The Book of T.J.

Prologue: Imagine you are driving with 5 people in the car and someone decides to tell you where to turn, and they start saying "Right here..."  and you say where?  What if there response to this question 3 more times was "Right here" and they are pointing. Well They are in the back seat and you can't see where they are pointing?  Well... What if that person then decides to mock you and act like you did something wrong because you didn't understand the? Well I decided this might be a good tutorial for these types of people... Here is WikiHow's explanation of how to give proper directions...

There are basically two ways to give directions, the "route perspective" characterized by landmarks, and the "survey perspective" characterized by references to cardinal directions (north, south, west, east).

Which system you use depends on where you are, and who you're giving directions to, and most of the time it's best to use a combination. The most important thing is to be brief and clear!

1. Think of the simplest route, even if it takes a little longer. Shortcuts can be faster, but they can also be more complicated! If the person is lost or has poor navigation skills to begin with, give them directions with minimal turns. For example: Make a left on this street, then a right at the light, and go straight all the way down that road until you get to the highway.
2. Specify distance. How far along a particular road does the person need to go? There are several different ways to tell them:
   
   
   • how many blocks or streets they'll pass - e.g. continue down that street, passing 4 side roads along the way; this works better in a city than in the country, because in the city there are more cross-streets to count, whereas in the country the space between them makes it easier to lose count, and some driveways look like roads of their own.
   • how many traffic lights they'll pass - this is good, but you must be right about the number!
   • distance in miles or kilometers - e.g. go 3 miles on Holypoke Road
   • how much time it'll take - this is better for when they'll be spending a short time on that path (less than 10 minutes); any longer than that, and your directions will become inaccurate depending on how fast the person drives (what's 15 minutes to you might be 30 minutes to a slow driver who's lost)
   • Give them a DROP DEAD point, a landmark that tells them that they've gone too far and have missed their turn.
3. Indicate turns. If it's not a simple, four-way intersection, give a few extra details. Otherwise, tell them to make a left or right. Give them a street name and one landmark (a traffic light, a particular store). If the person you're giving directions to is good with cardinal directions (north, south, west, east) and/or the city you're in is laid out like a grid (with all the streets perpendicular, running east-west or north-south) indicate the direction, too. E.g. Turn a left at the traffic light onto Foster, heading east. Tell the person what direction they need to turn in before telling them where (e.g., "turn left onto baker street" instead of "at baker street, turn left").
4. Outline the entire route using the previous two steps. Remember to be concise. Detailed directions are useless if you give so many details that the person driving gets confused.
5. 

    
   Warn them about any confusing parts of the route. For instance, if a lane ends or is right turn only, you might want to mention that. Also if a road they need to turn onto is small or hidden. If there's a turn that you know people tend to miss, tell them how they'll know they've gone too far - "If you start crossing the bridge over the river, you've gone too far, turn around".
6. Mention which side of the street their destination will be found on.
7. Have them repeat the directions to you. Whether or not they've written them down, make sure they heard you correctly and understand the route you laid out for them.

(wikihow)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 14 2009 and is filed under theblog.