How do I give clear instructions in English?
Put the steps in order with First, Then, Next and Finally, use the plain imperative or a softer frame such as "You'll need to …", and check with "Does that make sense?" that the other person is following.
- Order: First, Then, Next, After that, Once you've …, Finally.
- Tone: the plain imperative is normal and clear; "Just …", "You'll need to …" and "Could you …, please?" sound softer, and "Make sure you …" is a reminder about an important step.
- Check-in: "Does that make sense?", "Can you see the … button?", "Let me know if that works."
A2 · Customer Contact · 10 minGiving instructions, explained step by step.
You learn to guide customers and colleagues through a login, a form or a return in English: with clear sequencers, a fitting tone and a short check-in. The lesson needs no signup and takes about ten minutes.
- CEFR levelA2 · Elementary
- Time to completeAbout 10 minutes
- SkillsListening, Speaking, Writing, Vocabulary
- Bricks10 blocks
01 / 06
What good instructions have to do
Giving instructions means helping someone get a job done: a customer who cannot log in, a colleague on their first day who has to fill in a form, or a client waiting for a return label. The listener usually cannot see your screen, so your English has three jobs at once. It has to put the steps in order, it has to sound friendly for the situation, and it has to find out whether the other person is still with you. This lesson gives you a small toolkit for each job. The sequencers (First, Then, Next, After that, Once you've …, Finally) handle the order. The plain imperative and a few softer frames handle the tone. Short check questions handle the understanding. None of this is difficult grammar, and A2 vocabulary is enough. The three parts work best together, though: an ordered list of steps, said in a warm voice, with a pause where the other person can answer.
02 / 06
Sequencers: First, Then, Next, Finally
Sequencers show the listener where they are in the process. Start with First, so the person knows a list has begun. Use Then, Next or After that for the steps that follow. Once you've … works differently: it names a condition, and the next step only applies after it. Once you've logged in, click Settings. Once you've received the code, enter it in the box. Finish with Finally, which tells the listener that the last step is coming. On the phone, say each sequencer with a short pause after it and give only one action per step. In an email you can put the same words at the start of numbered lines, or drop the numbers and let First, Then and Finally carry the order. German has zuerst, dann, danach and zum Schluss, so the idea is familiar; the English words sit at the start of the sentence, often followed by a comma, and the imperative comes straight after.
03 / 06
The imperative and softer frames
The plain imperative is the backbone of step-by-step help: Click Save. Enter your email address. Restart the app. It is short, clear and normal in manuals, on screens and in a helpdesk call. It is not impolite, because the listener understands that you are guiding them through a task. Softer frames are a tone choice. You can add them when you want a sentence to sound more personal. Just click Save makes the step sound light. You'll need to enter your customer number says what the system requires without sounding like a rule. Make sure you save the file is not a softer form but a reminder: it draws attention to a step that is easy to miss. Could you click Save, please? turns the step into a polite request, which fits well when you are talking to a manager, to a customer who sounds stressed, or when you ask for something unusual, such as a copy of an ID. Please works with the imperative too: Please fill out the form. You can mix the styles in one conversation. Use the plain imperative for routine steps and a frame when you want to show warmth or when the step is really a request.
04 / 06
Checking understanding and inviting a reply
Instructions only work if the other person can follow them, and on the phone you cannot see a face. So ask. Does that make sense? is a good general check after a step or two. Can you see the Save button? checks something concrete on the screen. Are you with me so far? sounds friendly and relaxed. When the other person needs to try something, close with Let me know if that works. That hands control to them and invites them to come back. If they say no, do not repeat the same words more loudly: change the wording or take a smaller step. Let's try another way. What do you see on your screen now? Short questions like these also show respect, because they make it clear that a problem may lie in the explanation, not in the customer. Check after every step or every second step, not only at the end.
05 / 06
Two German habits worth watching
Two habits from German show up in customer help. The first is Sie müssen …. Translated word for word it becomes You must …. That sentence is grammatical, but in English it sounds like a rule or an obligation, so it can come across as stricter than you intend when you are only describing the next step. You'll need to … or a plain imperative usually fits better: You'll need to log in first. Log in first, please. Keep must for real rules and requirements: You must be over 18 to register. The second habit is the infinitive-style notice. German signs and forms say Bitte Formular ausfüllen, and learners then build Please form fill out or Please fill out form, which reads as unfinished in English. English uses the imperative, and the noun keeps its article: Please fill out the form. In the same way, Bitte Passwort eingeben becomes Please enter your password, and Bitte hier unterschreiben becomes Please sign here. The verb comes first, the object follows, and small words such as the, your and here stay in.
06 / 06
Putting it together: a helpdesk call and an onboarding email
Here is how a short helpdesk call sounds when all three building blocks come together: "First, open the login page. Then just click Forgot password. You'll need to enter your work email address. Once you've entered it, I'll send you a link. Can you see the email? Great. Next, choose a new password. Finally, make sure you click Confirm. Does that make sense? Let me know if that works." Each step has one action, the sequencers carry the order, and the tone stays friendly without you having to apologise. The same structure suits an onboarding email for a new colleague: "Welcome to the team! First, collect your badge from reception. Then could you fill out the form, please? Once you've done that, send it back to me. Let me know if anything is unclear." Notice how the styles mix: collecting the badge is a plain imperative, the form is phrased as a request because you are asking something of the colleague, and the ending invites a reply. Once you have said these patterns aloud, you can reuse them for logins, forms and returns.