[B]riefing is not reading. In fact it is the antithesis of reading. Briefing is terse, factual and to the point. Reading is untidy, discursive and perpetually inviting. Briefing closes down a subject, reading opens it up.

Alan Bennett
About This Quote

Briefing is not reading. In fact it is the antithesis of reading. Briefing is terse, factual and to the point. Reading is untidy, discursive and perpetually inviting.

Briefing closes down a subject, reading opens it up. When reporting for duty, I always close down issues so I don’t have to open them up later. My supervisor tells me he’s reading all of my briefings and comments that I miss the point.

I’ve written thousands of briefings and never once said “Read this!” When I finished writing the briefing, I turned it in and said, “This is what we do.”

Source: The Uncommon Reader

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