When you’re giving a staff member a set of instructions on what you want them to do, or how to do a certain task, you need to know that they understand you properly.
So, how can you ensure that your instruction giving skills are good enough? Do you have a tendency to use more words than you need? Do you use complicated language? How can you be sure that they actually understand what you have said, either around the modern boardroom tables or at their own desk?
Make sure you cover these points:
- Keep instructions brief and don’t be tempted to go into too much detail, this can simply confuse the matter
- Don’t over-complicate the matter
- Ask the person you’re giving instructions to, to repeat them back to you. This will show you their level of understanding
When giving instructions, being clear is vital if you want the job to be done correctly. Failure to do this also means that you’re likely to be confusing your staff and causing them to feel negative. This affects morale, and we know that morale is vitally important in terms of productivity and profits.
Do you have any other tips for ensuring understanding when giving instructions?