen (Berkeley: New Riders, ����) and Edward Tufte, The Cognitive Style of Powerpoint (Cheshire: Graphics Press, ����). For “slidedocs” see Nancy Duarte’s free e-book, Slidedocs (Sunnyvale: Duarte Inc., ����). F RONT BACK F RONT BACK A data dashboard and an issue map are displayed on opposite sides of a poster- or tabloid-sized page. Both the details and bigger picture can be seen at once. Large pages fit more content. The extra space makes it possible to juxtapose findings, compare data, organize ideas—all without taxing viewers’ memories or forcing viewers to flip through pages. That improves the flow of analysis and conversation as key ideas are at every- one’s fingertips. Annotations and highlighted findings can tell a story and offer key messages. Yet the map-like nature of the placemat can enable a conversation to branch out in multiple directions instead of following a set sequence. That empowers those being briefed to take up a bigger role in the analysis of findings and policy. Each page is a self-explanatory panel. Visuals (charts, diagrams, photographs, and the like) are shown. Full-sentence headlines and elaboration are next to the visuals, with fine-print foot- notes and sources at the bottom. The front of these index cards illustrates the topic and offers a marquee message. Text on the back elaborates, with a handy chart illustrating important facts. A policy issue is broken down into its constituent parts, each getting its own card. The front visuals show the subject in a tangible, relatable form. Such visual references also make card memorable, make the cards easier to organize, and enable various dialogue activities. It is easy to throw a few cards into a briefcase and review them during spare moments. This format is also easy to translate into small-screen mobile devices, such as phones. The aim is to reproduce the magazine reading experience with engaging visuals and a concise narrative. The format can be presented on tablets, with clickable links to retrieve underlying source materials and footnotes. Instead of reusing text snippets in longer documents, whole pages are prepared and reused in briefings, with small tweaks to fit the circumstances. A policy unit would maintain a repository of well-designed panels so that they can be updated and assembled on short notice. October 2017 // Canadian Government Executive / 11