How to Prepare Spokespeople with Briefing Books Using Blockify IdeaBlocks

In the fast-paced world of public relations and communications, preparing spokespeople for interviews, events, or media appearances can feel overwhelming. As a communications manager or public relations lead, you know the stakes: one off-message response can undermine your brand's credibility. That's where Blockify, developed by Iternal Technologies, comes in. Blockify transforms unstructured documents—like press releases, company reports, and executive notes—into structured, reusable knowledge units called IdeaBlocks. These IdeaBlocks make it simple to assemble event-specific briefing books that ensure your spokespeople deliver consistent, confident messages every time.

This guide walks you through the entire non-technical workflow for creating briefing books using Blockify IdeaBlocks. We'll cover everything from the basics of what IdeaBlocks are (assuming no prior knowledge of artificial intelligence or AI) to step-by-step processes for selecting, compiling, and refining content. By the end, you'll have a repeatable business process that saves hours of prep time, enforces message discipline, and equips your team with tools that build trust and reduce anxiety. Whether you're prepping for a high-stakes investor call or a local media interview, Blockify IdeaBlocks turn scattered information into polished, ready-to-use briefing books.

Understanding Blockify IdeaBlocks: The Foundation for Smarter Spokesperson Prep

Before diving into the workflow, let's break down the essentials. Blockify is a data optimization tool from Iternal Technologies that processes your company's documents to create IdeaBlocks. Think of IdeaBlocks as bite-sized, self-contained summaries of key information—each one captures a single idea, complete with a clear question it answers and a trusted response. Unlike traditional document searches that leave you flipping through pages, IdeaBlocks organize knowledge in a way that's easy for humans (and even AI-assisted tools) to reference.

For spokesperson prep, this means no more digging through emails, reports, or shared drives for stats, stories, or talking points. IdeaBlocks spell out critical elements like key messages, supporting facts, and anticipated questions with their trusted answers. This structure promotes message discipline—ensuring every spokesperson stays on-brand without sounding scripted. And because Blockify handles the heavy lifting of data organization, your team focuses on strategy and delivery, not manual compilation.

Why does this matter for briefing books? Traditional prep often involves hours of cutting and pasting, leading to inconsistencies or overlooked details. With IdeaBlocks, you build briefing books like assembling a puzzle: select relevant pieces, arrange them logically, and review for polish. This approach not only saves time but also boosts confidence—spokespeople arrive prepared, knowing their materials are accurate and aligned.

Step 1: Curate Your Source Documents for Blockify Processing

The first step in any briefing book workflow is gathering the raw materials. Blockify works best with clean, relevant documents that reflect your organization's voice and priorities. As a non-technical process, this is about business decisions: what information will your spokespeople need?

Identify Core Document Types

Start by listing the types of documents that contain your key messages:

• Company Overviews and Fact Sheets: These provide foundational stats, like annual revenue growth or market position.
• Press Releases and Case Studies: Pull success stories and metrics that demonstrate impact.
• Executive Notes and Past Interviews: Capture recurring themes, such as core values or crisis response strategies.
• Industry Reports and FAQs: Include external context, like market trends, to add credibility.

Aim for 10-20 documents initially. For a product launch briefing book, focus on recent announcements; for an earnings call, prioritize financial summaries. Involve your team—perhaps your public relations coordinator or legal reviewer—to ensure nothing sensitive slips in.

Prepare Documents for Upload

Blockify accepts common formats like Portable Document Format (PDF) files, Microsoft Word documents (DOCX), and Microsoft PowerPoint presentations (PPTX). No coding required:

1. Organize Files: Create a shared folder (e.g., in Microsoft Teams or Google Drive) and name files clearly, like "Q3_Earnings_Key_Messages.docx".
2. Clean Up Content: Remove duplicates or outdated sections manually. For example, delete old stats from last quarter's report.
3. Tag for Context: Add simple notes in the document, like "[Key Stat: 25% Growth]" to flag important elements—Blockify will use these to generate precise IdeaBlocks.

