Go into your mentoring conversation with an idea of what you want to talk about. The mentor and the protégé should both prepare beforehand with questions and points that they want addressed. 

Mentoring is a great opportunity for both individuals in the partnership to grow, and an amazing way to make a lifelong connection. 

It's always important to know your strengths and weaknesses as a mentor. Use a mentoring skills inventory to help evaluate yourself. Once you are aware of areas that need growth, work on trying to make improvements through working with your mentee. Click the link to see an example inventory document from sciencecareers.sciencemag.org

Active listeners listen with energy. They sit up straight, takes notes, and ask questions. Active listening is essential in a mentoring relationship because it reduces confusion, increases mutual understanding, and shows respect for the other’s opinions. 

Occasional random occurrences may prevent the mentor or the protégé from fulfilling their duties in the mentoring relationship. Keep communication open to help resolve such issues, and try to get back on track as soon as possible. Understand that interruptions and delays are a fact of life, and attempt to work around them!

Mentoring is a great opportunity for both individuals in the partnership to grow, and also an amazing way to make a lifelong connection with another person.