I try to give both road names and landmarks, because I like to have both -- especially if I'm not familiar with the roads.

Ditto fallenposters, although I generally prefer not giving out directions if I can help it because I've never been good at noticing/remembering those kinds of details.

In RI we do both, but when it comes to landmarks, they're usually "dead landmarks."

"Now, you're gonna wanna take a left up where the old drive-in theater used to be, and y'know the Five Star Dry Cleaning? Yeah, take a right where that was."

I'm terrible with directions, as such am hoping to get a garmand or whatever that GPS thing is called.

That's the best way, fallenposters. When I'm writing out directions I give details then do a little bullet-point, "at a glance" summary at the bottom for quick reference while driving. But just in conversation, I stick with "it's out by the mall" or "it's north of the city."

Anymore, I like to know the starting and end addresses and just get the directions off Google Earth if they make sense. If I can tell people how many traffic lights they'll encounter along a stretch of road, that's usually helpful as waypoint data.

I remember hearing about a study that showed that men were habituated to think in trajectories - you travel X direction for X distance or time, make a turn, then travel X direction - which jibes with a preference for road names and mileages. Women, according to this study, tended to use landmarks and other symbol systems to indicate changes of course.

I do a lot of driving in unfamiliar locales, and have developed a strong preference for both. I use road numbers/names and mileages as the primary system, but I really like landmarks as a confirmation that I've done everything right so far, or when a turn or merge is a little vague. Because I prefer it myself I give directions that way.

I'm really anal about giving directions, especially in Boston where it's so easy to get lost. Generally I'll use road names on highways and then names and landmarks locally. I also count stoplights ("Take a left at the third light, by the hospital.").

I went a little overboard last summer when some friends came to visit. I gave them several different choices - take the highway with less traffic or the one with a more direct route, then get off at the exit without a toll or take the exit with a toll but is a quicker drive to my place. Somehow, they made it in one piece.

Here's the study abstract! (God I love the internet). Gender and Regional Differences in Spatial Referents Used in Direction Giving.

Cool, Miko! It's always nice to have my observations validated by SCIENCE!

Now someone needs to do a study of why people feel compelled to give you full sets of directions even when you don't want them.

If I'm giving somebody else directions, I try to ask them what they want. Some folks do better with landmarks, others with road names. Some prefer 'L Main R Elm white house 1234 Elm,' while others want the maximum amount of information possible. I'm a fan of odometer-readings, myself, but, y'know, I'm flexible.

Whenever someone tries to give me directions, I usually just ask for the addresses though because I usually hate the way most people will give me directions. Usually they're not as detailed as I would like.

I never know any but the most major of streets.

I give both. I prefer street names and number of intersections. I'm a big fan of giving numbers of traffic lights etc. because I like to know when a turn is coming up. I hate just looking out for a sign. My best friend and I, when we are navigating in a car, both count down the streets ("OK you've got two more streets to go and then we turn right onto Main...OK it's the next one on the right"). I hate being taken by surprise.

Heh. People that give # of traffic lights usually have it wrong in my experience. Not that you do that or anything.
My favorite clue is color of the house/description of structure, after superb and detailed street name + turn directions, of course. Nothing's worse than approaching a house and still not being sure it's the right one.

I explain most things the same way. I start with a mid-level on specificity, and then get more specific, or less specific based on feedback.

In the case of a restaurant, I would say something along the lines of "It's on the same strip as Car Dealership"...and if they have no idea what I'm talking about, I zoom out a bit, give a new landmark, and so on.

To answer the main question, though, I use landmarks usually, and I'm a guy.

richat, that's because you're a sensitive guy.

I've found that most people that are lost don't really want a new set of directions, they want you to figure out where the directions that got them lost went wrong, and fix those. I always start by praising their navigational efforts, and gently criticizing the terrible directions they've been given that have gotten them lost. I let them tell me whatever it is they think they know about where they are, and where they want to go, and how they thought they might get there. Then, I try to fix one, or maybe two steps, that will advance them towards their goal, and send them off with confidence in their navigational abilities. 98% are pretty satisfied with that, seemingly, and plan to stop again and ask directions, anyway.

If asked to give directions to someone who isn't lost, I try a variation of the technique, which is to ask them about their recent trips, and then about any other trips they've ever made in the area they are heading into, and I try to elicit what they think they know, and add a bit to that, and agree with them that stopping to ask directions frequently along the way is the best way to find new places. I'll continue to add details until we both agree that they've gotten all the detail they need. About 10% of the time, the detail they consider sufficient will get them where they are going, and 90% of the time, to the 2nd turn off the Interstate.