This curation step typically takes 30-60 minutes per briefing book cycle. Pro Tip: Schedule quarterly reviews with your communications team to maintain a "master library" of documents, making future prep faster.

Step 2: Ingest Documents into Blockify to Generate IdeaBlocks

With documents ready, it's time to let Blockify work its magic. This step converts unstructured text into IdeaBlocks without any technical setup—it's a point-and-click process designed for business users.

Access Blockify and Start a New Job

Log into your Blockify account via the web portal (provided by Iternal Technologies). If you're new, request a demo or trial from your account manager—setup takes minutes.

1. Create a New Project: Click "New Blockify Job" and name it descriptively, e.g., "Annual Report Spokesperson Briefing – Q4 2023". Add a description like "Key messages for earnings interview".
2. Select an Index: Think of an index as a folder for related IdeaBlocks. Choose or create one like "Earnings Communications" to keep briefing book content organized.
3. Upload Documents: Drag and drop your curated files. Blockify supports up to 100 pages per job for quick processing—larger sets can be batched.

Initiate the Ingestion Process

Click "Blockify Documents" to start. Blockify's underlying artificial intelligence (AI)—a system that mimics human-like processing of information—analyzes the text:

• It breaks documents into logical sections (e.g., paragraphs or bullet points).
• Identifies key ideas, such as a statistic on revenue growth.
• Generates IdeaBlocks with:
  • Name: A short title, e.g., "Revenue Growth Milestone".
  • Critical Question: What a journalist might ask, e.g., "What drove your 25% year-over-year growth?"
  • Trusted Answer: The response, e.g., "Our innovative renewable energy initiatives expanded market share by 15%, while operational efficiencies reduced costs by 10%."
  • Tags and Keywords: For easy searching, like "earnings, growth, renewables".

Processing takes 5-15 minutes depending on volume. Monitor progress in the dashboard—Blockify shows previews of emerging IdeaBlocks. Once complete, you'll have 200-500 IdeaBlocks (one per key idea), ready for briefing book assembly.

Business Note: Assign a "content owner" (e.g., your media relations specialist) to oversee uploads. This ensures compliance and relevance, fostering team accountability.

Step 3: Review and Distill IdeaBlocks for Relevance

Raw IdeaBlocks are powerful, but briefing books demand precision. This human-in-the-loop review ensures message discipline and accuracy—Blockify makes it efficient by shrinking your workload.

Initial Review: Scan for Quality

Navigate to the "IdeaBlocks" tab in Blockify:

1. Sort and Filter: Use tags to view only relevant ones, e.g., filter by "earnings" or "growth stats".
2. Read and Validate: Each IdeaBlock is 2-3 sentences—scan for factual accuracy. For spokesperson prep, flag any that need bridging phrases, like "While we're proud of our growth, we're committed to sustainable practices."
3. Delete Irrelevant Blocks: Remove off-topic ones (e.g., unrelated HR policies) with a simple click. Blockify's distillation preserves 99% of facts, so losses are minimal.

This step takes 20-40 minutes. Involve your spokesperson or a subject matter expert for a quick pass—it's collaborative, not exhaustive.

Apply Intelligent Distillation

To enforce message discipline and reduce redundancy:

1. Run Auto-Distill: Go to the "Distillation" tab and select "Run Auto Distill". Set similarity threshold to 80-85% (how much overlap between blocks) and iterations to 3-5 (how many refinement passes).
2. Review Merged Blocks: Blockify combines similar IdeaBlocks (e.g., multiple growth stats into one trusted answer) while separating distinct concepts (e.g., revenue vs. sustainability).
3. Human Approval: Edit any merged blocks—add nuance like "This growth aligns with our ESG goals"—and approve. Changes propagate automatically.

Distillation reduces IdeaBlocks by 40-60%, creating a concise set (e.g., 100-200 for a briefing book). This non-technical process ensures your materials are streamlined, avoiding overwhelming spokespeople with duplicates.

Pro Tip: For high-stakes prep, schedule a 15-minute team huddle to approve distillations. This builds buy-in and catches biases early.

