Following Written Instructions

When you follow a recipe, do you skip some of the steps? Do you perform the steps out of order? If you do, does your final dish taste like it should? Probably not! Giving and receiving instructions is like following a recipe. The steps must be written out thoroughly and in the correct order or the final product will be incorrect.

Sometimes, it's hard to tell someone how to do something. this is especially true when you're giving instructions for a process that is familiar to you. You may leave out steps that are essential to the listener's understanding of the task. Follow the steps below to learn how to give great instructions:

• Plan what you need to include to make the instructions thorough.
• Give the information to the listener as a series of steps. Use words like first, next, and last. Think of the set of steps as a recipe, thorough and in order. Make sure that you haven't left out important information or steps. Don't assume a step is too obvious to mention: What might seem obvious to you may not be obvious at all to your listener.
• Repeat your instructions if the listener needs to clarify or review them. You can also double-check the instructions by asking your listener to read or say the instructions back to you. that way, you can make sure that your listener heard what you meant to say.

It's time to write some instructions of your own. Imagine that your friend has never made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Your friend has asked you to write out instructions to make one. Write the steps to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in your notebook.

Remember that your friend has never made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, so you need to be detailed in your instructions. 

Have you ever left a very important step out of a set of instructions? Maybe you have forgotten what you were supposed to do all together. If so, you know how important it is to listen to instructions carefully while they are being given. Just as there are certain steps you should take when giving instructions, there are important steps to take when you are receiving instructions.

Perhaps the most important thing is to listen. This doesn't mean just hearing what the person giving instructions is saying. You need to use your mind to actually listen and think about each instruction as they are being given. This is called active listening.

While you are listening to instructins, you should picture each step in your mind. Picture the activity that you will have to do to complete each step. Pay attention to those transition words and order words.

When you read written instructions, read them completely and carefully from beginning to end before you begin to follow them. There may be information in a later step that can help you understand or follow the early steps.

It's time follow instructions yourself. Have an elbow partner read your written instructions for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Follow the oral instructions just as they are written. Are your instructions detailed and thorough enough for you to follow? If you have left out an important step, you will need to revise your instructions.