In today’s world, everything is a problem. Every single person, including you, has problems stacked up like a pile of assignments on your desk. You have a test today, a presentation tomorrow, practice later today, a paper due at the end of the week, a game, and work over the weekend. Life gets piled on top of you. That is when giving advice comes in. ​​

Lindsey Washburn is a senior at Arrowhead High School. She has had around ten years of experience advising her friends and family. Dating, friends, social situations, picking out clothes, quitting jobs, Instagram posts, etc, Lindsey had advised it all.

“A suggestion about what someone should do,” according to the Cambridge Dictionary. Understanding how to give advice can benefit a person as well as yourself when it comes to stressful situations.

You need to be an active listener to give helpful advice, so starting with active listening will make giving advice straightforward. Active listening includes non-verbal communication. For example, posture, facial expressions, eye contact, etc are all non-verbal cues that can tell you how someone is feeling without it being verbalized.

Next, understanding the situation from a perspective other than your own makes you look at the situation without much bias. Although bias benefits certain situations, it can be misleading when advising another person. “Understand how both parties feel and make your decision based on that, but prioritize yourself and know what is best for you,” says Washburn, “remember, You are trying to give advice to another person, not yourself.

Step back and take into account both parties from a broader perspective. You could be missing a detail or overlooking a key point that can influence what you say. Taking a step back will make your thoughts clearer and give you purposeful things to say, instead of saying ideas that come into your mind first. Likewise, look at both parties. Gaining perspective from both sides will allow for a broader mind and understanding of the entire situation.

Lastly, decide what you think is best. Calling someone out or speaking honestly (in the nicest way possible) is usually best for advising on a situation.

In all, giving good advice comes with practice and specific strategies. It is such an important life skill that everyone should know how to implement it in their lives. ADVISE ON!