How can I explain the haircut I'm envisioning to my hair stylist?

I live in a small town, and it seems that most of the hair stylists here are less than fantastic. I’m used to my previous stylists who just examined my hair and then decided what was best. Here, I have to tell the hairdresser exactly what I want, and there always seems to be a disconnect. The last few haircuts have been bad—nothing like I had envisioned.

I have really fine, straight hair, so cutting it isn’t easy for anyone. I want a few layers and lots of point-cutting. That’s where my knowledge of hairstyling lingo ends.

Any ideas on how best to convey this idea to my hairdresser? What do you do when you want a complicated new cut? Special words, photos, gestures? Should I just search for a different stylist, or should I be explaining things better?