What type of person does it take to think, “I’d make a good advice columnist!”
I read Dan Savage’s sex advice column off and on during college because it was published in the back of the free local newspaper that left in some of the restaurants and bus stops around town.
I also tend to read advice columns in most papers I pick up, even if I’ve never heard of the person writing them (or even if it’s specialized advice, like only homebuying questions). I don’t know why, but I find them addictive.
But, what determines whether someone is qualified to give advice to other people? Well, I suppose being a good writer is a common thread; to communicate advice well, you have to communicate well in the first place.
Beyond that, I think a person has to have a certain amount of confidence, of vanity, and of arrogance (or perhaps arrogance is too strong a word, but certainly strongly believing in your opinions). It’s a bit like being a baseball umpire: you have to make your calls and you have to stand behind them, even if you don’t necessarily have all the knowledge.
And I think, like a lot of jobs that involve some amount of creativity, you need a certain X factor. A certain charisma, charm, or simply empathy. Something that both makes you “easy to talk to” and stand out from all those other advice columnist.
But, what do I know? I’m not an advice columnist, and I certainly don’t feel qualified to give advice columnists advice on what they should and shouldn’t be doing. I just think it’s rather revealing what advice columnists say.
Because, in the end, every time you give someone advice about a certain situation or problem, it reveals a tiny bit more about yourself. Until, after years of writing answers to life’s many questions, you’re standing in front of all of your readers, naked.
Metaphorically, of course.