The word “briefing”, which is very fashionable lately, comes from the English word “brief”. Actually, it also means a short press conference of certain officials, setting out the main theses and tasks, or answering questions from the press.
Why did this word appear and is used in the Russian language? There could be two reasons for this. First, of course, brevity. One term briefing replaces many (see above) words and has a specific meaning. Secondly, the word "briefing" borrowed from the English language is higher in style, more official, more suitable for describing political and economic events, information about scientific and other phenomena in the life of society and the state.
So, the briefing is a short meeting of political, economic and cultural figures of various ranks with representatives of the press. The purpose of the briefing is to inform the press about its position on certain issues with subsequent publication in newspapers, magazines or television coverage. Therefore, the briefing can act as a kind of PR action that attracts public attention.
Usually, a briefing is collected in the wake of an event, i.e. after it has already happened. The briefing differs from a regular press conference by the absence of a presentation part and a short period of time.
However, the briefing has its own characteristics. The brevity of the presentation of the topic presupposes the presence of a well-thought-out text and the ability to quickly and clearly respond and answer any questions.
The briefing lasts no more than 30 minutes. Of these, the first 10 minutes are devoted to introducing the officials present and getting to know their position. The rest of the time is devoted to answering the blitz questions asked by the media staff. The briefing is not a dialogue, it is short questions and equally short, but complete informational answers. Therefore, sometimes the briefing is held standing, in the lobby of a hotel, airport, or administrative building.
In order for the briefing to be successful, it is necessary to properly conduct the preparatory work for it. This is done by dedicated public relations managers. Some time before the event, they notify journalists about the place and time of its holding, then before the very briefing they call them back again, clarify the main questions, notify about the main line of the short press conference, and plan the sequence of speeches. Immediately before the briefing, the operability of the audio and video equipment and the preparedness of the venue for the holding are checked.