People who are serious about getting somewhere buy maps (or equivalents), learn to read them, and ask addresses or lat/long.

I give landmark directions to people who obviously don't know where they are, and street-specific directions to those who do.

I grew up in a town full of culs-de-sac and wormy roads connecting squirmy arteries, all with fanciful names like West Running Brook (not East-West but named after the Frost poem) and Greek Boy Place (the most stolen sign in town). Giving directions depended on landmarks and a really clear sense of where roads intersected.

After walking around Tokyo for three years, my landmark navigation skills got even better, especially since a street address is utterly useless without a map, and probably useless with one, even for natives. The only people who seem to know their way around are cabbies (to a certain extent) postal workers (on an extremely local level) and policemen (who man little boxes near big intersections and do nothing but give directions and wear white gloves all day).

New York's different, at least in Manhattan. "East 5 between A & B, North side of the street, #531" will get you to Ace, a pretty nice bar with two pinball games, skeeball, a pool table, Buck Hunter, and an iPod full of punk music for happy hour. Of course, Queens is another beast entirely. Landmarks are necessary, since in some places several streets have the same number (e.g. 35 Rd., 35 Ave., 35 St., 35 Dr., 35 Cir.) and sometimes even intersect. "Right by the Citibank Building" is good, or "Northeast corner of Astoria Park," or "Get off the N/W at Astoria Blvd., exit the station heading towards Ditmars; you'll know you're on the right track when you're on a pedestrian bridge over a highway. After the bridge, keep walking three or four blocks until you smell the beer and hear all the people; follow your nose to leftwards towards the Bohemian Beer Hall. Call me when you get lost."

It depends on the person I'm giving directions to...if it's someone that isn't from here I stick to road names. If it's someone familiar with the area then it's a mix of road names and landmarks.

When I lived in Nashville and needed directions those fuckers always gave me the, "okay honey, what you need to do is go by THE Walmart, down the road a piece, then you'll see THE Cracker Barrel, right? You'll wanna turn left at the big road. You'll wanna drive on that road until you see the Batman building." When they could have just told me to on the damn road and keep going until I was downtown. Downtown Nashville really ain't that big.

This is a bit confusing, because I see we're talking about two different types of directions. There are the directions you give to someone before they begin their trip: the detailed set of instructions about how to reach the destination step by step. Then there are the directions you give on the fly, often to strangers, who are usually lost or at least unsure.

In the first instance, my "both" answer holds. Landmarks and road names are used to cross-confirm location. Before a trip I write or print the directions - I usually get verbal directions from the human being I expect to see on the other end, or a website if it's an attraction, and then also print out the Google Map page with its directions. When there's a discrepancy, I go with the human. There is a wonderful art in writing/giving your own directions to someone else. I also have a telegraphic code for use when I'm driving alone - I write each step on a separate lineon an index card, which I can hold up next to the wheel and 'read with one eye' while I'm driving. Looks like a page full of:

95 S to Ex 46

L to Rt 1

5.5 mi to Rte 33/Nut Swamp Rd

R at brick church

etc.

When giving directions on the fly, road names are usually pointless unless I'm confident there's current signage out there. I try to find out where they're going and give the simplest method that will get them there or close to there, leaning heavily on landmarks to mark turns. Estimating number of lights is rarely reliable unless I've really counted, so I'd rather tell them "There'll be a bait shop on the near right corner - turn right there..." It's easier stuff to hold in your head, anyway.

This is a bit confusing, because I see we're talking about two different types of directions. There are the directions you give to someone before they begin their trip: the detailed set of instructions about how to reach the destination step by step. Then there are the directions you give on the fly, often to strangers, who are usually lost or at least unsure.

In the first instance, my "both" answer holds. Landmarks and road names are used to cross-confirm location. Before a trip I write or print the directions - I usually get verbal directions from the human being I expect to see on the other end, or a website if it's an attraction, and then also print out the Google Map page with its directions. When there's a discrepancy, I go with the human. There is a wonderful art in writing/giving your own directions to someone else. I also have a telegraphic code for use when I'm driving alone - I write each step on a separate lineon an index card, which I can hold up next to the wheel and 'read with one eye' while I'm driving. Looks like a page full of:

95 S to Ex 46

L to Rt 1

5.5 mi to Rte 33/Nut Swamp Rd

R at brick church

etc.

