Communicate Instructions Accurately: 2 Rules to Ensure Speaker & Listener Are "On the Same Page"

Ever wondered why people didn't understand your instructions?

Ever been confused about what you were supposed to do when someone gave you instructions?

Perhaps the overview was left out.

Good rule when you're communicating directions, processes, procedures, instructions: Begin with an overview (including desired result), then go to specifics.

Good rule when you're listening to directions, instructions, etc.: If the speaker jumps right into the details, ask him or her to back up and give the overview.

I was reminded of these guidelines while holding an ice pack to my jaw, reviewing the invoice for two dental implants. An invoice for twice what

I was expecting.

It began a few months ago when a molar broke off. The one next to it needed work too so it made sense to have both extracted and implants installed.

When I met with the periodontist who was going to extract the teeth and do the implants, I asked him for an estimate of how much the implants would cost. He gave me an answer. More than I wanted to spend (dental work always seems to be more than I want to spend), but more or less what I expected.

The problem was he and I were at different points of understanding. He was referring to the implanting of the posts. I was referring to the entire cost. I assumed extracting the teeth was part of the process. I also didn't realize that the crown attached to the implant is done by the primary dentist and is an additional expense.

Rather than asking how much the implants would cost, I would have been better served by stepping back to look at the whole process. I should have said to the periodontist, "Okay, starting from where I am now (pre-extraction) and going through to the end result of having two new teeth, what is the process and what are the total costs?"

In my situation, of course, the miscommunication was annoying, but didn't affect the result. I needed two implants and would pay whatever the cost was.

But in day-to-day executive communication, going into details, without first establishing a context and purpose for those details, is a major cause of communication breakdown.