Katie McManus shares how to handle requests for free advice. A doctor at a party who spots a rash doesn't diagnose on the spot, hands over a business card, and suggests scheduling an appointment instead. Polite, firm deferral protects your time and expertise.
Chapters
If a client is coming to me and they're like, oh, my God, everyone wants to ask me for free advice, and I feel bad, so I just give them the free advice. You know, my answer is, okay, cool. Like, I want you to imagine that you're a doctor and you're at a party and you've had a couple glasses of wine, and, you know, you're there with a date, and you're having a really good time, and then this guy Tom comes up to you and he's like, oh, you're a doctor. Okay, cool. I have this rash on my upper thigh. Can I show you? And then they just drop their pants right there in front of you, and they're like, check this out. A doctor with shitty boundaries is, like, going to get down on their knees and be, like, looking at this rash and, you know, give them their two cents and basically treat them right there in the party. A doctor with good boundaries is going to be like, cool, please put your pants back up. Would be more than happy to consult on this. Here's my card. Call my office and set up an appointment with my receptionist. And we can absolutely look at that later this week, but right now I'm having a good time, and I don't want to be looking at your upper thigh at this party.