How do I prepare for a mentoring session?
You do not need to research anybody. You need ten quiet minutes and three decisions made before the call connects.
- Read time
- 3 minutes
- Module
- Getting started
- Session length
- 30 minutes
What good looks like.
Read the mentee's note and decide what you think the real question is. You may be wrong, and finding that out early is part of the job.
Pick two stories from your own working life that you could tell in ninety seconds each. Specific beats general every time.
Sort your setup: quiet room, working camera, no calendar alert about to pop up over the screen.
A sequence you can follow.
- 01
Read the note
Twice. The second read tells you what is missing.
- 02
Choose two examples
Real situations from your own work, with an outcome.
- 03
Check the tech
Camera, microphone, connection, and a closed door.
- 04
Set an intention
One sentence: what would make this useful for them?
What to avoid.
Joining from a moving car or an open-plan office
Reading the brief while the mentee is talking
Preparing a lecture instead of examples
Extra tips
Small things that make the half hour better.
Re-read the note ten minutes before
Fresh, not the night before, so the detail is still in your head.
Look up one thing you do not know
A single term from their field buys you real credibility.
Keep one page of notes open
Two prompts and a blank space for what they say is enough.
Block five minutes either side
Arriving from another meeting shows in the first three minutes.
Take this guide with you.
Download a printable version of this guide: the short answer, the steps, the extra tips, the mistakes to avoid and the questions mentors ask, to read before your next session.
The things people ask first.
Should I look them up first?
A quick look is fine. Do not turn up with a dossier; it unsettles people.
What if I have no time to prepare?
Read the note in the last two minutes. It is the highest-value thing you can do.
Next: Running the session online.
Video changes how you listen, how you pause, and how you close.