When giving directions on the fly, road names are usually pointless unless I'm confident there's current signage out there. I try to find out where they're going and give the simplest method that will get them there or close to there, leaning heavily on landmarks to mark turns. Estimating number of lights is rarely reliable unless I've really counted, so I'd rather tell them "There'll be a bait shop on the near right corner - turn right there..." It's easier stuff to hold in your head, anyway.

I give as much info as possible - road names, landmarks, how many blocks/miles, etc. When I get directions from someone I confirm them by map (if I'm in the car) or Google Maps (if I'm at home).

I'm a good navigator and as long as I know which way is North, I can pretty much get my ass anywhere.

jrossi - as for people continuing on with directions when you don't really want them, they're not listening. It really has nothing to do with what you're talking about. And I don't think there's a cure for that.

yea what Miko said basically. i do pretty much the same, and people frequently comment on how 'good' my directions are. but then i was a bike messenger in both washington d.c. and cincinnati ohio, and both cities have street plans that look like wet pasta thrown on a map.

i tend to go about giving directions in a grid / zone approach, using major line-of-sight landmarks as reference, just like a courier would do to navigate surface streets. most (not all) but most civic plans *do* have a logical plan... and if you know what that is and can explain it, it often simplifies things dramatically and you can just see the lightbulbs coming on. surface streets particularly usually follow some pattern; for example:

- boulder, colorado: the numbered streets (and address numbers) increase as you go AWAY from the mountains, for example 63rd St. is about 2.5 miles east of downtown. also, address numbers increase in both directions north and south from pearl st., which is the main drag. using this logic, you may then extrapolate that '1915 n. 28th street' is nineteen blocks north of pearl, and 28 blocks east of the mountains.
- denver, colorado: street names increase alphabetically east and west from broadway, which is the main surface street. numbered streets increase in both directions north and south from first ave.
- cincinnati, ohio: address numbers increase the further east/west you are from vine street, and increase as you go north from the river; thus if you have an address number and know whether it's a north/south or east/west street, you can extrapolate how many blocks you are out from these 2 reference points.
- d.c.: everything increases alphabetically n/s and numerically e/w from the capitol building, which can be considered 'zero-zero' on the grid. this is somewhat complexified because the city's an old military (radial) pattern overlaid by a modern (grid), but you'd be surprised how far logic can take you.
- suburban subdivisions are a pain, but oftentimes some logic does apply; i.e. north/south streets are tree names (ash, laurel, maple), and east/west streets are named for the developers' kids (sarah, ashley, sue) or something like that.

usually (not always) lost individuals want MORE simplicity, not less... if someone's lost, then they KNOW their directions suck already. i generally just try to clarify, and not confuse the issue any further.

When I'm trying to find things, I tend to rely on a "It's probably in that general direction, so I'll wander that way as best as possible" approach. (Being on foot makes this easier.) And I suspect it developed as a defense mechanism in Venice, where precise directions were pointless.

When directing other people, I like to draw maps. Failing that, I give street names and demonstrate the turns very emphatically with my hands, in rhythm more or less consistent with how quickly the turns come up, first very slowly and then again quickly, which basically ends up sketching a map in the air.

I can't for the life of me remember a series of "left, right, right, left"s unless I have a sense of the general direction it's taking me, hence the invisible hand maps.

I *hate* route numbers, though. I don't have a car, and so don't drive on freeways very often, and all the numbered roads just blur into a giant mass of undifferentiated boredom. I can't keep any of them straight.

I also use landmarks, but I think that could be because I am hopeless about remembering street names (and people names, but that's another issue). I first ask people if they have a map of the area and, if they do, I will write a series of instructions with arrows and stuff to show turn directions. Otherwise, I go through the route in my head and say things like "go straight through three roundabouts, then turn left at the T intersection", but I'm hopeless at following this type of directions myself.

When I'm travelling, I write my series of route notes on a post-it and put it in the page of the refidex where I am going to, then stick it on the steering wheel with the page open on the seat beside me as I drive. I hate taking wrong turns and getting my route all screwed up.

When walking, I work out a prominent landmark and just head for that until I get close, then follow my pre-determined route from there. I seem to have a pretty good sense of which direction I am facing as long as I know the rough compass point directions before I start, so can usually find places on foot easily.