Word. Us "new guys" make it so difficult on ourselves and I had a captain that kind of shed some light on the subject for me in a way that I didn't think of for myself...
Simple, just treat the brief as if you were talking plain English to your mom. Don't say, "the winds are 290 @ 15kts". Instead say, "the winds are out of of the NW at 15". Does your mother know what the heck Celsius is? Nobody does...so, do the conversion to Fahrenheit.
What started working for me was to make out a quick 5-point outline, something like this:
1) "Welcome aboard flight <XYZ> with service to <insert destination here>."
2) "We are currently <X> miles from <destination> putting our arrival time at about <X> minutes from now."
3) Weather expected at destination (ATIS)
4) Smooth? Seatbelt sign 'off', "As always, we do ask that while you're seated that you keep your seat belts securely fastened." <--Easy to screw that one up (for me) and remember to actually turn the switch off if you say you're going to do it.
5) "Once again, welcome aboard and we hope you enjoy the remainder of the flight. Thank you."
If I find myself getting tongue-tied....I stop keying the mike and start over. But the first time you do it....if you don't "F" it up, I'd be surprised.
