Just a quick post to point to a great piece of advice from the ever-wonderful Chriss Corrigan, The art of giving instructions: 7 practices for facilitators. Scan the snippet then, if you are a facilitator, read the whole thing. It is worth your time. Come to think of it, these apply for parents, bosses and anyone else.

I think one of the hardest things to do as a facilitator is master the art of giving instructions.  Even for facilitators, public speaking can be a stressful experience, and there is nothing worse than trying to give instructions to a group while your knees are shaking and your mouth is dry.  But for all facilitators, and and especially those of us who work with radically new ways of meeting, this is a whole art in itself.  Giving instructions poorly leads to confusion and chaos and can quickly erode the trust of a group.  Being too direct can shut people down and create a sterile meeting.  The art is finding the space between the two.