It is important that you act from the distinct principles of mentoring from the beginning. The relationship is one of equality and yet has a natural bias/emphasis upon the mentor. The mentor has something that the mentee needs/wants. Responsibility for learning, progress and results ultimately rests with the mentee. The first session or conversation in a mentor relationship sets the tone for both future sessions and the relationship as a whole.

In addition, much of the way you influence the mentee will be through what you do, rather than what you say, and an effective first meeting can begin that positive first impression. By now you have: some idea of who you will be mentoring, an idea of the broader context for this mentoring relationship, and your personal considerations for the relationship. It helps to have some idea of topics and stages for your first conversation to stay both efficient and effective with your time.

Remember your initial intentions are to build a framework for a relationship, rather than to tackle specific personal goals and topics that they are interested in. Where so much of what defines great mentoring builds from the quality of the relationship, it’s a good idea to remind yourself of how your mentee’s sense of relatedness to you is encouraged through your attention during conversation. Where the initial meeting focused on laying the foundations of working together, subsequent conversations will build naturally on that.