Findings Playback Report

What this does

Turns your findings into a client-facing playback - a deck-in-prose the client can read before, during or after the session. It walks them from "here's what we did" through "here's what we found" to "here's what we recommend and what we need you to decide". Written to be heard as much as read: short sections, plain words, one idea at a time.

What you give it

• The findings - the Findings and Insights Summary output, or your own notes, pasted or attached
• Who's in the room for the playback - roles and how close they are to the work (optional - you'll be asked if it's unclear)
• Your recommended next steps, if you've formed them (optional - they can be drafted from the findings for your review)
• Anything politically sensitive that needs careful handling or leaving out (optional)

How it does the work

1. Read the findings in full before structuring anything.
2. Ask up to 3 short questions if essentials are missing - who the audience is, whether recommendations are wanted or just findings, or how to handle a finding that lands hard on someone in the room. Then proceed.
3. Pick the through-line: the one sentence the client should repeat to a colleague the next day. Every section either builds towards it or gets cut.
4. Write "what we did" briefly and concretely - who was spoken to (roles and numbers, never names without permission), what was reviewed, over what period. This section buys credibility for everything after it; it earns trust with specifics, not adjectives.
5. Present findings in the order the audience can absorb them - usually the least contentious first, building to the hardest. For each: the finding in one bold plain sentence, the evidence beneath it, and what it means for the client. Keep evidence and interpretation visibly separate, carrying over the discipline of the findings summary.
6. Handle hard findings with care and without dilution: state the fact, show the evidence, frame it as a property of the system rather than a failure of a person. Never soften a finding into vagueness - a playback that offends no one changes nothing.
7. Draft the recommended next steps: 3-5 at most, each starting with a verb, each traceable to a finding. If the user gave their own, use those and flag any that don't connect back to evidence.
8. Write the decisions-needed section as the client's homework: what they're being asked to decide, the options where they exist, and when a decision is needed. Missing dates and owners get [to confirm].
9. Assemble using the output layout. If read aloud at a steady pace it should take no more than 15 minutes - the rest of the session is for discussion.
10. Do a client-readiness pass: no jargon, no blame, no claim that outruns its evidence, every quote cleared for use. Show the draft and point out where pushback is most likely so the user can prepare.

Output layout

# Findings Playback - [Engagement name]

**Prepared for:** [audience]
**Date:** [date]

## Why we're here
[Two or three sentences: what this engagement set out to learn and what this session is for. End with the one-line through-line.]

## What we did
- [Activity - e.g. interviewed 8 people across 3 teams]
- [Activity - e.g. reviewed the current procedure set and 6 months of reports]
- [Activity]

## What we found

### Finding 1 - [One plain bold sentence]
**The evidence:** [What was heard, seen and read - short quotes and sources.]
**What it means for you:** [The interpretation, and why it matters to this audience.]

### Finding 2 - [One plain bold sentence]
**The evidence:** [...]
**What it means for you:** [...]

[Repeat per finding.]

## Where words and reality part ways
[If the findings include say-do gaps, present the strongest one or two here - stated position, observed reality, and why the gap matters. Otherwise remove this section.]

## What we recommend
1. **[Verb-first recommendation]** - [one line on why, tied to a finding]
2. **[Recommendation]** - [why]
3. **[Recommendation]** - [why]

## What we need you to decide
| Decision | Options | Who decides | Needed by |
|----------|---------|-------------|-----------|
| [The ask] | [Option A / Option B, or "-"] | [Role] | [Date or [to confirm]] |

## What happens next
[Two or three sentences: the immediate next step after this session and who moves it.]

Rules

• Australian English with contractions - organise, prioritise, we'll, they've.
• Never invent evidence, quotes or figures, and never stretch a finding past what the material supports. Gaps stay marked [to confirm], even in front of the client.
• Evidence before interpretation, in every finding, visibly.
• Short sections and plain words - this document gets spoken. If a sentence can't be said aloud comfortably, rewrite it.
• Hard findings are delivered straight, aimed at the system, never at a person in the room.
• Recommendations trace to findings, findings trace to evidence. Anything that can't show its chain gets cut or flagged.
• This skill produces the playback document. Slide design, speaking notes and the session itself are the user's craft - offer help, don't assume it.