Say What You Mean: The Five Principles of Clear Instruction
Picture yourself standing in front of a group of your campers this summer.
You say, “Alright everyone, let’s get ready for lunch.” You think it’s fine. Now pause. If you were an 8-year-old hearing that, what would you actually do? Wander? Sit? Stay where you are? Get a water bottle? Wait for someone else to move first?
“Let’s get ready for lunch” is five words that can mean 10 different things depending on the camper.
Try another. “Line Up!” Where? In what order? Facing which way? Do I need something?
One more. “Clean up!” How clean? Sweeping? How long do we have? What comes next?
Often at camp what we label as “kids not listening” is instead kids hearing different instructions than the one you thought you gave. If you weren’t actually clear, you can’t get made at them or not doing the thing you never actually old them to do. Clear instructions are the single highest-leverage communication move in any youth program. You also probably skip it in staff training.
The Problem: “Clear” Usually Isn’t
Giving instructions seems straight forward but it really isn’t. What’s in your adult brain is not what’s in your campers’ brains. Every instruction you give carries hidden assumptions about what a kid should already know. The gap between what you assumed and what they actually heard is where behavior problems live. This happens for three reasons:
“Clear” just feels obvious – Staff assume any “reasonable” kid would understand “get ready for lunch.” Reasonable kids understand 12 different versions of it, and that’s not counting kids with behavior issues, processing issues, or English language learners.
Adults default to negation – “Stop running. Don’t talk. Quit fooling around.” Negation tells kids what to stop but doesn’t tell them what to do instead. The vacuum gets filled with whatever the kid invents next, like when a kid starts humming after you told them to stop talking.
Speed wins over efficiency – Counselors are tired, the schedule is tight, and shorter instructions just feel faster. They might feel that way but actually aren’t. Vague instructions takes 90 seconds of follow up questions and redirection if not more. Specific instructions take 30 seconds up front and kids are good to go.
Giving clear instructions is one of the biggest universal interventions you can provide that will reduce behavioral issues across the board.
Skill vs. Will: Why this Matters
When a camper doesn’t do what you asked, it’s easy for the adult brain to assume they don’t want to. “They’re being defiant.” “They’re being lazy.” “Kids these days.” If you assume it’s defiance, then that’s a will problem, and there’s not a whole lot you can do other than complain about it. You can’t coach kids to want to do better. Without knowing the context, I’d bet that most times it’s not a will problem but instead a skill problem. They literally don’t know what you want from them or don’t have the skills yet to do it. A kid’s frontal lobe isn’t fully developed until 25, and that’s the part that makes good choices. Their emotional core, the amygdala, is fully firing at a young age. The amygdala can take over, causing them to genuinely not understand how to do the think you asked, especially when you weren’t clear in the first place. When we reframe the issue as a lack of skill rather than a lack of will, we can do something about it.
Clear(er) instructions assume that lack of skill and work to reduce ambiguity. While clear instructions don’t prevent all unwanted behavior or solve all the issues, they do go a long way.
The Framework: Five Principles of Clear Instructions
Principle 1: Get Attention First
Seems straightforward and so often dropped. Before you say what you want them to do, make sure they’re ready to hear it. This means that they have stopped talking and focused on you. There are two non-negotiables:
Never Talk Over Noise – If you talk over them once, they learn that your words don’t’really matter. There’s no way they’re actually listening to you if they are talking at the same time. If they start talking while you’re giving instructions, pause mid-sentence and give them a good teacher stare.
Stand Still – Plant your feet then deliver. The kid brain can’t follow what you’re saying if they are too busy watching you move around the space
Remember, all of this is about giving instructions, not just hanging out with kids. Those instructions could be the difference between kids remaining safe or getting hurt – think using certain sharp tools, going out on boats, or swimming. There is nothing else more important in that moment then getting them ready for what’s next.
Principle 2: Tell Them What to Do, Not What To Stop
“Stop talking” creates a vacuum. The kids can whisper, sing, hum and still technically comply. They don’t know what you want when you tell them what you don’t want, so they fill it in (and probably not in the way that you imagine). Replace that with action you want to see. For example:
“Stop running” becomes “walking feet”
“Don’t be loud” becomes “voices at a whisper”
“Quit fooling around” becomes “bodies in your seats, eyes up here”
Tell kids specific actions they can actually take. Deliver it in a warm and firm tone and not as a question.
