Have you ever needed advice? Most people have to ask other people for different opinions at many points in their lives. When someone wants advice, they may talk to multiple people instead of just one. When more than one person is asked, these people will usually have differing opinions. It is important to seek multiple opinions when looking for advice because people with different experiences may have different ideas, one might not feel comfortable with their first option, and one can combine the ideas of others to come up with their own plan.

A good reason to look for more than one opinion is that people with different pasts lead will believe different things. Often, no two people in a room will have the same experiences or ideas, so asking more than one person allows one to weigh these opinions and choose the best option for their situation. For example, a man who grew up with multiple rowdy older brothers and a woman who had no siblings might have different ideas on how to handle a disagreement between friends. Their experiences had led them to believe different things, but that does not mean that either one was wrong. They just grew up learning different ways to manage situations, leading to them giving different advice. If someone asks multiple people the same question, they are likely to find different ideas from people with different backgrounds.

A different reason to get advice from multiple people is that one's first option might not feel right for them. Different people have differing personalities, and what one feels like they could do may not seem feasible for another. One example of this is if a shy, studious, and introverted boy asks for advice from his boisterous, popular, and sporty older sister on how to stand up for himself. If the sister tells him to do something such as loudly tell the bully to stop and then walk away, the boy might have been better served by asking his mother, who also would prefer to be quiet and not bothered by other people. In this example, the boy would not have been served well by using his sister's idea because he would not have felt like he could pull it off. Through getting more than one opinion, one can find a solution that matches what they might be able to do, not just what might work for someone else.

Lastly, one should get advice from more than one person because they can build their own solution based on parts of the suggestions of other people. When people combine the ideas of others, it can often lead to a plan that is more thought out than it would otherwise be. An example of this principle is if a boy asks his mother and father how to talk to his teacher about an incorrect grade. If his mother tells him to schedule a time to explain the situation and his father says that he should bring in the assignment and show the teacher without notice, he could take the best parts of both and schedule a time to meet while also coming in with the materials to show the teacher exactly what was going on. Once he had gotten multiple ideas, he was able to put them together and make a stronger plan. This is always a possibility if one uses the opinions of many people, rather than just one.

People need to look for multiple sources of advice because different ideas come from people with different backgrounds, some people may not feel able to use the first option given to them, and others' ideas can be put together to make a new, stronger idea. If people who grew up in different countries all give advice on the same topic, the one asking can see a diverse range of ideas. The first person to answer may have had advice that disagreed with the asker's beliefs, but they are able to move on to a new person. Afterwards, the asker can take all of the advice that they were given and cobble together their own idea based on what they had heard. All in all, there are many reasons that one should take many people's answers when they are asking for advice.