COMMAND WELCOME INFORMATION

Your command welcome information is normally in the form of a welcome aboard booklet (fig. 16-6). The booklet familiarizes visitors and guests with your ship or station and usually contains the following items: l A photograph of the ship (for shore stations, a

photograph of the main gate or other familiar point of interest) . A welcome letter from the CO . A mission statement l A brief history of the command . A list of unclassified statistics and facts

The format of a welcome aboard booklet varies from a single-sheet trifold to an eight-page layout. Most editors of welcome aboard booklets use 60-pound cover stock for the front and back covers and either a four-or eight-page layout (saddle-stitched). Your particular design will be determined by the available funding and the amount of information you have.

If your ship is scheduled to deploy, you may have your welcome aboard booklet translated into several different languages. For further information, write to the Commanding Officer, Naval Technical Intelligence Center (NTIC DS32), 4600 Silver Hill Road, Washington, DC 20389.

COMMAND PRESENTATION

The command presentation often makes the first and most lasting impression on your visitors. You can deliver it in a command conference room or at a civilian auditorium or banquet room during a community speaking engagement.

Most command presentations are narrated live from a script and accompanied by either overhead transparencies or 35mm slides. Some are recorded on videotape and have the same characteristics as a video feature story. The latter is the most polished of the three presentation methods, but it is not always the most prudent choice. Updating a command presentation on videotape takes time and it may not be suitable for viewing by large audiences. Transparencies and slides are relatively easy to work with and make a very flexible command presentation.

Planning

Before you begin work on a command presentation, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is the objective of the presentation? (Increase community awareness about the command?

Tell how the command contributes to national defense? Familiarize newly reporting personnel?)

2. What is the target audience? (VIPs? Active-duty military members? Local residents?)

3. What format should I use?

4. What resources are available?

Answering these questions in advance will let you determine how technical you can get, what to emphasize and how to arrange the information.

Organizing

A typical command presentation begins with a description of the unit, its overall mission and brief history. It then progresses quickly to the present tense and describes what the unit does and how it does it (in detail). The way your command is organized provides a logical outline for the order of your command presentation. Start at the top and work down, illustrating your script with visuals. Try to avoid too many images of static objects. People actually doing their jobs will stimulate interest and tell the story most effectively.

Scripting

When you formulate your command presentation, write the words to the script first, then locate or create the images to support it. Keep the narration short - between three and 10 seconds for each visual.

The script for a command presentation is similar in appearance to the video news release shown in Chapter 14, save the administrative information, four-unit heading, release line, and so forth. Use the left column to identify the visuals and the right column for the narration.

Some other points for you to consider regarding command presentations are as follows:

l Keep charts and graphs simple.

l Limit the number of "word" transparencies/ slides.

l Keep the format and color of title and "word" slides consistent. Make sure the type in "word" slides is large enough to be read easily. Keep the sentences in the script short and use the active voice. l l

l Avoid mixing vertical and horizontal slides in the same command presentation. Avoid using Navy acronyms.l

. Make sure your presentation is between 15 or 20 minutes in length. The longer the presentation, the more you risk losing your audience.

Further information on staging a presentation can be found in Chapter 6 of the JO 1 & C TRAMAN.