Principle 3: Be Specific and Concrete
Give more details, such as using numbers, a specific amount of time, and observable actions.
Telling kids to do something “in a bit” is open to interpretation, but “in 2 minutes” is not.
Telling a kid to “calm down” rarely works and it’s difficult for the kid to know what to do if they are in a heightened state. “Take some beaths” is observable. Make it specific by saying “take 3 big breaths.”
Telling a kid to “Pay attention” is something you can’t actually see. Telling them to be “seated, silent, eyes on you” is something you can see and reinforce.
A weird pro-tip from my teaching days: use weird numbers, they tend to stick better. Say “68 seconds” rather than “1 minute.” It’s weird and it works.
Principle 4: Chunk It
Information dumping doesn’t work, especially for kid brains. Instructions that have a lot of steps and sub-steps are quickly forgotten. Break down instructions into the smallest steps possible and as few steps as possible. You might need to give two sets of instructions, for example how to transition to a new space and then, once you’re there, how to enter.
In addition, number the steps or use words like “first, next, last.” When you number the steps you can remind kids later: “I like that I already see people done with step one and on to step 2.” Make sure those are observable and in a sequence that makes sense. Once you’ve given direction, you can narrate what you see and redirect without nagging.
Principle 5: Check for Understanding
Did the kids actually understand what you said? You have to actively check. Never ask "Does everyone understand?" or "Any questions?" Nobody wants to be the kid who admits they didn't get it. If you’re going to ask, instead ask “What questions do you have?” which assumes there are questions out there. Even better, make them do something observable that shows they processed: "Show me ready position." "Thumbs up when you can tell me what we're doing first." "Point to where your sleeping bag goes."
Before & After: Better Instructions
Baseline: "Alright everyone, we have a few minutes before our next thing. Grab your stuff and meet me outside."
Revised through the five principles: "3-2-1, eyes on me. In 3 minutes we're moving to archery. Step 1, water bottle filled. Step 2, sneakers on. Step 3, hat on if you have one. Thumbs up when you can tell me Step 1."
Same instruction. Different result. What we did:
Attention secured first.
Specific time (3 minutes).
Three numbered steps, each observable.
Active check for understanding (thumbs up tied to recalling Step 1). Every principle present.
Practical Applications
This week: Pick one instruction you give every day. Write it the way you actually say it. Run it through the five principles. Rewrite it. Use the new version tomorrow.
For pre-summer training: Block a 60-minute session. Staff bring real instructions from their context. Critique the bad versions using the checklist, then write better ones. Pair-share with one glow and one grow. Staff leave with at least three usable instructions.
For your leadership team: Audit the ten instructions your staff give most often (lining up, transitions, meals, cleanup, safety check-ins). Write the good versions together. Hand them to staff as templates.
Final Thoughts
"Let's get ready for lunch." "Line up." "Clean the cabin." Every one of those instructions is the start of a behavior problem you'll be cleaning up an hour later. The cleanup feels like a behavior issue, but it isn’t. It's a clarity issue that became a behavior issue because the words weren't tight enough on the front end.
Clear instructions are unglamorous and everything thinks they are good at them. They don't show up in the marketing materials and no parent tours a camp and asks about the instruction quality of the staff. But the camps where every kid knows what to do, every transition runs clean, and every counselor has the energy to be present in the moments that matter are the camps where staff have been taught to say exactly what they mean. You got this.
Consider partnering with us on this work. There are a few ways we could support:
In-Person or Virtual Training by Thrive Point Studio – We’ll teach all of this and more. Staff will leave with a specific list of consequences ready for the summer
Licensed Thrive Point Studio Training – Want to deliver it yourself, or don’t have the budget for a trainer? Purchase the license to this training to use with your staff for years to come
Consulting Services – Want help building all this out but don’t need a trainer? We can be your sidekick as you do the work before, during, and after the summer.
Licensed Training: Say What You Mean
Deliver to your team with an editable deck, lesson plan, and handout.
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