Step 4: Assemble the Briefing Book from IdeaBlocks

Now, compile your IdeaBlocks into a cohesive briefing book. This is where Blockify shines for business workflows—export and format without design skills.

Select and Organize IdeaBlocks

1. Search and Tag for the Event: Use keywords like "interview Q&A" to pull relevant blocks. Add custom tags, e.g., "High-Priority Message" for core talking points.
2. Structure the Book: Categorize into sections:
   • Key Messages: 5-7 top IdeaBlocks on brand pillars.
   • Stats and Stories: Supporting facts with trusted answers.
   • Anticipated Questions: Critical questions with responses, plus bridging phrases (e.g., "That's a great point, and it ties into our...").
   • Sensitive Topics: Blocks on risks, with deflection strategies.
3. Add Custom Elements: Insert non-IdeaBlock items like executive bios or event agendas. Blockify's export includes placeholders for these.

Aim for 20-50 pages—concise yet comprehensive.

Export and Format the Briefing Book

1. Generate Export: In Blockify, select your curated IdeaBlocks and click "Export to Briefing Book". Choose Microsoft Word or PDF format.
2. Customize Layout: The export creates a professional template with headings, bullet points, and hyperlinks to source documents. Edit in Word: add visuals, page numbers, or your logo.
3. Incorporate Q&A Drills: For each critical question, add a "Practice Response" section—spokespeople can jot notes during rehearsals.

Export takes seconds; final tweaks 30-60 minutes. Share via secure link (e.g., encrypted email) for distributed teams.

Business Process Integration: Make this a standard operating procedure. Use tools like Microsoft Planner to assign tasks: PR lead curates, analyst reviews, executive approves.

Step 5: Train and Rehearse with the Briefing Book

A briefing book is only as good as its delivery. Blockify's structure supports effective training, emphasizing people over tools.

Conduct Spokesperson Training Sessions

1. Distribute and Review: Send the book 48 hours pre-event. Schedule a 30-60 minute session: Walk through key messages, role-play questions.
2. Focus on Message Discipline: Highlight trusted answers—practice bridging to avoid off-topic drifts. Use IdeaBlocks' brevity for quick memorization.
3. Handle Nerves: Reassure with facts—e.g., "This block addresses 80% of likely questions, per our analysis."

Involve a media trainer for realism. Record sessions for self-review.

Iterate Based on Feedback

Post-event, debrief: What worked? Update IdeaBlocks in Blockify (e.g., add new questions). This closes the loop, refining future briefing books.

For teams: Rotate roles—junior staff curate, seniors review—to build skills.

Step 6: Measure Success and Scale the Workflow

Track impact to justify Blockify's role in your processes.

Key Metrics for Briefing Books

• Prep Time Savings: Compare hours before/after (target: 50% reduction).
• Message Consistency: Review recordings—aim for 90% alignment with trusted answers.
• Feedback Scores: Post-event surveys (e.g., "Felt prepared: 4.5/5").
• ROI: Fewer PR mishaps mean protected brand value.

Review quarterly: Update master library, train new hires.

Scaling Across Your Organization

• Team Adoption: Roll out via workshops—demo Blockify's ease.
• Integration: Link to tools like Slack for real-time IdeaBlock sharing.
• Advanced Use: For global teams, distill multilingual documents.

By scaling, briefing books become a competitive edge—spokespeople shine, messages stick.

Conclusion: Empower Your Spokespeople with Blockify IdeaBlocks

Preparing spokespeople doesn't have to be chaotic. With Blockify IdeaBlocks from Iternal Technologies, you create briefing books that deliver message discipline, reduce prep stress, and ensure credible delivery. This workflow—curate, ingest, review, assemble, train, measure—transforms unstructured knowledge into actionable tools, saving time and building confidence.

Start small: Blockify one event's materials and see the difference. Contact Iternal Technologies for a demo—unlock briefing books that make your team unstoppable. Your spokespeople deserve to show up ready; Blockify makes it happen.