Imagine you’re out to dinner with some of your girlfriends. There’s delicious food, great music, and stimulating conversation. Then, the unthinkable happens. As your friend smiles at you from across the table, there’s a huge piece of lettuce in between her teeth. If you’re anything like me, I despise these kinds of situations. While it’s easier to give someone you know well a heads up, I still feel like I’m embarrassing them in some way. One time during a job interview, I was talking to the owner of the store. During the conversation, she was holding a pen in her hands. At one point she wiped her face and left a huge ink smear on her forehead. I was frozen. I was just meeting this woman and I didn’t know how to approach it. Thankfully, my mom shared a piece of advice for me about this that I’ve never forgotten. It’s called the 5-minute rule. If you’re ever in a scenario where someone doesn’t notice something about their appearance, whether it be their fly is down, there’s a stain on their shirt, etc. never feel bad about mentioning something if they can fix the problem within 5 minutes. Even if this seems like common knowledge, this tip was a game-changer for me. There’s some lint on their sweater? They can pick it off in seconds. Their shoes are untied? They can easily tie their laces. Adversely, their top doesn’t match their pants? It’s best to keep those thoughts to yourself. Honesty is always the best policy, but if it’s not something that can be changed while you’re out, it’s better they have a good time than be thinking about it the whole night. Whenever I think about this, I like to put myself in the other person’s shoes. If I have lipstick on my teeth, I definitely want my friends to let me know! But if my manicure is grown out? That’s something I’ll worry about until the next time I can make it to the nail salon. While it seems trivial to evaluate whether or not these tasks can be completed within a few minutes, I promise this strategy is the best way to be helpful and not hurtful. So, next time you’re in a situation where you notice something about someone else, refer back to the 5-minute rule and your friends will thank you!
**Edited by: Emma Hoechner