Giving Directions

Guests and personnel may need guidance or directions at any time. Giving directions is a typical situation where simplified English (such as Maritime English) is valuable. Disturbances (as described in Lesson 1) of the human element (language differences, stress level, anxiety, intoxication level, etc) make communication in clear messages recommendable.

Body Language is easy to understand and an effective way to add strength to verbal messages. Example:

How to properly give directions will vary depending on the level of knowledge you have about the ship, who the person is in front of you, if there are any barriers i.e. alcohol consumption,  level of awareness, experience on yachts, etc. We cannot assume that guests know terms we may take for granted – a guest may be uncertain about basic maritime words such as bow, stern, port and starboard for instance. It is, therefore useful to add gestures and easy to read body language. 

This is extremely important especially during an Emergency. Crew members, regardless of rank and department, have to assist the guests/owners as required. Steward(ess)es are most likely to be the ones in the presence of the guests/owner, hence the importance of being properly trained in handling such situations. In an emergency, people tend to panic or remain relaxed (too relaxed) this will result in two different types of guests to deal with. The steward(ess) or any crew member in the vicinity of the guests/owner, will have to give clear orders and be assertive for the safety of everyone. In the following quiz, we will look at some example situations.