The Art of Giving Advice

Giving advice is a process in which the giver and seeker must work together. From my experience as a consultant, I believe that the job of an advice-giver is to help the seeker advise himself or herself.

Executive Summary
When asked for advice, we often give it without having listened too carefully. Sometimes we say what the advice-seeker wants to hear, which satisfies the person. More often than not, however, our advice does not square with the advice-seeker’s ideas, and he or she either says nothing out of politeness or disputes the validity of our advice.

Giving advice is a process in which the giver and seeker must work together. From my experience as a consultant, I believe that the job of an advice-giver is to help the seeker advise himself or herself. Only he or she is capable of making the best decision.

How can we achieve this objective? I tend to follow a series of steps that, as the reader will see, comprise a Structured Solution to Problems:

1. Identify the relevant facts
2. Define the problem, analyzing its causes
3. Brainstorm alternatives
4. Identify decisionmaking criteria
5. Assess the alternatives and decide

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