How to brief a VA so the work comes back right the first time

A clear brief is the difference between work you can use straight away and work you redo yourself. Five short parts cover almost every task.

The five-part brief

1. The goal. One sentence on what this is for. "Book three supplier calls for next week so I can compare prices."
2. What done looks like. The finished result: a spreadsheet, three calendar invites, a posted reply.
3. The deadline. A date and time, plus whether it's flexible.
4. The rules. Tone of voice, budget limits, things to avoid, and who to copy in.
5. When to ask. What your VA should check with you before going ahead.

Show, don't just tell

An example beats a paragraph. Share a past email you liked, a screenshot of the layout you want, or a quick screen recording of you doing the task once.

Keep briefs in one place

Save each brief in a shared document or task list. Next time the same job comes up, your VA already has the instructions, and you only need to say "same as last time".

Give feedback early

Check the first few pieces of work and say what to keep and what to change. Small, early feedback saves far more time than a big correction later.

A template you can copy