How to eat an elephant? (Part 4)

Getting to the heart!

With carefully crafted questions we can reach somebody’s heart. This could be if we ask for example: “What do you think about...?”, “What has convinced you that...?”, “How would you react if...?” and so on. Still, we should be careful not to bombard people with questions. If we really want to help, we should be sure that person is in right mood for conversation. This can be decided e.g. by asking somebody: “Can I ask you about...?”

It is not possible hastily and without effort to find out what lies on somebodies heart. In most cases certain time must pass in order that person builds trust so she/he is ready to share her/his thoughts and feelings. Still, even then I should be considerate so person will not be under impression that I would like to find something that is none of my business.

So in conclusion: How to eat an elephant, that is successfully give advice? Take your time, find out the context, and try to be reasonable and humble, and even than be sure that advice needs to be given!

(See part 3 here)