--- title: On How To Brief Analysts what we are, and expect date: 2005-08-11T19:00:39Z modified: 2005-08-11T19:00:39Z permalink: "https://redmonk.com/jgovernor/on-how-to-brief-analysts-what-we-are-and-expect/" type: post status: publish excerpt: "" wpid: 310 categories: - Uncategorized timestamp: 2005-08-11T19:00:39Z tags: - Uncategorized --- [What he said](http://analystrelations.blogspot.com/2005/08/four-myths-about-analyst-relations.html) But if [Armadgeddon](http://armadgeddon.blogspot.com/) wants Luther-style manifestos here is one. [A Call for Open Source Analysis](http://www.redmonk.com/sogrady/archives/000409.html). Along these lines I was wondering just this morning whether we should even call them “briefings” at RedMonk any more. A briefing sounds more like a one way communication. but RedMonk doesn’t do one way communication, as anyone that has spent any time with us knows. We’re into _analysis as a conversation_. what is a briefing? Let’s ask dictionary.com | **brief·ing** [![Audio pronunciation of "briefing"](http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/JPG/pron.jpg) ](https://secure.reference.com/premium/login.html?rd=2&u=http%3A%2F%2Fdictionary.reference.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dbriefing) ( P ) [**Pronunciation Key**](http://dictionary.reference.com/help/ahd4/pronkey.html "Click for guide to symbols.") (br![](http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/emacr.gif) ![](http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/prime.gif)f![](http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/ibreve.gif) ng) _n._1. The act or an instance of giving instructions or preparatory information to someone. 2. A meeting at which such information is presented. 3. The information conveyed at such a meeting. | | --- | | Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. | | --- | While we’re thinking about language here is some advice for any vendor, assuming you’re doing a briefing. Think about the etymology of the word. Briefing comes from “brief”, which means concise. A deck with 50 slides is not suitable for a briefing, or a one hour conversation. If you want to pay an analyst to help you with focus, then by all means come along with a hundred charts. But if its value you want, and some time to gain insights from the analysts knowledge of the market, its players and dynamics, then **keep your slide deck short**. Leave 10 minutes of time, by keeping your deck to a manageable 15 or so slides, and you will probably get three or four times the value out of the interaction. (unless of course you’re dealing with Claudia Shiffer analysts, you know the ones, the ones that won’t get out of bed for less than $50k) It is a stated RedMonk goal that any vendor that spends an hour on the phone with us will come away with at least one key, actionable, insight. That is, we feel that information flow is a two way affair. Not every insight is pay for play. Which is one reason we find it, if not disgusting, then quite weird and certainly unethical, that an industry analyst firm would even consider charging for a “briefing”. RedMonk likes to create feedback loops and that means putting something in, [making a contribution](http://www.redmonk.com/jgovernor/archives/000508.html). This is, after all, the [Age of Participation](http://blogs.sun.com/roller/page/jonathan/20050404). I am not sure what to call them rather than briefings? Perhaps you have an idea? Maybe we should just offer RedMonk conversations (1 hour, unpaid), and RedMonk consultations (more than one hour, paid). Here are some alternatives for “briefing” – for obvious reasons we’re unlikely to call them “hot poop” or “dope sheet” sessions…. ## 6 entries found for _briefing_. | **Main Entry:** | briefing | | --- | --- | | **Part of Speech:** | _noun_ | | **Definition:** | informing | | **Synonyms:** | conference, directions, discussion, guidance, information, initiation, instruction, meeting, preamble, priming, rundown, update | | **Antonyms:** | [secret](http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?q=secret) | | [**Source:**](http://thesaurus.reference.com/help/about.html "Click for more information about this thesaurus") | Roget’s New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1) Copyright © 2005 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved. | | **Main Entry:** | announcement | | --- | --- | | **Part of Speech:** | _noun_ | | **Definition:** | proclamation | | **Synonyms:** | advertisement, advice, briefing, broadcast, broadcasting, bulletin, communication, communiqué, disclosure, dissemination, divulgence, edict, exposing, exposition, expression, intimation, message, narration, news, notice, notification, prediction, promulgation, publication, publishing, recitation, release, report, reporting, revelation, statement | | **Antonyms:** | [secret](http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?q=secret) | | [**Source:**](http://thesaurus.reference.com/help/about.html "Click for more information about this thesaurus") | Roget’s New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1) Copyright © 2005 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved. | | **Main Entry:** | communication | | --- | --- | | **Part of Speech:** | _noun_ [2](http://thesaurus.reference.com/features/howtousethesaurus.html) | | **Definition:** | information | | **Synonyms:** | account, advice, announcement, briefing, bulletin, communiqué, conversation, converse, declaration, directive, disclosure, dispatch, dope, dope sheet, excerpt, global village, goods, hot poop, hot story, ideas, info, information, inside story, intelligence, language, lowdown, message, missive, news, note, pipeline, poop, prophecy, précis, publicity, report, revelation, scoop, skinny, speech, statement, summary, tidings, translation, utterance, warning, word, work | | [**Source:**](http://thesaurus.reference.com/help/about.html "Click for more information about this thesaurus") | Roget’s New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1) Copyright © 2005 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved. | | **Main Entry:** | direction | | --- | --- | | **Part of Speech:** | _noun_ [3](http://thesaurus.reference.com/features/howtousethesaurus.html) | | **Definition:** | instruction | | **Synonyms:** | advice, advisement, assignment, briefing, bum steer, directive, dope, dope sheet, guidelines, indication, low-down, notification, plan, poop sheet, prescription, recommendation, regulation, sealed order, specification, specs, steer, summons, tip | | [**Source:**](http://thesaurus.reference.com/help/about.html "Click for more information about this thesaurus") | Roget’s New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1) Copyright © 2005 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved. | | **Main Entry:** | instruction | | --- | --- | | **Part of Speech:** | _noun_ [2](http://thesaurus.reference.com/features/howtousethesaurus.html) | | **Definition:** | demand | | **Synonyms:** | advice, briefing, command, direction, directive, information, injunction, mandate, order, plan, ruling | | [**Source:**](http://thesaurus.reference.com/help/about.html "Click for more information about this thesaurus") | Roget’s New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1) Copyright © 2005 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved. | | **Main Entry:** | rundown | | --- | --- | | **Part of Speech:** | _noun_ | | **Definition:** | summary | | **Synonyms:** | briefing, outline, précis, re-cap, report, resume, review, run-through, sketch, synopsis | | [**Source:**](http://thesaurus.reference.com/help/about.html "Click for more information about this thesaurus") | Roget’s New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1) Copyright © 2005 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved. |