Tips on giving relationship advice

We've all been there..

1. Listen more, Talk less

Never mistake your friend's need to vent as your cue to start doling out wisdom. Sometimes saying things aloud is all a person needs to help themselves. So, be a good friend, open your ears, and keep your mouth shut.

2. Be Cool, Calm, and Collected

When someone comes to you and is hysterical, the last thing they need is for you to be angry, judgmental, or otherwise, in another heightened emotional state. Whether we realize it or not, we feed off of each other's energy. Nothing spells disaster like two hyper-emotional people attempting to have a meaningful conversation. Think of the last time you drunk-dialed an ex. It wasn't pretty was it?

3. No One Wants to Feel Dumb

When someone comes to you for advice, they are usually tip-toeing around the question, "Am I being stupid?". Even if the answer is clearly "yes", you should be just as evasive and refrain from giving such a direct answer. Nobody wants to be told that they are being stupid. Just offer them a chance to view things from another perspective and they'll realize it on their own. Self-realization is so much more lasting and powerful than you chiming in with, "Stop being an idiot, you idiot!"

4. Do Not Hang Their Partner Out to Dry

Watch out for this one. When you bash someone's partner behind their back because you think it will help your friend "see the light", take a wild guess at who won't be invited to the wedding after they get back together? People will always forgive their partners in the end, but they will never forget the hurtful things you said about them when they came running to you for help. Sadly, I don't think you should expect to get a "Thank You" card, even if you were trying to be helpful.

5. Love is Blind

Couples involved in a toxic relationship always get back together because they feel their is something intangible that exists between them that their friends will never understand. Unfortunately, we the friends, are simply trying to show you something that is very tangible and unhealthy that everyone other than you is able to see. When you finally do, it will be like waking up from a bad dream. As a friend, you have to know where to draw the line and when to stop getting involved. "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink"

6. Remember, It's Not Your Relationship

When in doubt, don't say anything at all. Sometimes the best way to save your own friendship with someone is to avoid getting involved in the first place. What you have to say may be the God's honest truth, but who appointed you to be God's messenger? Dating advice is one of those things that is great in theory, but in the end, we learn best from our own mistakes.

source: datingish