Giving Instructions

One of the seemingly simplest informative tasks is to give instructions or directions. Students usually underestimate the difficulty of the task. The following activity demonstrates the value of nonverbal and two-way communication in developing accuracy. You will need two sets of shapes for students to use in completing this task. Samples follow these instructions. (See the Diagrams that follow this Activity.) Ask for two volunteers. The first should come to the front of the room. Tell the class that the speaker will attempt to get them to draw the diagram he or she has been handed. The speaker will stand with her or his back to the audience and may not use gestures or other movement to communicate with the audience. If you want to ensure no communication, put some barrier between the speaker and audience. The audience may not ask questions and should not give any feedback, including vocalizations! Give the student the picture and let the process begin. You may wish to time the description. As you listen, watch for the use of jargon (equilateral triangle), abstract or concrete language, organization of the instructions, voice influence, especially volume and rate, and other cues. Once the speaker has finished, show the class the diagram. Take a few moments to talk about what worked and did not work. Let the speaker be the first to talk about difficulties. The class will tell you what they didnt understand or misunderstood. Take a moment to debrief the first version. Be as specific as possible about what could be changed to improve communication. Did the speaker preview the instructions? Create summaries and transitions? Did the speaker use language effectively? Was there a possibility of metaphor? Be careful to be supportive of the speaker. Acknowledge how tough this actually is. Then, ask for a second volunteer. This time the speaker will face the students and they can give feedback. Classmates may ask questions. The speaker may gesture. The only restriction is that the speaker may not draw the diagram for the class on the chalkboard! Repeat the process. In most cases, this exchange will take longer because of the feedback. The second speaker will almost certainly incorporate tips from the first round: encourage an overall preview before the class draws (how many total shapes, moving in what direction), remind the speaker to summarize at the end of each shape before moving on, and use very specific language devices to guide understanding. After the second version, the class should display greater accuracy. Generally, the second version takes more time as a result. Now, discuss how much more complicated it is to give directions from one place to another, or talk about the careful planning required to explain a process.

In the first drawing, the speaker should see a pendulum to the left, a stick house sitting on a foundation on the left. The drawing below is more complicated but can be described in a range of ways: The middle figure is a rocket or a crayon. The right is a tube full of eggs. The left is the most challenging. Maybe the line is marking a dive into a pool from a diving board?

Use can use the following scripts for debriefing the Activity 12.7

What we learn from this exercise . . .

1. 2. 3. Information is conveyed more accurately in a two-way communication situation. Two-way communication is less efficient than one-way communication. Information is conveyed more accurately when both verbal and nonverbal communications are used. Information is conveyed more accurately with clear, repetitive organization (preview, explain, review). Information is conveyed more accurately when placed in the audiences experience and knowledge through: metaphor context hypothetical narrative actual narrative

4.

5.

Because we all learn and process information differently . . .

1. Give your audience as many ways to learn as possible: 2. auditory, visual, kinesthetic range of supporting materials

Simplify information. Use technical terms only if they are of value to the audience. Provide only the information that is relevant to the audience. Use concrete, clear language. Use clear organizational patterns.

3.

Make it memorable. Use visual images. Build memory devices into the speech.