Walk a lost person to the corner
Directions are forgotten by the second turn. Walking someone to the point where they can see it is what works.
The BeingKind editorsPublished How this is written
Why it lands
Giving directions feels helpful and mostly is not — people retain the first instruction and guess the rest, especially in an unfamiliar place or a second language. Walking thirty seconds to the corner where the destination becomes visible converts a set of instructions into a solved problem, and it is the difference between technically helping and actually helping.
How
If it is close, walk them to where they can see it. Otherwise give a landmark rather than street names, which tourists cannot use. Point at their map rather than describing, and watch them start off in the right direction.
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