I think a lot can be done with either one.

Communication can be done any number of ways: talk, sign language, telepathy, leaving notes or messages on signs, smoke signals, morse code, cryptic patterns and clues and many more.

Direction is a course and also guidance/instruction. Lead or follow which way to go, cook meals by following recipes, take advice from the right (or wrong) NPCs, travel from planet to planet or town to town, go step by step with a treasure map, etc.