To be able to make good briefing decisions, clients need a certain level of knowledge. They do not have to be experts in construction and design, but they need to have a basic understanding of topics such as architectural quality, costs and usability. It also helps if they know about practical matters such as the difference between gross and net square metres and the difference between investment costs and construction costs. Furthermore, they should know about their role as construction clients and what is expected from them by the design team.First-time clients in particular are likely to lack this kind of knowledge. Of course, they canand shouldget help from all sorts of external experts, but ultimately it is still the client who is responsible for the project and any problems that may emerge after completion. It is therefore important that clients do not remain at arms-length but immerse themselves in the project, get to know about its limitations and potential, evolving into competent and articulate clients who know what they want. Clients can educate themselves by reading handbooks and general guides such as this one. Valuable lessons can also be learnt by studying other projects and talking to people have been through similar processes, learning from their mistakes and successes. Most of the learning, however, will take place on the job, in the interaction with projects other stakeholders such as the users, client advisers, designers and cost consultants. Each meeting and conversation will make the clients smarter and will help to refine their ideas.The difficulty with client learning is that it must occur in the context of an ongoing project, which puts time pressure on the learning process. The briefing stage of a project, however, is still a reasonably safe context for learning because the project is not yet in full swing. Clients can still change their mind without causing major difficulties for the other project actors, notably the design team. It is obvious, however, that if clients fail to climb the learning curve in this period, they will probably learn things the hard way, which is through schedule overruns, rework or design defects at later stages.Recommendations-Reserve sufficient time for learning in the briefing process. Take the time to read relevant guidelines and to visit other projects.-Bring in external experts who can help educate the client organization on specific matters such as costs and sustainability.-Engage in a dialogue with all the projects stakeholders and learn about their ideas, prior experiences and needs.-Do not aim to produce a single brief, but rather a series of briefs that become more detailed and definite as the project progresses.-Do not regard the brief as an incontestable document. Treat it as a set of ideas and notions that can be challenged, improved and refined along the way.