Train-the-Trainer by DataHomeLab

A4.2.3 Conduct of Briefing

Briefing - General

Three rules govern the conduct of every EBT briefing, regardless of the component being briefed:

  1. The briefing should normally be conducted from a seated position. It should take place in the form of a conversation. Do not read from the script; use your own words and monitor the response from trainees. The most important objective is to put trainees at ease and make it clear to them that you are there to support their needs, and to help them.
  2. Try not to be too formal in your communication style.
  3. Check the crew understands by using words like "OK" in a questioning manner, and by making eye contact.

Items to be included

The briefing should contain the following six elements, in order. The phrasing for each element is reproduced verbatim where it is given: that phrasing is the operational reference for what the conversation should sound like.

1. Introductions

Establish rapport and try to make the trainees feel relaxed. Try to determine levels of apprehension. This first element sets the baseline tone for the rest of the briefing; trainees who arrive apprehensive will not absorb the planning-time instructions later if the introduction does not reduce that apprehension first.

2. Confirmation of understanding

Ask:

  • "Have you read the lesson plan that was provided?"
  • "Do you have any questions?"

Then say (in your own words):

"Please feel free to interrupt and ask questions at any stage. The next 2 days/today are/is all about you. It's for your benefit and my role is to ensure that you get something out of it."

The Confirmation step is not a yes / no comprehension check: it is the moment where the trainee is licensed to interrupt. A trainee who does not feel licensed to interrupt during EVAL or MV will swallow questions that should have been asked, and the diagnostic value of the session degrades.

3. Objective

Say:

"You have been given all the briefing material. Take some time together to review the material and plan as you would for a normal flight. I will be a silent observer during your preparation time, and will not intervene or pose any questions. After about 25 minutes, I will answer any questions you may have. Then, you will have a further 25 minutes to perform all necessary briefings for the EVAL and MV in the briefing room, including review of LVP departure and arrival briefings, review of MEL and performance calculations."

4. Planning time

Allow the crew about 25 minutes without interruption to review the briefing material and prepare for a normal flight.

Summarise by saying:

"Let's leave the first part for the time being. It's a simple flight and I just want you to operate the way you do on the line. Work together as best you can to solve any problems."

The summary phrasing reinforces the line-flight framing: "operate the way you do on the line" is the operational instruction that lets the EVAL run as a "first look" rather than as a check the crew is performing for the examiner.

5. Maneuvers Validation

Say:

"Once we complete these 2 short sectors, we will take a brief break and will then look at the familiar maneuvers. You have the list. Are there any questions on the maneuvers or any procedures? Are there any you would like me to review?"

Review any maneuvers indicated by the trainees. If they cannot identify a specific maneuver for review, choose at least one maneuver to review, using the white board in a facilitated manner. Pick a maneuver that you think is difficult (e.g. Airbus OEI Go Around).

After the short review of maneuvers, give the crew another 25 minutes to complete their briefings (review of LVP departure and arrival briefings, review of MEL and performance calculations).

6. Conclusion

Once the briefing is complete, ask, finally, if there are any questions. Give the trainees at least 5-10 minutes to go to the bathroom, have a drink, and talk to each other.

As soon as possible, go to the simulator and prepare the IOS according to the lesson plan.

The briefing as one continuous structure

The six elements above add up to a briefing of approximately 75 minutes plus the 5-to-10 minute break: 25 minutes silent observation, 25 minutes crew-led briefing, brief MV review, 25 minutes additional briefing, conclusion. The structure is rigid in time allocation but conversational in delivery. The instructor's job during the briefing is to keep the structure visible (so the crew knows where they are in the sequence) without reading from a script (so the structure does not drown the conversation).

Connections

  • A4.2.1 Guidance for Examiners. Step 1 of the examiner's 14-step sequence is "conduct a briefing according to the guidance in this section."
  • A4.2.2 Guidance for Instructors. Step 1 of the instructor's 9-step sequence is the same: conduct a briefing according to the guidance in this section.
  • A4.2.4 Grading Methodology for Recurrent Training and Checking. The briefing sets the frame the subsequent grading is conducted within; the conversational delivery rule is what allows the grading to read crew behaviour rather than crew briefing-performance.
  • A4.2.5 Conduct of Debriefing. The conversational register established in the briefing carries through to the debrief; the same eye-contact comprehension check ("OK?") is reused in the debrief sequence.
  • 6.4 Briefing Structure. The general briefing-structure framework the EBT-specific briefing here operationalises for the EBT module context.
  • 6.6 The A-W-A-R-E Model. The general briefing structure applied across all training contexts; this section's six-element briefing is the EBT-specific specialisation.
  • Facilitation. The technique that makes the white-board MV review a facilitated rather than instructor-led discussion.