A good pre-flight brief isn't a one-way conversation, with you doing all the talking and the FO sitting there "yes sir, yes sir.... okay sir." You'll both be talking things over and briefing together as you go in a rather informal way. You'll discuss routes, fuel, alternates and all that fun stuff together. Of course you'll have the final say in everything, but utilize the FO and his/her opinion.
Toughest part of the job for an FO is learning each Captain's individual quirks. Stick to the SOPs and you'll make their job 10 times easier, which in turn makes your job easier.