An input from an airline-damaged good (myself), if you don't mind.
I agree a lot of information can be an overkill very quickly, and it's easy to forget things, especially when the take-off briefing was done some 15-20 min prior the actual take-off.
However, from my point of view, the most important part is, if the proverbial s**t hits the fan, you need to know:
- where do I go and how do I get there
- how high do I need to go to be safe (MSA, obstacles, etc.)
- what do I do when I get there
We split the briefing into three parts, which is:
- minor malfunctions during take off (master cautions, etc.)
- performance-related (usually engine failure) and
- emergency case (fire, smoke,...)
Scenarios such as a complete electrical failure are usually not discussed, because that's all checklist work, and checklists rank behind flying the plane and navigating. As long as you know where to go and how high to go, you're safe, whether you have a caution or a major failure.
I don't want to be branded as the SOP-monkey (which no doubt I may be), but a standardized briefing and certain SOPs should be part of every flight, because when things turn ugly, there's usually no time to discuss them.